ANTS in the Kitchen!
by Ann Barklow

Ants are the most abundant of social insects on our planet. There are an estimated one quadrillion of them on earth at any time. There is nothing more discouraging than waking up to a kitchen full of ants. I haven’t met one person in Southern California that doesn’t have a ant problem, so even though this isn’t really a gardening question I thought it was important enough to talk about.

The ants that give us the most problem are the Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) who arrived here on coffee boats many years ago. Argentine Ants enter our homes in search of food, water, or warmth. Some entomologists recommend we feed them outside with watermelon or an unrinsed empty can of cat or dog food. Plain old granulated or powdered sugar works too. If they are already in your home, use a sponge that has been dampened with dish soap and water. Wipe them up and wash them down the drain. Keep your kitchen clean, plug up ant entrances like holes or cracks with petroleum jelly, duct tape, or silicone caulk. Sometimes it is necessary to vacuum your floors daily to keep ants from combing the floor.

Sometimes Argentine Ants nest in our house plants without our knowledge. Take your house plants outside and give them several deep soakings with water to flush them out, and repeat daily if necessary.

Here’s a list of other things you can do to discourage ants:

• Rinse glass, metal, paper, plastic, and food containers thoroughly before tossing them in waste baskets or recycle bins.
  
• Clean wrappings of meat, delicatessen, and fast food items by plunging them into dishwater and cleaning them as if they were laundry.
  
• Place your cat and dog food bowls in a larger bowl filled with water to create a mote that ants won’t cross. If they try to float across, add a little bit of detergent to the water. It will break the surface tension of the water and the ants will sink.
  
• Purchase buckets with twist on lids at pet stores to store your pet food in. For the storage of sugar, flour, rice, and grains, use glass jars with rubber seals or plastic containers with tight-fitting snap on lids. Keep other sugary items in the refrigerator.
  
• Tanglefoot® sticky barriers are available at most nurseries, and can be used with fabric around the legs of freestanding tables to deny ants access - but this stuff is sticky so do not place near where people walk!
  

If you need to kill ants always use the least-toxic approach. Insecticidal soaps are available at nurseries and work great. Boric acid baits can kill up to 80% of your ant population. My favorite is Drax Ant Control Bait® and is available by mail order from Peaceful Valley Farms (888)784-1722. Take care to read the directions before use.
Purchase both the sweet bait and the protein/fat bait since ant feeding habits change quite frequently. Test the ants to see which bait interest them. If a colony has been starved by effective sanitation measures the bait will be eaten more readily. Results are noticed in about 3 days, and control can take up to 3 weeks. Follow directions carefully. Even though it is a non-toxic substance the product should be kept away from pets and children. Store the bait in isolation so that no other odor can contaminate it.

I receive calls from people who have been successful with other methods. Someone suggested spraying Endust® furniture polish where ants are coming in. Another recommended that spraying ammonia-based glass cleaner will keep them out. I have had good luck with Comet® sprinkled around in the vicinity of ants or smeared on the counters with a damp sponge. Baby powder sprinkled on the floor can discourage them.

Whatever method you try, don’t use any toxic ant sprays. According to experts, sprays can cause a colony to be disturbed and result in breaking up their nests and we can actually be increasing populations when we are trying to eliminate them.