Ants, ants, ants!

[TerrynFlorida]

I have 3 separate growing areas. My back porch is my area for plants to be when the temps go down, plants in spike ($%^squirrels) and current bloomers. Anyway, I knew there were ants because of seeing them on my brassa nodosa blooms and other assorted spikes.
I went to the store yesterday to find a product to help eliminate them and bought a product called Terro. It's a clear liquid you can put on cardboard so you can put it in assorted locations.
I put it out and in about 10 minutes every ant in the world showed up.. It was unbelievable! I ended up dragging all the plants outside to be hosed off to drown the critters, along with one of my stands. Luckily they weren't immediate biting ants! I spent the entire morning trying to locate the trail and finally found it coming from next door, so I sprayed like crazy and now will do that on a regular basis.
This morning there are still no ants on the brassa, so maybe I have turned a corner for control.
If you ever need to find ants, use that Terro!

[Ross]

Great stuff. Whenever I get ants I use the same stuff. They take it back to nest to share so probably you nailed the colony (here's hopin)

[hamizao]

I am not sure what our local enthusiasts use for ants. I now keep the H2O based aerosol handy. It seems to do the trick. The ants...they just love my heliconia. So I should expect ants up my orchids too.

[Gin]

Oh yes they like orchids especially when they are in bloom producing nector , I use Terro or Revenge they are the same thing .
If I see them on a pot it is applied to the rim . Both are Boric acid and powdered sugar = dead ants . Gin

[Ross]

Nice to know. Think one could make a home brew?

[Gin]

Ross I have the recipe somewhere . Here is one I found on the internet .

1.5 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp boric acid (available in the pharmacy section; poisonous if taken internally or inhaled)

Bring to boil. Let cool. Pour liquid into bottle caps and place bottle caps in the path of the ants. Typically, the sugar will attract zillions of ants and the problem will appear to get much, much worse for a day or two. Then you will find lots of dead ants to wipe up. Then no more ants.

[TerrynFlorida]

I looked at the ingredients on the Terro and it is probably some sort of sweetener and it has boric acid. Gin is correct, little ant bodies everywhere.

FirstRays site has a number of home remedies here First Rays' Home Remedies and he includes an ant version you put in parafin so it stays longer.