Ants are everywhere

miamicuse · 06-04-2012, 07:29 AM

I have black pavement ants all over.

The strange thing is I don't see where they are coming from, there seem to be no trail whatsoever, they just suddenly appear on the tiled floor.

I put down some Terro but they don't seem to be attracted to it. In the past they would and after a few days I would get dead ants, but this time, they are not drawn to it at all. I don't know if it's because Terro has changed. This new bottle I bought is completely clear, where in the past they were amber colored?

I also walked around my house's perimeter and tried to identify where they came into the house, I see nothing outside at all. I was under the impression they have to have a water source so they always go outside somewhere...but I looked real hard. Nothing.

Is there another bait or something besides Terro I can try?

Location is Miami, Florida.

joecaption · 06-04-2012, 07:35 AM

If Terro is not attacting them then they may not be ants.
A simple test would be to but a drop or two of honey to see if that attracts them, if not the they could be any number of differant bugs including termites.
Not likly because they like to stay hidden but possible if there in the swaming stage.

sdsester · 06-04-2012, 08:43 AM

Not so much in the City but in Central Illinois tiny black ants used to show up this time of year by the millions. They and cousins chewed the coating off peonies to let them bloom. They got in the house and on to honey jars and into sugar jars.

All kinds of things were tried to get rid of them. Drowning them with a spray bottle worked as well as anything. Truth of the matter is after about a month they disappeared on their own.

In California different ants were a problem. I don't know if you can still buy them with the formula from 30 years ago? Grant's Ant Sticks worked better than anything. I looked quickly on line and they are still sold.

They had gooey stuff in a little disc on top. You ran warm water over it and stirred to activate. The stick were on sheet metal spikes and you just put them near the perimiter of the house.

Of course, as I have offered before, I find it much cheaper to just put a local and licensed exterminator on contract. Does not have to be a national chain rep. They have licenses and end up costing no more than trying to make consumer retail products work.