Florida Ants...

[LordBurghley]

Hi All,

Just walked onto a new property today and discovered ants...Florida ants...LOTS of them.
They have established paths in several parts of the yard. I didn't see any in the house, thank heavens, but I'm worried that it's just a matter of time.
The place is surrounded by woods, which doesn't help. The worst trails seem to be coming from there, making finding the nests difficult at best.
I really would prefer not to have to call the pros on this, as it will be costly and will result in a lot of dangerous chemicals being used.
If anyone has any advice or experience to share on the subject, I'd be grateful.
Thanks! And have a good one!

[San Antonio]

I use orange oil. one ounce to one gallon. smells nice too.

[LordBurghley]

Really? Love the smell of oranges! So what do you do with it? Spray them, spray their tracks?

[San Antonio]

Spray the ants.

[LordBurghley]

It would be my pleasure! Thanks for the tip!

[O'natural]

At least with some types of ants you can spread uncooked grits on the ground. The ants will eat it and the grits will expand in their stomachs and they'll die, or so I've heard.

Cinnamon seems to work very well. The ants seem to be repelled by it, so you can sprinkle some around the areas that you'd like the ants to avoid, or on and around the base of a tree trunk if you don't want them chewing the leaves. You have to reapply it after it rains.

[LordBurghley]

Originally Posted by San Antonio

I use orange oil. one ounce to one gallon. smells nice too.

The ants definately do NOT like the orange oil.

Originally Posted by O'natural

At least with some types of ants you can spread uncooked grits on the ground. The ants will eat it and the grits will expand in their stomachs and they'll die, or so I've heard.

Cinnamon seems to work very well. The ants seem to be repelled by it, so you can sprinkle some around the areas that you'd like the ants to avoid, or on and around the base of a tree trunk if you don't want them chewing the leaves. You have to reapply it after it rains.

I've heard that too about the grits. Also heard minute rice has the same effect. Also, I'll try the cinnamon trick.

Between the orange oil and the cinnamon, I'm gonna have one of the nicest smelling yards in the neighborhood.