Hellobee Boards

They come out of the traps and go off to die. when we had ants, we put a line of flour at the edge of the counters and near the door and window and after a few days they were gone.

Kitchen, I'd empty the counters and disinfect thoroughly for starters. I agree the liquid bait is best. And lastly we typically treat the outside of the house so that they are leaving before getting close to entering.

We had awful ants this summer/fall. Terro was the only thing that got rid of them. The people at the hardware store said it was a bad year for them in our neighborhood (Brooklyn), and everyone I know who had them had these particularly aggressive ones that seemed to come from nowhere - like literally out of the floors/walls, and there was very little to get rid of them. Strangely, my mom in NC had the same thing!

We had ants at an old apartment and could see they were coming in through a window. We sprinkled cinnamon along the windowsill and they stopped coming in, apparently they won't cross cinnamon?

For cleaning up ants that have swallowed the bait and died I've read you should vacuum them up and never crush them because apparently some scent released when they're crushed attracts other ants? Not sure how true it is but it seemed to work for us.

Where are they coming in? We had a huge problem a couple of years ago and it took setting baits, finding the colony outside, and setting it on fire (my husband went a bit overboard). This year we had a bad problem but it turns out that they had built a nest in my drill battery of all places. Once I got rid of that, they were gone.

@Pumpkin Pie: find where they are coming in and then set your baits there. Hopefully they aren't in your walls.

We've had lots of problems in our new house with tiny black ants. The main colony was in the attic, and they were in the walls. We tried traps, bait, and homemade borax traps for months. It would help for a while, then they'd show back up. We finally had to set off multiple fogger bombs in the attic and crawlspace. They show back up on occasion, and we use the liquid bait as soon as we see them. Hopefully they're not as bad in your house!

I second the Terro liquid baits. It does take bit for them to bring it back to their nest to wipe them out but they work. And then of course containing any sources of food (we usually keep a messy kitchen) and blocking off any points of entry. We've had them a few times and it's gross!

I tried the cinnamon tricks and such and the ants didn't really care.

My mom has always had problems with ants and when they start coming in she mixes a little corn syrup and Borax and puts some about the size of a quarter or two on a small strip of cardboard and they go crazy for it and die right away. It doesn't take care of the nest but it works better than the baits. Don't have it where pets or kids can get it though. I don't think Botax is that bad but I wouldn't want a dog licking it.