Octania

Not the big beasty carpenter black ants

I was wondering why bits of foam insulation board were appearing by the millions in the corner. Cat? no... Mice? no... the other day i was looking for pulleys, and WAY up in the far corner, just under the attic space.... a few teeeensy ants. like 3-4mm long.

Why would they want to live in my garage attic. No food up there. Some useless old factory service manuals. No water. WTH?

What can be done to convince them to leave?
Boric acid and / or diatomaceous earth around the outdoor areas? Spray of Death inside?

oldcutlass

The home defense chemical killers are good and are the Boric Acid bait trays, Malathion works out doors and Amdro. Good luck.

Leadfoot

Several species of ants chew up rigid foam insulation and cellulose... not for food, but to create nests. What you found are probably new hatchlings from a nearby nest made in the foam insulation. Since there is no food for them near the nest, they need to travel somewhere else (outside?) to get food. I use a product called Suspend SC as a perimeter spray (inside and out) around my garages. It leaves an invisible, odorless residue that kills bugs when they cross it, and it lasts at least a couple of months. It's reasonably safe stuff for humans and larger animals, but very toxic to insects, and much more effective than bug bombs, boric acid or dynamite.

I started using it to reduce the spider population in the garage (nothing else had worked for me), and I no longer have spiders or any other bugs inside.

stellar

Shoot em or bring in some bigger ants to chase them away, They bigger ones are easier to shoot. Maybe they are looking for a winter home. Seriously I would watch them (they seem to always travel in a path). Spray them in the nest and the trails they follow.

sixtyfour

use the bait type ant control, they take awhile, but do eventually work

Oldsguy

I had a problem in the house I bought a few months back when we moved in. We used a two pronged approach, bait traps (little tins with windows) inside and a general purpose killing spray outside on the actual nests or locations where we could see them congregating. It took about a week to eradicate them. The traps are still in the corners on the floor, they aren't too visible and are insurance against future attacks.

hookem horns

Amdro is great for fire ants and I've had good luck with Enforcer as a bait for other types. Look for some sort of moisture they are getting into, may not be a full-blown leak.

1969w3155

I use Terro bait with pretty good results.

Jetstarjim

I'm glad I run across this string. We have ants that I just can't seem to get rid of. I've tried about everything at Lowes and am about to resort to a professional. You won't see the first sign of them for a few weeks, then the next thing I know there is a trail of dog food walking across the kitchen floor. I'm going to try the Suspend and see what happens.

Lady72nRob71

This works great, along with talstar (bifen is the generic) or cyfluthrin.
Doyourownpestcontrol and domyownpestcontrol dot com are both great sites for buying this pro grade stuff for home use. They even sell termidor if you have a termite issue and rat control stuff (sans guns...).
Knowledgable folks at both places, too.
I have been using these pro products for years with great success. Just read the label and apply common sense while applying and it is all safe.
Forget the local big box store sprays - bugs drink it up during happy hour and love it.

Leadfoot

That's where I buy, too. They have everything that you can't get at the big box stores (stuff that actually works, and that professionals actually use), along with anything you might need to use the products effectively and safely.

I agree about the stuff sold at the big box stores... big retail bucks for ineffective, watered-down products. You might as well light dollar bills on fire and throw them at the bugs.

Railguy

X2
railguy

Redog

I like the Boric Acid method myself, but I have used the plastic ant traps with success too

Railguy

With Terro the ants take it back to the nest and it eventually kills them all. I get it at Lowes
railguy

Lady72nRob71

I had recently tried an mosquito kill experiment using Bifen IT a couple days ago after my quarterly general spraying around the foundation, windows, garage etc.
I used the pump sprayer and sprayed most of the back yard grass, bushes, low trees, patio, etc. I mostly sprayed undersides of leaves, furniture, patio cover, etc where the pests rest for the day. For the whole day I used 10 gallons of spray (10oz of Bifien).
Now, instead of my legs being swarmed by 25 mosquitoes within a minute, I might see 1 or two or none. It is even safe to stand in the grass now! Not sure how long the results will last, but it works great now. Even my neighbors notice a reduction of them.
It is all approved for use this way per the label, just do not use on plants with edible fruits or veggies.

While this is a bit off topic from the OP, I just wanted to let you all know what these good chemicals can be used for. And for the price, WELL worth it and will last a long time.
Makes working on the car more enjoyable, too!

Octania

Quite the track of beasties in the garage today
I never got around to poisoning them.

ready to try Terro / Borax with sugar water now
I have 20 mule team Borax on hand for brazing needs...

Cutting the trees and weeds away from the outside of the garage to see if/where they are going in/out is no fun.

damn critters is soiling my one remaining '68 ribless shroud 398248.

1969w3155

Terro should work, I use it.

ELY442

Get a Anteater as a pet.

Octania

ELY442

LOL, I love those old cartoons.

Oldsragger

Dont kill them, its always nice with new friends

83hurstguy

You'll want to make sure those aren't carpenter ants, before you don't have much of a garage structure left. Neighbors got them in the attic, it was not a cheap bill for the structural repairs.

Greg Rogers

This looks like what I have in garage and had in kitchen! Terrible. They seem to be gone in the house but are now in garage. I used Terre bait in house and it worked but took a couple baitings. Friend have commented about this year being bad for ants. Mosquitoes are also bad, but they always are here.

tru-blue 442

Ortho Orthene is all I use. They will be gone in a matter of hours.
Smells terrible but is like crack to them.

Octania

20 mule team borax and sugar water was very effective

Small dish with ramps to get at it
very few left a couple days later

went and spent $7 on the same chemical in plastic dishes at the store, put one inside, one outside.

Had I known 'twas that easy I would have done 'em in last year.