Sectorgame

A few weeks ago I noticed some ants in my apartment. Just the odd one going up the wall now and again. I didn't think much of it at first because I don't have any food or sugary things in my cuboards. Any food that IS in there is in unopened packs. Well, now that I am back I have noticed they are still there and have increased in frequency. There is about 3-4 at any given time going up and down the wall. I've noticed where they are coming/going from - a small crack behind the kitchen tiles. But I have no idea where they are exiting/arriving from at the other end of the wall (they are going up and down from the crack/opening behind the tiles and then disappearing behind the door frame, something I cannot seal) - They are tiny, about half the size of regular ants, and brown/reddish in colour. I've tried clearing out my cuboards a few times (and HAVE found a few in there too, just walking around aimlessly scavenging). But I am at a loss as to how to fix this problem. Do I start killling them one by one on the wall? I've always assumed this will only bring more. Do I seal the crack behind the tile, and what do I use to seal it with? Or do I buy a bait kit and wait for them to eat it (keep in mind I live in a studio, not exactly much of an air flow...).

While they are moving around, I've yet to see them in large numbers. It's hard to say if there is a nest IN the flat or not. They could be just passing through from someone elses flat?

Ant workers follow a scent trail laid down by other workers to locate food sources and/or find their way back to the nest (woo A Bug's Life!), so I'd assume that's what they're doing. It'd be hard to say exactly which end they're coming from without any more evidence, but my guess would be that their nest is somewhere outside, and that they're making food runs; we've had little black ants parading into our front hallway in past summers. The usual little ant bait is probably out, since you're talking about a vertical surface. (I guess you could try taping it on the wall, but who knows how well that would work. ) You could try spraying a bit of ant killer along their path, which should take care of any that walk across it; I think some brands can even spread the poison to the entire colony.

As for sealing that crack, I'm no home improvement expert, but I'd imagine that some sort of caulking would be your best bet.

Is the crack where their nest is?

By crack I mean a tiny hole in the corner at the very top. Don't think there is a nest behind there, unless it's a tiny one.

Killing them won't do much, natch. I've stayed in a few places - namely in hot climates - where there have been ants, and I think you really need to either wipe them out at the source (probably impossible) or seal up that crack. Polyfilla, maybe?

The other thing, natch, is that you'll need to be massively anal retentive about cleaning - even a speck of food will get their attention.

Tho, if you're renting(?), can you call the landlady/landlord and get them to sort it?

This thread reminds me of this:
http://failbook.failblog.org/2010/08/17 ... -of-shame/

Luckily they aren't black ants, and there are very few of them at any given moment...

Hunter wrote:Luckily they aren't black ants, and there are very few of them at any given moment...

Fireants aren't black either.

I don't know how the Korean rental regulations work but You may want to contact the land lord of rental agent about the problem if things get worse.

I had a problem with them in my bathroom of all places!

Sprayed once in the place they were entering from with the persistent variety of Raid and they never came back.

ATM since I can't be bothered to rush off to the store and get ant spray, I've decided to just start spraying with various cleaning products around the walls and areas they seem to be transversing, killing every one of them I see, removing the evidence with a scented spray (so they can't smell the death) and hoping for the best.

karajorma wrote:I had a problem with them in my bathroom of all places!

Sprayed once in the place they were entering from with the persistent variety of Raid and they never came back.

Why? What could you do in the bathroom that would make it an attractive protein source for ants?

Hunter wrote:ATM since I can't be bothered to rush off to the store and get ant spray, I've decided to just start spraying with various cleaning products around the walls and areas they seem to be transversing, killing every one of them I see, removing the evidence with a scented spray (so they can't smell the death) and hoping for the best.

*fingers crossed*... *toes crossed*

Anyone know if you can clean off the trail that worker ants leave? It would be such a shame if they lost the trail and decided to check out that tasty ant killer nearby...

Wild Fragaria wrote:

karajorma wrote:I had a problem with them in my bathroom of all places!

Sprayed once in the place they were entering from with the persistent variety of Raid and they never came back.

Why? What could you do in the bathroom that would make it an attractive protein source for ants?

Brush my teeth.

It took a while but eventually I noticed that they were always after my toothbrush or the cap of the toothpaste tube.

Check!

Are you sure the toothpaste is not, in fact, squeezy cheese?