Killing Ants

[heehaw]

i spent a little time yesterday, finally spraying bifen IT around the outside of my house: so hopefully, if it works as well as folks have told me, we should see a difference in the ants and spiders/spider webs around the house..had to catch a day when no GRANDkids were around and the wind was calm.
heehaw

 

[LMTC]

It will kill any trying to enter your house, but not those already inside. An exterminator will spray inside too, and there is a dilution of that product that is relatively safe in living areas.

 

[heehaw]

"It will kill any trying to enter your house, but not those already inside. An exterminator will spray inside too, and there is a dilution of that product that is relatively safe in living areas"

i may spray inside later: but i think i need to remove a few of the vents in the soffit, an spray inside that area: thats where the ants go to when they get behind the siding: the other option is to drill small holes in the siding ever 5-6 ft and spray behind that way. that would get rid of the nest they have made behind the siding and would probably solve the problem.
heehaw

 

[Richard]

I can't remember my chemistry but I remember my buddy's grandpa using some fast evaporating chemical that was heavier than air. It would quickly sink and displace the oxygen in the nest. Probably illegal stuff. I think he said a cup of fluid per mound did the trick.

Anyone remember their chemistry for a suitable substance?

I've wondered about that and wondered if a block of dry ice would do anything? As I recall, as it sublimates (converts from solid to gas) it might sink / soak into their mound and possibly suffocate them?

Here's something I found on a website though its intent is for human breathing

"The sublimated Carbon Dioxide gas will sink to low areas and replace oxygenated air. This could cause suffocation if breathed exclusively"

Any thoughts?

 

[cisco]

Used all sorts of stuff, over the years (27) in S.C., and diazonium was great, but you can't get it now. Amdro works, albeit slowly, and some mounds just don't seem to respond. As mentioned by prior poster, "Once and Done" is effective, and also expensive. It is very easy to use. Sprinkle it lightly around a mound (try not to disturb the occupants), and walk away. A few days later - ants are history. It also seems, as advertised, to suppress ants in that immediate area for a few months.