We had one reoccurance less than a week later, so we dumped another 5-6 gallons down. We haven’t had a problem since then (2+ months now).
Maybe I just moved the problem to my neighbors house, but for all intents and purposes, my problem is solved.
Terro liquid ant bait
You can get it from the super market.
This is about the only thing you’ll need.
Don’t bother with the little traps, this stuff is cheap and effective. Because they love it so much you can put it in a spot where you see ants. They will swarm it and make a big enough trail that you can track them back to where they are getting in and put some there, or even outside of the house where they are coming in.
I don’t know if it actually kills the nest (they are supposed to carry the borax laden sugar water back to the nest for Maximum Carnage, but honestly all I care is that they stop tracking across the floor and getting into the cat food). It is mostly harmless, your cats will ignore it (though it is sticky, so if they step on it or drag their tail through it you’ll want to wash it off for them - warm water is all it takes).
Good luck…
EDIT - Pretty sure this is the commercial version of RichVR’s boric acid trap above. You can find it in any hardware/home store.
Thanks for all the advice. My biggest concern is finding a way to treat the problem without hurting our cats. But I’d also love to figure out how in the world they’re getting in. Insects have never gotten into the house before (except earwigs which came in through the dryer vent which we fixed), so it’s a mystery how they’ve come to be here.
I don’t supposed those CSI lights will show the ant pheromone trail will they?
Get the Terro liquid bait traps already.
I don’t supposed those CSI lights will show the ant pheromone trail will they?
You watch too much science fiction.
Get the Terro stuff for inside and out. It helped me with my epic ant problem, also here in Michigan, earlier this year. And when I mean epic I mean finding trails heading to a couple crumbs somewhere getting swarmed and cleaning up over a thousand individual ants.
I did, got them all over along with the black hexagon shaped traps. How long does it take before they start dying?
Have you tried steppin’ on 'em?
If you put them where the ants are swarming and they’re eating it right now… you probably wont’ see any more tomorrow.
These are real little ants, so I have to use my finger and a vacuum. I’ve released 100+ souls from their chinitous little shells.