Tiny Sugar Ants

I have these small beige ants in my pantry. They are about 1/8" long. I have caulked around cupboards, put down new liners, everything is stored in Rubbermaid, Tupperware, and sealed bags. Today I took a can of sauce out of pantry and the ants were everywhere on it, and in the granola bar box as well.

What can I use to get rid of them? They are nowhere else in the house. The cat food is now stored in a container in the garage as well. I even used Windex thinking it would de-grease. Help.

By Joyce Trujllo from Turlock, CA

Answers:

Tiny Sugar Ants

I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but I just read this person's response right before I read your plea for help and it sounds like this might be helpful for you. I live in North Carolina and I use borax. I don't know if it would work for you or not, but here's the other person's post that I mentioned. (notice your both for CA.)

"RE: Infestation Of Tiny Ants

The type you describe is probably "Argentine". They are a big pain where I live in California. They came from South America, but were accidentally introduced to the USA (plus many other areas) where they've thrived. The colony/nest often spans entire city blocks underground, and out here they're also all related so there's no inter-colony warfare to reduce numbers like elsewhere.

They usually start sending "scouts" into houses in search of food (or water, if it's a dry climate) from late Spring through Fall, and invade (often with a double-size queen) if they find anything attractive. They're not poisonous as far as I recall, rarely bite, taste extremely hot to most animals, and (weirdly) are the cobweb/daddy-long leg spider's favorite food.

As far as getting rid of them is concerned, I've tried every darn trick I read about, because I don't dare use anything that might trigger my (severe) asthma or hurt my cats. As far as I know, almost nothing works, they're super-hardy little buggers. I finally found a brand with safe ingredients called "Poison-Free Ant Killer" that works really well. I spray any trails I find back to their entry points, they die instantly and those spots seem to stay ant-free for another year or two. Their website seems to be Saferbrand.com There's a useful FAQ about what's in it there, if the person you know is curious. Hope this was useful."

Posted on 05/06/2009

By the way, I check and the web site that he/she lists is valid and looks like a great site. They boast their products as being organic. Gotta love that if it's true. Good luck. (07/21/2009)

By Shelly Cole

Tiny Sugar Ants

I live in a wooded area and I get those little ants as well. What I did was get some sidewalk chalk and crushed it up till its a powder and then I put a line of chalk on my window sills my doorways anywhere they will get in and it stops them. I got this idea from my sister when I called her and asked her what she was doing she said she was playing with an ant by drawing a line and the ant was not crossing over it no matter which way she drew the line simple huh and it works. Try it. (07/23/2009)

By margaret spurlock

Tiny Sugar Ants

I had these things that sounded like what you have. Mine were maybe a tiny bit smaller than 1/8th in and very light tan. I live in a very old house and the caulking around the sink was cracked. They would come through these tiny holes and get all over my dishes. They seemed to like meat and grease.

I also found them in my living room, climbing from the wood window frames onto my bird's perch, with the seeds and whatnot on the bottom from stuff she dropped. I used Raid Ant and Roach spray. Got it into the cracks and soaked the wood underneath. They were a pain. (07/24/2009)

By christine M. Thayer

Tiny Sugar Ants

I too live in a wooded area and usually when we have a lot of rain out come these ants. I found the product called Terro at Home Depot. It's a small bottle of poison. There are homemade versions, but this is not expensive and it works. It works quicker when you find their source of entry into your home. It's usually near a window. It's just a few drops left on pieces of cardboard and they will be attracted to it and die.

(07/24/2009)

By Heather Krucker