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there's a continuous line of small ants (not fire ants) caravanning a stoop in my carport where my son likes to sit and contemplate life. he finds them annoying and wants them destroyed. i've pointed out that they are thankfully outside and outnumber us by the billions. i've tried a simple spray on the steps but it merely detours them slightly.
any ideas on how i might reroute them to take a different path to wherever they are going in the back yard? using the other, people-less side of the house would be fine by me.
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Ants will always find the shortest most efficient path. Unfortunately your son will have to deal with that evolutionary feature, unless you can provide a more direct route for them.
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Magnifying glass ?
Shoes ?
Seriously if he is responsible for slaughtering them personally, he may tire of the exercise and learn to live with them.
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....it is easier to reroute Uncles......a box of donuts.....
....they make that ant chaulk......which my parents used to use.....not sure how safe it is but you use it to draw around the stoop route and they ants will walk around it.......
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....never mind.....apparently that Chinese ant chalk is no longer legal in U.S. and toxic.....
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I use
Terro Liquid Ant Baits and would put one on their path where they are coming
from.
It's takes a couple of days and is not permanent but they generally work well. From what I understand, they take the poison back to their nest
northern california coast
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Terro with boric acid is good. OR just buy boric acid, mix it with whatever food they like (usually it's sweet or protein), and put that on the path. Google "boric acid ants"
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Vinegar or lemon juice will disrupt the scent trails. You'll probably have to keep doing that for a while to break their habit. Worth a try if you want to avoid lethal solutions.
