For the first time in 25 years, we have ants. They are coming out of the electric light switch box in our kitchen. What is effective to get rid of them? I am concerned about spraying Raid into the box because I don't want to get zapped. Any ideas appreciated. TIA

This is a kind of down-home YouTube video but it seemed to work. Picked up some yesterday and will let you know as soon as I see any result or conclusion good or bad.

If you don't have pets then you can sprinkle AMDRO around the ant path. They take that stuff back to the nest andf it kills queens and all. Usually gets rid of within a day or two and they don't come back.You can spray Raid around the box just don't soak it.

I've used the Optigard gel ant bait. WAY more effective than the bait stuff I bought at the big-box store.

They swarm it and eat it up and take it back to the nest and after a week or so no more ants.

Got it on the interwebs.

Apparently there is a bumper crop of ants this year. The Terro product in the video you posted was recommended to me and so far it works amazingly well. Takes about 24 hours for results.

I bought a 6-pack of Terro and will distribute the traps tomorrow. Will see what happens.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Terro works great. Note though, it may take multiple applications to get rid of all of them. I have had better luck with liquid form more than the bait traps.

i would also spread some granular ant killer around your foundation.

my brother owned a house one time that ants had invaded the roof of his porch.
he had a HUGE project in no time, replacing the rafters/joists and roof ceiling sections those little bastages had chewed up !
those things need gone now !

As an aside from the great tips posters have given heres what I have- when it gets wickedly rainy out, thats when for us historically, the ants look for dry cover/colony relocation. Everytime we get a few big heavy rains here, this usuly leads to the "invasion". It doesn't happen every year, but probably every 3 years. What I found ULTRA effective- brake cleaner. Take 10 minutes, follow the little $hits around, try to find the source. Then I start there, applying liberally to the entire party(it pretty much kills them on contact), and once they've all perished, spray the entire "highway" they move along. They rely heavily on scent. If you spray em and don't kill them all, the survivors can't pick up the scent and abandon the project. I typically clean the path again with an all purpose cleaner or window cleaner to further thwart any future migrations. Works every time. I love the smell of Berkibile in the morning.

Are they the big, 3/4" long, black CARPENTER ANTS. Those are TOUGH to deal with. Really have to become an expert. Cant just spray to kill them. They'll move deeper into your house and destroy it like termites. You have to bait them.

The little tiny "kitchen" ants. Spray for them. I investested in profressional sprayer (asll metal and brass pump tank and wand, $$$) and REAL pest control poison. I spray once a year and they ants tell all their buddies to stay away. The stuff is INCREDIBLE.

I've had and dealt with both sucessfully.

doyourownpestcontrol.com


DONT use pest control companies. They come to your house to spray sugar water so they have a joib for life!!!!!!!

In addition to the Terro traps I use this stuff to spray around the entire foundation every spring when the ants show up.

Some years two applications but most years one will do it. The brand name is Sevin.

https://www.amazon.com/Sevin-100530122-GardenTech-Insect-Concentrate/dp/B075V9C8LY/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.abea0cd6-ddf4-4d67-9781-9599c1d665fc%3Aamzn1.sym.abea0cd6-ddf4-4d67-9781-9599c1d665fc&cv_ct_cx=sevin+insecticide&keywords=sevin+insecticide&pd_rd_i=B075V9C8LY&pd_rd_r=292dfa70-ef71-4651-aad1-aeb81d7749d0&pd_rd_w=wSRMN&pd_rd_wg=vDTjf&pf_rd_p=abea0cd6-ddf4-4d67-9781-9599c1d665fc&pf_rd_r=CWKBA92CXNSE2N1QBGB9&qid=1690576097&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-4-0cc546a2-7bf2-4d0e-b4ad-0f0d9092fdfc-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1

we have lived in this home 30 years now. We live right in the middle of farmer fields up intel 5 years ago we never had an ant problem. now I swear we live on top of an ant farm?? and I'm coming to see that most of not all of the neighbors have ant problems. my wife has started using this liquid bait 5 years ago. I don't believe it makes any difference whatsoever!!!!!! matter of fact all I notice is more ants !!! and they are never gone !! I don't care if the stuff is out over a month. I finely started just spraying the hundreds / thousands of them and cleaning it up on the spot !!! my wife argues not to (you know why) but after 3 months of them literally crawling up your legs {they love the bathroom and all around the toilet) I'm done with this junk!!! I have just started putting the Terro Multi pur. outdoor all around the foundation. Fingers crossed !! but not holding my breath!!!

If that is Sevin dust then it works. Use it for wasps, hornets and yellowjacket nests. Best to dust or sprinkle it on and around the entrance of the nests or where they are entering say a wall, etc., They walk through the Sevin dust and carry it into the nest on the return that takes out others in the nest or when leaving and it eliminates them away from the nest. It really works and most times in less than 24 hours. Don't use it near where children or pets may get it on them. For the ants my wife brought a spray bottle of STEM that claims to "Kills ANDT, ROACHES, FLIES" and sure enough early this morning my son had placed a box of brownies on top of a 5-gallon water cooler bottle and somehow they found it and had a train of small kitchen ants on the wall next to it. Grabbed the STEM and one spray and all dead in an instant. Couldn't believe it worked that quickly and the STEM bottle reads "SAFE for use around KIDS + PETS". Only problem is in the past week or so that my wife started to use it in a day or two afterwards they come back so that means the ant nest is still alive. Have the liquid TERRO ant bait out since very early this morning after finding them with the brownies and no sign of them as of this afternoon I think the TERRO might be the answer again

Agree and almost an identical situation as we've been in our house for over 40-years and it's a 165+ year-old farmhouse still surrounded by active farmland. We've had ants but never like this. When I was at Lowe's the other day it was like the pandemic buying of toilet paper for ant bait and ant elimination products. All of the customers there were saying the same thing, "ants were never this bad". I'm sure it has nothing to do with the location (farmland/farming) but there's something strange going on everywhere? The view from the back deck a couple of weeks ago bringing in the cover crop of winter wheat. Enjoy watching farming and not having to do it After this it was straw bailing for several days. And now back to "THEM!" some will know this and just be glad it's not THEM!

The terro will likely work.
A small town druggest gave me the best advice 30+ years ago.
Boric Acid Powder. He sold me a large bottle for $1.79. I've used it per his advice of figuring out the type of ant and either mix it with sugar water or cooking oil.
Small black ants in the kitchen get the oil mix and outdoor black or carpenter ants get the sugar mix.
Yellow jackets or meat bees get it sprinkled on a little chicken or tuna.
The mix gets placed next to a trail (or on a branch of a tree) on a small piece of tin foil bent into a shallow "pool" with the edges bent down to the ground someplace pets won't get it.
About a week later the entire nest swarm hive will be gone.

I have tried the liquid terro stuff and found you will have a trail of ants visiting it and then it slows but never gets rid of them. I have even put a new 2nd bait down after they consumed all the liquid out of the first one. Tried Amdro ant block and they investigate it then walk away and avoid it. Ant powder/dust works if they walk in it but avoid it otherwise. I have heard that boric acid powder mixed with something the ants like works but haven't tried it yet. Windex works well to kill them.

UPDATE: I put down 4 Terro liquid traps. 3 out of 4 had very little action and one had a lot of visitors. It could be that there aren't many ants in those locations. I'll wait until the liquid is used up before replacing them.