ants and roaches

Post by **bamboo** » April 26, 2007, 5:23 am

Sawadee I have a Idea for ants try boric acid powder - mix with hot water and sugar (like for humming birds) first get the 3 cups water hot add 1 cup sugar - mix it up good then add one big spoon of boric acid powder (this is poison BE CAREFUL) mix it in good. pour sweet mixture out on plate and put in a safe place where no children or pets can get at it. Top of refrig is good or back of cabinet, make little bridge so ants can get on plate. The ants will find it and take it back to feed the queen and the ant larve end of story... Ants Gone... kills them all. Put extra juice away in bottle for next time. Choke dee Khup[/img]

Post by **Alagrl** » April 26, 2007, 6:51 am

I'll second the boric acid powder solution -- I've used it for ants and for those nasty outdoor roaches that try to get inside every time the weather changes hot to cold. Outside, I just sprinkle it around the perimeter of the house and across the threshold of the French doors.

Post by **Doc** » April 26, 2007, 9:39 am

Boric acid does work - no doubt about it.

However, for instant results to get the little buggers that you see running around, any spray hygenic or disinfectant cleaner will do the job instantly. They curl up and die the second that the stuff hits them. Find the hole that they are running to and spray the stuff in there and it gets them in there as well.

Where ever you have water or a food source - you will have the little buggers. Routine wiping down counters and what not with the hygenic cleaner or disinfectant will greatly reduce their presence. Nothing will totally eliminate them, unfortunately.

Post by **Mainer** » April 26, 2007, 9:52 am

Chalk from a blackboard will kill them also. No idea why. Maybe dehydrates them, but whatever it is, it does the job and not poisionous (that I know of).

Does the word "blackboard" date me? I dont think they have used BLACKboard in many decades.

I had seen a woman in a shop near me, scraping something on the floor near the front door, so I stopped and asked her "what you do" and some did some sign language and she gave me a piece of the chalk. At least it looks like chalk. hmmmm.

valentine · Post by **valentine** » April 26, 2007, 10:15 am

Its a special chalk for ants. It is poisonous so don't let the kids play with it. draw a line with it and the ants won't cross it. It will kill them if they touch it, but mostly its a keep away product, rather than an exterminator. In most Thai style supermarkets or stalls, 5 bht a packet of two.

Post by **Mainer** » April 26, 2007, 10:24 am

Thanks, Val for clearing that up for me and informing the others. What the lady gave me was a rectangular bar shaped white chalk.

Yesterday I see stopped for some food and I could see the white lines scribbled all over the legs of the vendor's food preparation table. No ants in my food, that I could see. It must work.

Post by **Doc** » April 26, 2007, 11:32 am

Mainer wrote:Does the word "blackboard" date me? I dont think they have used BLACKboard in many decades.

Walk into any government school and you will blackboards. Virtually all of them are in terrible condition and difficult for any student to see what is written on them - much less even more difficult to write on. Another reason for the failure of the Thai education system... But, that is another rant...

Post by **arjay** » April 26, 2007, 12:44 pm

I've noticed they don't like and won't cross ordinary white powder, like chalk or talcum powders, but as Val says there is a special pesticide in chalk form (a stick) which they won't cross and which kills them. I usually track down where they are coming from and where they are going to and then encircle each end of the trail.

I say "chalk it up to experience"!!

A previous GF used to stand the table legs in a small dish stood in a larger one part filled with water, so they couldn't come up the legs of the table!

Post by **fremmel** » June 12, 2007, 8:53 am

A follow-up on Banpaeng's post last year about Stedfast 4 SC bug spray from Homemart. We started having ant problems too and tried the canned sprays around the doors and windows without much effect. And I didn't want to use too much in the kitchen. Found this thread and tried the Stedfast but I was a little afraid to use it in the house so I sprayed around the base of the doors and outside walls. That helped a lot but the rain came and some of the ants came back and they never did completely leave the kitchen. So I looked on the net and found out the stuff is pretty well known and is actually listed for use in food storage areas and as an inside wall spray for mosquitoes. It's even used to soak bedroom mosquito nets in so I figured it was reasonably safe. I picked up one of those 8 liter wand sprayers and mixed up a batch. We cleared out the kitchen cabinets, covered the pots and pans and counter tops and sprayed inside the cabinets and around the base and tops of the walls in the kitchen. Outside I sprayed a circle around the doors and windows and a band around the walls of the house about 6 or 7 feet up so the rain wouldn't wash it off. For good measure I sprayed the garden and garden wall as well. About 4 liters all together.

That did the trick. The ants decreased immediately and even the stragglers were gone after 3 or 4 days. It's been a couple of weeks and they haven't been back. It's listed as suppose to work for 9 months but should be re-applied after 6. We'll see. A bit of work at first but a lot better than having to continually put out ant baits or powders, etc.