Habitat - Indoor :: Ants?! Ug. Really? grr

[sflemin2]

So I have an ant problem IN my basking area! What do I do? I found about a hundred dead ones INSIDE of my basking area (under the tile...I used an underwater gravel filter and glued tile on it). I cannot build a new basking area. Im too poor lol. Plus, Id rather get rid of the ants any way. What should I do?

Keep in mind, I cant put anything under or behind the tank that a ferret could reach. Xanders favorite place to hang out is under the turtle tank (he likes to watch them). I dont even know where they are coming from!!!!

[shortt]

If they are dead grab the vacuum cleaner and suck them up. If they aren't dead what I've used in my house (with cats) has been Raid liquid ant bait (only about 5 bucks) http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/059 ... eviews.htm

What I have done is take cardboard and tape. Tear the cardboard up then put the tape on the cardboard. Put a drop or two of this bait on the tape. Its a mix sugar and borax in just the right amount. You could hide these little piece of cardboard around (I don't think in the tank would be the best of ideas though). They will attract the ants and they will bring the food back. I have had extreme success with this method in my house. A word of warning though. If you set up these traps the ant problem will get much worse for about day as word spread thats there is tasty tasty food.

Every year the ants invade my shower for some reason (I really wish I knew why). I started off with maybe 30 ants in it. Put some of this stuff on the walls (its a shower it will wash off). 30 minutes later the number doubled, then tripped then probably had a few hundred ants in my shower as they all munched on this stuff. A few hours went by and the number increased still. Then by like 11pm at night there were like ten left (besides the ones that got a little too excited and got stuck in the stuff). After I cleaned the shower they didn't come back.

[sflemin2]

I put up with them every year too! They are such a pain!!!!!!! Where do you live? I am in WV.

I have some borax but I haven't used it because I am afraid the ferret will get into it.. but I think your idea will work. I wish I could find where they are coming in!!!

[Love of Animals]

If you can't find the raid liquid ant killer there is Terro liquid ant killer too. Same thing as the Raid. My ants used to like the Raid till I got the Terro. They are picky when it comes to their poison. Every year I would get infested with ants they were everywhere. For the Terro you just put a drop on a piece of cardboard and put it in their trail. I checked because of my dogs. If the dogs ate one I was told there isn't enough borax in there to do them harm since they are much larger then ants. I put them all over outside the base of my house too. Within 2 days no more ants inside or out. Just don't kill the ants you want them to bring the food home. My neighbor had a problem worse than mine. I went over and baited his house for two day morning and night and they where gone. He was amazed. If you can't find it in the store you can order it through /terro's web site. It's very cheap and will last you a long time.

[sflemin2]

Yeah..I think I need to treat the perimeter of my house outside for sure. I am going to attach the cardboard traps high on the tank stand. I will go to Lowes and see what I can find. Thanks for your help guys! I hope they leave my turtles alone soon !

[psumichael]

Termidor works excellent on ants. It's expensive though. Usually used as a termite treatment, and widely regarded as the best one around for that purpose, but it also works great against ants. You can buy it on eBay.

[steve]

I think people use grits to naturally get rid of ants. The ants eat them and they expand in their stomachs.

[sflemin2]

Grits?! Thats awesome lol

[shortt]

Well the ants have now invaded my turtles basking area Did you ever get rid of yours?

[sflemin2]

Yea...some how. We put some traps up around the house where we thought they were coming in. I sprayed some stuff outside too. I think what helped a lot though was I lowered the water a few inches so it wasnt touching the basking area what so ever.. they seem to stay out of there as long as its dry. Do you have a pic of your basking area? Whats it made of? Mine is an undergravel water filter with tile glued on it (I am poor lol) so they got in the grooves where the water was standing. Freakin ants. So annoying!

[shortt]

I managed to get rid of the ants in another part of my house so I'm going to put some traps around the tank tonight (on the outside). I have a spot picked out if I need to place it on the inside a place where she can't get to. The only wet part of the basking area is when she climbs out of the water but I agree the ants are looking for the water. I just added some more sand last night to raise the basking area up a little bit. Shes on her rock that she likes

[sflemin2]

LOL! Mine does that! Well, just Sylvie. Theres a raised part where a tube use to connect to the filter and she balances on it every single day.

Your baby is adorable btw!

Are your lights up in a way you can move them? Maybe move one a little closer to the ramp so it will dry faster until you can get the ants under control? Mine dries fast because its tile. Where are the ants actually at? Underneath or on top?