# Teenie weenie ants...



## Mini100 (Feb 28, 2010)

We have loads of these pesky little things and just wondered if anyone knows where they come from? Got up a couple of days ago and they were everywhere! All over my kitchen work tops, in cupboards etc...also had lots of even smaller ones in bags of sugar and flour...any ides which is the best way to get rid of them?
Thanks


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## Daveh (Sep 3, 2010)

Urgh, i hate ants!

I remember my mum once had loads in her kitchen and the sight of seeing them parading around in the sugar bag always makes me paranoid about looking into sugar bags to this day! lol

You could try ant spray, but obviously you'd have to take out all your food etc then give it a good clean out once you'd finished. I think the most important thing is to find out where the horrible little things are coming from. If you can find where they are coming from, you can block their little hole.

Davey xx


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

keep the sugar in the fridge..flour might not be ants but weevils.... toss the lot and get new stuff and keep it in an airtight container. next go to mercadona or vidal and get ant traps from raid and place the in the cupboards (the ants get covered in the poison and carry it back to the nest where it kills all the ants in the nest. Replace them every two months (they only cost 4.50 for a pack of two). that should solve it


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

I was thinking of a small nuclear device but then I was advised that they, along with cockroaches, would survive.
I was thinking of inviting their queen to dinner to discuss the situation but I was advised that she would arrive with a 10,000 ant entourage. Talk about eating you out of house & home!
Why can't you find an anteater when you need one?????


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

JBODEN said:


> I was thinking of a small nuclear device but then I was advised that they, along with cockroaches, would survive.
> I was thinking of inviting their queen to dinner to discuss the situation but I was advised that she would arrive with a 10,000 ant entourage. Talk about eating you out of house & home!
> Why can't you find an anteater when you need one?????


Hahaha

I think all the anteaters went to grape picking in France 'cos the rates are better!!

As for getting rid of ants - I've never been able to, although they never seem to get into biscuits or sugar in the kitchen. They are only interested in getting into the walls by crawling through the plug holes!! They did it before we had the kitchen remodelled, then after virtually rebuilding the kitchen with new tiles, new cupboards, new floor, new plugs - everything, they are back again this year!!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

I've always found that the hot water kills them when you put the sugar in your cup ! :clap2:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> I've always found that the hot water kills them when you put the sugar in your cup ! :clap2:


and they add just a little protein


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> I've always found that the hot water kills them when you put the sugar in your cup ! :clap2:


Stir well, they don't dissolve easily!


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> and they add just a little protein


Probably more nutritious than a BigMac


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

JBODEN said:


> Probably more nutritious than a BigMac


sadly probably true



does anyone know of a way to stop weevils in the first place?

I mean if you don't want/like the airtight container idea



I have seen some strips advertised on tele which you stick on the inside of the kitchen cupboard door - in the ad when you open the cupboard again it's got moths stuck to it!!



I wonder if that would work for weevils?


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## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

We also have a problem with lots of ants. We think it is because we have a lot of Bougainvillea in the garden. 

To keep them away from the house outside we use ant spray.

For inside the house: Empty all cupboards and clean thoroughly, checking all containers. Make sure everything is sealed (you would be surprised what they like). Don't leave any food out uncovered.

One thing I have found successful is cloves. The ants don't go near cloves. I put them in my kitchen cupboards and drawers and put some in a shallow container on the worktop.

We have been here for 6 years and every summer it is a battle between them and us.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DunWorkin said:


> We also have a problem with lots of ants. We think it is because we have a lot of Bougainvillea in the garden.
> 
> To keep them away from the house outside we use ant spray.
> 
> ...


Will get cloves asap to put in all plug holes!!!


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Will get cloves asap to put in all plug holes!!!


... and in the winter, when the ants are hibernating, you can take the cloves out and make some mulled wine.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> sadly probably true
> 
> does anyone know of a way to stop weevils in the first place?
> 
> ...


Interesting - I checked this out and apparently the weevil eggs are in the grains that the flour is made from. The only way to prevent them hatching is to freeze the product for a few days, and this kills them. The eggs and the weevils are harmless to eat. 

WikiAnswers - How do you kill flour weevils from my kitchen cabients
As for the strips, I personally wouldn't want to put pesticide anywhere near my food supply.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Interesting - I checked this out and apparently the weevil eggs are in the grains that the flour is made from. The only way to prevent them hatching is to freeze the product for a few days, and this kills them. The eggs and the weevils are harmless to eat.
> 
> WikiAnswers - How do you kill flour weevils from my kitchen cabients
> As for the strips, I personally wouldn't want to put pesticide anywhere near my food supply.


oh wow - so the weevils come home with the flour?!!

they might be harmless but I wouldn't really want them in my cakes!


I remember years ago on a month-long 'reccy' here, we drove both ways so I took some food back to the UK, including flour

within a day or so of returning my cupboards & just about everything in them was infested


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Mini100 said:


> We have loads of these pesky little things and just wondered if anyone knows where they come from? Got up a couple of days ago and they were everywhere! All over my kitchen work tops, in cupboards etc...also had lots of even smaller ones in bags of sugar and flour...any ides which is the best way to get rid of them?
> Thanks


The teeny weeny ants came from Argentina! They now form a giant colony right across Europe and are non-aggressive. Read this, it's fascinating:
Giant invasion of Argentine ants conquers Europe - Science, News - The Independent

You will never get rid of them but the best way to keep them at bay is to spray Cucal along the skirtings, around doorways and underneath kitchen cupboards every month. Keep everything in the fridge or in sealed containers and keep all your floors and surfaces free from crumbs or spilt juice. 

We still get them occasionally even despite all these measures - they sniff out the cat food. We've learnt to live with them, and they don't bite.


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## pixikins (Sep 28, 2011)

Problem with weevils et al is that putting stuff in an airtight container isn't always going to work - often the eggs are in the produce itself !!


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## chica de cocentaina (Jul 25, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> sadly probably true
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I use the sticky patches in my food cupboards...stuck to the inside of the doors...they work really well in catching the moths...before I used them we had an army of maggots/caterpillars crawling everywhere in the kitchen...OH used to do an nightly patrol to collect them off the ceiling. We havent seen any since we started using the patches. They are cheap and IMO work very well....oh and we haven't been poisoned...yet!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

chica de cocentaina said:


> I use the sticky patches in my food cupboards...stuck to the inside of the doors...they work really well in catching the moths...before I used them we had an army of maggots/caterpillars crawling everywhere in the kitchen...OH used to do an nightly patrol to collect them off the ceiling. We havent seen any since we started using the patches. They are cheap and IMO work very well....oh and we haven't been poisoned...yet!


I hate them!! In 8 years I'd never seen them til this year. As well as the sticky patches my cleaner suggested spraying the actual maggots with fly spray and also in the space between the top of the cupboards and the ceiling. 
Just make sure there's no food lying around when you do it.


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## gabbsilva (Dec 13, 2011)

*Easy solution*

A very easy way is to make a little wall around the existing hole with white pepper ... yes, white pepper. It has done miracles for thousands of years.
You can also use vinegar to make get lost, as they smell their way on e after the other and vinegar has the power to clean their tracks. Try it!!!
Regards, Gabriel (ex-perth)


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