Strangely enough it was only afew minutes ago that I was reading an article online about a village in the Ardeche which gets invaded by MILLIONS of ants around this time of year - they get into all the electrical circuits and cause great damage. I think it was www.lefigaro.fr but I can't find it now. If I track the article down again, I'll post a link to it. Meanwhile, good luck and I hope you get it sorted soon.
They do a very good job of cleaning up. Every last crumb. Once the food source is gone, they will look elsewhere.
thanks Brian - cinnamon sounds a good idea and a nice smell! I can see their route - but not the point of entry - it's such an old building there's holes a plenty on the walls outside
as for the dog - he does eat the ants - plus the 1 in a thousand times he manages to catch a fly....
The other resolution that works is to put small piles of cinnamon near their point(s) of entry and on the route they use. I have used it on my beehives for years so know that it works. Clove oil does work, but ants seem to march over actual cloves. As for the dog, well ants are edible and eaten in many cultures so why not our canine companions?
Our cat is only brave about attacking us.
made me laugh... the poor dogs bowl is full of ants - all crawling round the rim - but he's very brave and tries to just go for a quick attack snack!
thanks - lemon in he kitchen sounds nice....
x t
Pouring lemon juice on their tracks works really well, so does chalk. We are plagued too and our cat really resents having ants in his bowl.
to keep them away, put clove oil or cloves on their entry points or around the areas you do not want them to come. When I lived in india, in desperation I poured Kerosene on millions of them and set fired to it. Then I really got problems, whereever I went They followed me, vengeful creatures they are.
Eventually I apologized and promised to not kill another one We have had a 20 years truce.
You can also read: 'Les Fourmis' Bernard Werber (French) and have fun.
Besides being there and sometimes biting they are not a real problem or health hazard.
Good luck