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Wasn't sure what category this belonged in:
Our house and yard has MAJOR ant problems (trails everywhere, some of them more like superhighways), and we're deserate to call an exterminator, but I'm TERRIFIED of possible airborne chemicals getting into my fish tanks, and getting into the water of my ourdoor pond.
Have any of you had your house/yard treated for ants/bugs, without any effect on your fish? What chemicals were used? What should I avoid?
Please help!
Thanks in advance!

Are ants your only problem?? I've tryed a few different Organic ant repellant solutions, which came from this site: http://www.organicformulations.com.au/repellent_recipes.asp, and they work great. No need for an exterminator, pesticides or other nasty things left lirking around your house for years to come.

diatomaceous earth works well on ants. To us it's a (white) powder but if you were as small as an ant it'd be more like daggers... you would only have to put some diatomaceous earth around where the ants are getting in. Pretty effective stuff against bugs of all sorts.

There is also a paste sort of stuff my parents swear by for ants. I believe it comes in stakes, but you can take a toothpick and use it for more than one spot. I think it's called Grant's Ant Stakes. But that might be a concern if you have pets or small children running around.

Hope that helps!

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wonder woman

As Wonder Woman you should be able to use all your super powers to solve the problem

You could try boiling water into their nests or use a power steam cleaning machine. It might take some time but this must surely be one of the safest methods.

Keith

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i have been living in the arizona desert for a bit over a decade. i get ants, weird flying creatures, and massive plant infestations on a major basis. my last huge issue was a severe monsoon storm ripping my roof off.

the monsoon storm was the worst. i had walls ripped out and lots of chemicals sprayed in my house to keep mold from establishing a foothold. anyone entering my house would immediatley know i am an avid fishkeeper. my insurance company used chemicals that would not harm my fish ( i covered the tank anyway) without me asking.

my ongoing war with insects, both inside and out, is almost funny. when i call an exterminator or visit my local diy bug killing shop, i tell them my present situation (lots of fish tanks,a huge outside dog, and 2 kids under the age of 7). never had a problem- chemicals exist that kill specific pests.

call around before you stress about the welfare of your aquatic pets. most of the indoor ant poisons are not airborne, and should cause no problem to your fish. if in doubt- ASK. same goes for you outside fish- let the ant killer guys know about your concerns before they spray.

good luck.

My pest company uses a specific formula that was developed only to affect insects. The owner of the company has several dogs, as do many of his employees and wanted to find something safe for use around animals and children. He basically told me that my daughter (who's 2) could lick the stuff off the baseboards and it would not cause her any harm. Now, I have no idea what this stuff is called but I'm sure if you called around to some of the smaller mom and pop type pest companies in your area they would have the same spray available to you. Also, my great aunt lives on a farm and doesn't want to harm her garden or any local animals so she swears by using grits. If you're not in the South you may not be familiar with grits, but if you can find them, use the dry grits and sprinkle liberally over the ant hills. This works basically the same as when birds eat rice that people throw at weddings, the dry grits expand so much when ingested that the ants will explode. And, yes I know that sounds cruel but so is spraying poisonous chemicals and you don't have to worry about harming your fish.

Hope all that helps.

Beth

this summer i had ants EVERYWHERE in my house - my bf had something called 'Later's Bugban-C Ant Killer Dust' (big yellow bottle) - it doesn't say what it is, but it's just a white powder, and is probably the diatomaceous earth that superlion is talking about. anyway - works like a charm - within a couple hours the ants had packed up and moved, and i never saw them again (either that or they all died... i won't get into how cruel this stuff is!!!
another idea is baking powder and icing sugar. my landlord mentioned this to me - it tastes good cause of the icing sugar, but the baking powder swells up in their stomach and they explode (again, cruel...)

Last edited by bayara at 10-Dec-2004 11:11