This is a topic I am very interested in.
I fking hate ants. There is something distinctly creepy and evil about them. The way they appear in such large numbers, are so small they can get through the walls of houses, and how they behave in a collective fashion. True communists. They're clever as well and will take what is yours.
I bought this house a couple of years ago and it was obvious that the old lady who had occupied it for many years hadn't kept on top of problems like the ants. They will take over if they are not fought and I wage chemical and biological warfare against them. I now take a pleasure in killing them.
Last summer I killed hundreds of Queen ants that were swarming around. There are different types and they all have a role to play in their ghastly civilization.
The bastards got through the front wall in my first year here, around the time, in late summer, when they go mental and all the queens come out. They also got in at a point along the side and at the back. They had basically infested parts of the cavity, probably having started out in the back garden where neighbours report they get them.
I took the opportunity to blow ant powder under skirting boards whilst I was renovating rooms and at other points where they got in. So that will deter them going forward. I also go around the house checking at this time of year and putting ant power all along the bottom of the outside walls in key zones. They seem to know that stuff is bad news and avoid it. I have found that those black circular things they're meant to walk into do not work. They are wise to them.
One thing that has helped me combat bugs has been replacing the back patio. I took up all the old concrete flags last summer, which were set on a bed of muck and sand - and this whole edifice of material was effectively a massive bug colony right next to the house. It was all scraped out and replaced with MOT and hard mortar for the new Indian stone. I think that project had the benefit of wiping out lots of bug colonies and I haven't had a single wood louse in my house this year, where as last year they kept coming in. Just having them in numbers alongside the house will result in intrusions, either accidental (wood lice) or deliberate (ants).
The ants seem to have been fought back to the lawn, for now. I spray ant power wherever I see their activity. I did so earlier. The other day, as I was removing a tree trunk in the beds, a large number appeared in the soil. I poured a kettle of boiling water all over them. Then threw in a load of ant powder. I want to learn about how to find the core of their colonies and I will dig down and kill them all. They must be fought back to outer reaches of the property and beyond.
The very best product for combating crawling insects, in my experience, is called Dethlac. You spray it on surfaces outside, and it stays there for months on end. Every single bug that walks on it will be dead within hours. Unfortunately, it is getting harder to pick this stuff up - no doubt another example of legislation banning anything that actually works.
I'll say this to finish: it's a permanent war against them that requires constant vigilance and action. You will win with persistence!
Ps. There is a weird old science fiction film called Phase IV where ants take over the world. Advanced weapons do not work against them. It might be on YouTube. Do not give these evil scum an inch!
I fking hate ants. There is something distinctly creepy and evil about them. The way they appear in such large numbers, are so small they can get through the walls of houses, and how they behave in a collective fashion. True communists. They're clever as well and will take what is yours.
I bought this house a couple of years ago and it was obvious that the old lady who had occupied it for many years hadn't kept on top of problems like the ants. They will take over if they are not fought and I wage chemical and biological warfare against them. I now take a pleasure in killing them.
Last summer I killed hundreds of Queen ants that were swarming around. There are different types and they all have a role to play in their ghastly civilization.
The bastards got through the front wall in my first year here, around the time, in late summer, when they go mental and all the queens come out. They also got in at a point along the side and at the back. They had basically infested parts of the cavity, probably having started out in the back garden where neighbours report they get them.
I took the opportunity to blow ant powder under skirting boards whilst I was renovating rooms and at other points where they got in. So that will deter them going forward. I also go around the house checking at this time of year and putting ant power all along the bottom of the outside walls in key zones. They seem to know that stuff is bad news and avoid it. I have found that those black circular things they're meant to walk into do not work. They are wise to them.
One thing that has helped me combat bugs has been replacing the back patio. I took up all the old concrete flags last summer, which were set on a bed of muck and sand - and this whole edifice of material was effectively a massive bug colony right next to the house. It was all scraped out and replaced with MOT and hard mortar for the new Indian stone. I think that project had the benefit of wiping out lots of bug colonies and I haven't had a single wood louse in my house this year, where as last year they kept coming in. Just having them in numbers alongside the house will result in intrusions, either accidental (wood lice) or deliberate (ants).
The ants seem to have been fought back to the lawn, for now. I spray ant power wherever I see their activity. I did so earlier. The other day, as I was removing a tree trunk in the beds, a large number appeared in the soil. I poured a kettle of boiling water all over them. Then threw in a load of ant powder. I want to learn about how to find the core of their colonies and I will dig down and kill them all. They must be fought back to outer reaches of the property and beyond.
The very best product for combating crawling insects, in my experience, is called Dethlac. You spray it on surfaces outside, and it stays there for months on end. Every single bug that walks on it will be dead within hours. Unfortunately, it is getting harder to pick this stuff up - no doubt another example of legislation banning anything that actually works.
I'll say this to finish: it's a permanent war against them that requires constant vigilance and action. You will win with persistence!
Ps. There is a weird old science fiction film called Phase IV where ants take over the world. Advanced weapons do not work against them. It might be on YouTube. Do not give these evil scum an inch!
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