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Old 19-03-2009, 04:27   #1
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Ants

We are getting my boat ready to go to the water here at the BVI and after several months of yard storage we found ants and more ants....

I have thrown a few bombs inside and nothing...they keep climbing up my legs dangereously

Can I get some advice and ideas on how to get rid of them forever?
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Old 19-03-2009, 08:44   #2
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I hear the Ardvark eats ants. Maybe...
never mind, LoL
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Old 19-03-2009, 08:51   #3
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Mix some Boric acid with maple syrup in a dish where they can get at it. They bring it back to the colony and the whole colony dies. Let them do the dirty work.
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Old 19-03-2009, 11:27   #4
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Mix some Boric acid with maple syrup in a dish where they can get at it. They bring it back to the colony and the whole colony dies. Let them do the dirty work.
This is what we do and it works wonderfully. It takes a few days for the entire colony to die out - but they do.
We mix it with honey. Anything sweet will do I suppose.
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Old 19-03-2009, 11:58   #5
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The little black plastic thinghies with poisoned ant-food work well but you will also need to stop ants coming aboard. A long time Caribbean trick is to put an ant barrier on the supports when you're on the hard. Grease seem to work well.

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Old 19-03-2009, 13:28   #6
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There is a product available in the USA and Caribbean called 'TERRO'. Works like an absolute charm.
Tiny drop on their route and wham! No more ants.
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Old 19-03-2009, 14:07   #7
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TERO work for me also. You can find it at some hardware stores. We take a waxy paper plate and cut it up into small 1" or 2" square pieces. We have the TERO in a small bottle with an eye dropper and apply a few drops to the paper squares and put these where we see the ants traveling.
Also if we are going to lay up the boat for a short time we spray an indoor bug killer inside and let it air out for a few days after.
I have also at the seawall here in Florida sprayed the dock lines, that is how they get into our sailboat.
We are dealing with ants all of the time here in south Florida. Their the little tiny ones that bite you just as your about to go to sleep that drives both of us crazy!!!!

Good luck to you!
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Old 19-03-2009, 14:18   #8
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TERO fan here too. In Hawaii this is a great seller. I find that I need to re-apply it every few days because it gets hard and the ants have a hard time consuming it. Keep re-applying it for weeks as the offspring will come for it later.
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Old 20-03-2009, 05:28   #9
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Most Ant remedies contain baits either Boric Acid (Borax)* or Hydramethylnon (trifluoromethyl aminohydrazone ) as their active insecticide ingredient.

* Borax: sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate

Baits are particularly effective on social insects such as ants and termites, because these pests collect food and share it with their colony. The trick to using baits is to make sure that the offending ants find the bait, eat it voraciously and take it back to the nest to the queen (trophallaxis). Remove competitive food sources*. Baits are less effective in areas with abundant food sources that serve as a rival food source. In general, ants that eat a wide variety of foods will be less affected by baits, because the bait will comprise a smaller proportion of their food.

Ants are rather finicky in their food preferences, and may alter them throughout the year. If one bait product isn't attractive, or doesn't seem to be working, try another. Optimal results usually require a sustained period of feeding, not just a brief visitation by a few ants.

Sugar-loving ants are the easiest to control. Apply a ribbon of jelly (1-1/2" x 1/4") to masking tape in the areas where you have seen the offending ants, especially around water sources and window ledge. Masking tape works great because it stays in place and is easy to remove and discard later. Experts say that mint or mint apple jelly seems to be the most attractive to foraging sugar ants.

Big-headed ants, little black ants and pavement ants prefer grease and protein; in addition, they will also feed on fruit juices. They respond best to protein/grease baits.
A protein/grease bait recipe:
* 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) peanut butter
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons)
* honey
* 3/4 teaspoon boric acid
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Old 20-03-2009, 20:13   #10
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Thank you all, I tried Boric Acid with condensed milk and they are eating it all, if everything goes OK getting rid of them we will be able to move to the boat on Sunday in the mean time we are staying at the Nanny Cay Hotel, BVI whilst the ants decide to let us in

I will get Terro soon too

I love this forum...

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Old 21-03-2009, 04:17   #11
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We have also noticed that some ants like sugar while others like oil. So we sometimes mix the TERRO with one and watch, if they do not go for it we mix up a new batch. Try it and let us know!
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Old 21-03-2009, 05:07   #12
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... Ants are rather finicky in their food preferences, and may alter them throughout the year. If one bait product isn't attractive, or doesn't seem to be working, try another. Optimal results usually require a sustained period of feeding, not just a brief visitation by a few ants.

Sugar-loving ants are the easiest to control. ...

... Big-headed ants, little black ants and pavement ants prefer grease and protein; in addition, they will also feed on fruit juices. They respond best to protein/grease baits...
As someone noted.
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