Hi all,
I just moved into a new home (built only 2 months ago) and I suddenly have an ant infestation in my second floor kitchen...ugh! They are multiplying by the second, I swear.

I will do ANYTHING to get rid of them, but I have a cat, so I want to make sure it's something natural so it's safe for her.

Any suggestions? So far I've searched on the internet and found white vinegar and peppermint oil. I just put out the vinegar a few minutes ago, but I have no idea where to buy peppermint oil!!

Any suggestions? Thank you in advance

Read the labels on ant bait packets available at WahlMart, Lowe's Home Depot, and many other places.

Don't buy unless the label says that ants will carry the bait back to their nests. That is the only effective type.

Follow directions exactly, and expect to buy another batch in about a month.

You undoubtedly will be able to place these traps where the cat can't go and still accomplish the result.

But I also would use an outdoor remedy around the house. The same stores carry those.

Can you figure out if they're going after something?

Last spring, I dropped the butter, and evidentally didn't clean it up as well as I'd thought, because sure enough, ants. I eventually followed them, and when I figured out that they were coming for the butter, got down and really scrubbed. The ants didn't stop, but they drastically reduced their ranks.

If it's the little, teeny sugar ants, go over the area with vinegar, often. They leave a scent trail, and the other ants will follow the scent trail. So if you can disrupt that somehow, you might have a shot at getting ahead of them.

My mom gets an infestation out by her mailbox, so she puts red pepper flakes in her mailbox so they stay out. It works, but that's also probably not great for the cat. :/

I've had great luck with those little ant traps that are in the shape of a flower...I have used them in two residences and they fixed the problem in both when combined with some barrier bug spray. The barrier spray that I got was whatever said it was safe for pets, as I have two cats...you just spray it and keep the cats away until it's totally dry. It kind of smelled funny while wet if you get your nose right near it so the cats didn't try to get near it anyway!

Just as a matter of interest...

I have friends currently living in Senegal, Africa. I just read on their blog yesterday about their ants problems and the amazing solution they found.

They had ants coming in their kitchen, into their rubbish bin. They were adviced by the autochtons to put a little bit of sugar at a place where they were ok to have ants, in their case, the garden. As a result, ants now get their food from the little pile of sugar instead of inside the house. Apparently, it works. They don't have ants anymore in their kitchen.

My mum had a horrible ant infestation in her kitchen. She had many a pest company come out and try to rid the ants. Come to find out they were in her drywall/ducting. It was the queen. Once the queen dies, the colony stops. It took forver, but they finally disappeared.

Po

We put cornmeal in bottle caps in corners of the house. They love it, but they can't digest it, so it kills them. They take it back to their colony and share it with the others. It's safe if your cat got into it, and we found that it worked. Worth s try.

We periodically get ants in our pantry (more often than not, going after the balsamic vinegar), particularly when the weather is changing.

First things first: clean all the things. Use household cleaner (Spray and Wipe or your local equivalent) to disrupt their scent trails. Then take everything out of the cupboards, wipe them down with soapy water and check to make sure the ants haven't got under lids, in boxes and so on. Keep the cupboard empty until you're sure you've got them all.

We then use Ant-Rid in small bottle caps close to where they're coming in: top of the pantry, behind doors, tucked away in small corners, etc. It's a slow-acting poison they seem to love the taste of, and they take it back to the nest, which then kills off the rest of the colony. The cats don't touch them at all.

I haven't tried it yet myself, but apparently ants hate cucumbers. Putting cucumber skin in the place they're going is meant to get rid of them (provided they don't find food somewhere else in your house!) Might be worth a try!

I tried the cucumber thing...came home and there were like 400 ants on each piece of cucumber. I think it might be that there are different kinds of ants who like different things. I finally just called a pest control place and they came out and checked things out. I am going to have them come and treat it in two days. Thanks for all the replies! Keep them coming...I will continually try things!

Thank God we only ever had ants outside our back door! But we have had 'flying ants' on occasions in May! We use an ant powder to get rid of them, making sure to put it in the crevices or any little holes where there might be a nest underground.