Problem with ANTS

[Anonymous]

Last weekend I went out to run my trains and I came back with a bit of a surprise. Ants had inhabited my railroad[:(!][V]. They were only near the track or on it. So I started cleaning the track with the LGB track cleaning loco. They still came back. I decided to run a train and I wasn't pleased. The train started smashing the ants on the track. Some even got on the wheels of my NW-2. This caused power blockage so I had to take all the flattened ants off the track but they still came back. Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Should I use some kind of ant sprayer that can get rid of them or will the track be damaged with it. I wished someone made a ant plow or a ant rotary. Can someone help?[;)]

[mkblk]

Pablo,

What you're gonna hav ta do is dig a trench between the ant's nest and your railroad. Fill the trench with oil. Then sit back and wait with a couple of incendiary grenades [:D]. When the little suckas [}:)] come out... let 'em have it! Just don't run out of oil 'cause the little b------s can build bridges with their bodies and once they get on your side of the trench they'll leave only bones [xx(] !

By the way, your railroad is in Brazil. No? [;)]

MK

[Granny74]

When we have trouble with ants here , we trace the ants path back to their anthill and then put some ant repellant in the hill, but watch out for them agin, because they will move to another location, sometimes nearby, but always. We also put repellant on the ant trail to and from the hill. Ants can be pesky little creatures. You could contact a company that makes or sells products to help with ant problems and tell them your problem. Check on the internet for a company to contact.
Bob from AZ

[Granny74]

Also you need to be very careful what you use because of children and pets in the area as well as environmental problems. You might also search for use of "natural" solutions to solve the ant problem on the internet. Always be cautious with whatever you use.
Bob from AZ

[Anonymous]

mkblk,

BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live in America, Los Angeles to be exact. Why do you think I live in South America?

Bob,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to find the repellant or solution sometime this week . I will be very cautious around pets and children. I'll keep my cat and dog indoors for a while.

[mkblk]

Jonathan:

I realize your problem with ants [:(!] is serious, however, my post was an attempt at a little humor [:)] . If you like light reading, try your local library for a copy of "Leiningen vs. the Ants", by Carl Stephenson. When I read this story (in high school) it became one of my all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy it. It's a short story so it might be in an anthology. Ask your librarian.

MK

P.S. The story takes place in the Amazon... in Brazil.

[bman36]

pablopicatso,
Had the same problem here. BOILING WATER!!! works wonders. Find the anthill and then boil two or three kettles of water and slowly pour it down over the ant hill. You will probably find more than one hill but this way you will not be using any chemicals and it kills them RIGHT NOW!!! Can't stand those things in my yard so at first sign of any activity I let em' have it. The boiling water will kill any grass around it but it will grow back. As for plants if you are carefull you can save most. Lotsa' fun too...the word is out in my yard and most of em' are gone. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

bman36:

While you're boiling that water, be sure to capture the steam off the kettle and drizzle it thru a condenser. (A Still) :-)

You can then use this stuff in the boiler of your steamer.

Yeah! Two birds with one stone. And some Ants in the process!!

[mkblk]

pablopicatso -

If you use the boiling water technique, be careful! I know someone who was badly scalded while trying to kill ants when the screendoor slammed in his face!

MK

[Anonymous]

bman36,

I thought that boiling water technique was just great. I went out and tried it very carefully. I will see how it turns out tomorrow.

vettbass,

I don't have any live steamers at the time but that C-21made by Accucraft is mighty purdy but way out of my price range.

[vsmith]

I have had great success with Windex, but it takes a couple of weeks to be effective. First, every couple of days, spray on the ant trail and pour the windex down the ant hill. What will happen is that some ants will die from the windex, then other ants will clean up the bodies, take them back to the ant hill and feed them to the larve. this poisons the larve and kills them, the ant population starts to drop, after a couple of weeks the ant popultaion is greatly reduced, some time their gone completely. Its non-toxic and less harmfull than the industrial poisons.

[Anonymous]

Hmm, Windex... truely is multi-surface... by the way, how did you figure that out?

[Anonymous]

Well I went out to check out the ant problem. The boiling water didn't do much and they got back on my track.

Vsmith,

I remember one time I used windex for a ant problem before. It worked wonders until I forgot. I'll be gone during Thanksgiving so I'll try it before I leave and see the results when I get back.

[mkblk]

You might try your local college. Someone in the etomology (?) department might be able to help you out. I know that Penn State (in Pennsylvania) is very good about supplying such information on almost anything. Can't hurt, give 'em a call.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Teran5

Hmm, Windex... truely is multi-surface... by the way, how did you figure that out?

Trial and error,

I've always been around pets and we couldn't use Raid as it wasnt good for our indoor cats, so I started using windex as I notice it killed them almost instantly. So I would spray whole trails, often every day, then I noticed that the ant population would fall off pretty fast after a couple of weeks to almost none. So now I use window for ants inside and out. We have a dog now and the windex doesnt harm him or create toxic areas that I have to keep him out of for fear he might eat toxic grass or something.

Another gardening tip.

Got BUGS in your yard.

Try a 50-50 mix of Mouthwash and Dishwashing soap in a garden hose sprayer, spray the infested area every couple of days and watch the little pests dissappear. If the saop hits them it kills them , the mouthwash does something to the soil and plants so that I beleive they wont eat. Try it IT WORKS!

[bman36]

pablopicatso,
Sorry to hear the boiling water did not work for you as I have had exellent results here. Hopefully the windex will! Let us know when the ants are under control and what worked. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

I live in Australia and a good repelant is metholated spirits, I am not sure if it is called the same in the US. In Australia metholated spirits has IPICAC added to it to stop people drinking the stuff. If it is the same in the US then this is a good repellant for most insects. Spray the area you want to keep free of insects, you don't have to drowned the area. The metholated spirits will vaporize off the surface but the IPICAC will remain from a few days up to a month depending on the weather. Best of luck

[Anonymous]

The boiling water works best first thing inthe morning, around 9 am. The ants move the queen closer to the surface to warm her from the colder night air. If you can kill her withthe boiling water, the ant hill is toast. Good luck. Bill

[Anonymous]

Well I'm back and a happy camper. Most of the ants were killed by the windex. I sprayed the rest of them so they wouldn't come back. I found out that the and hole came from the house next to mine. It was in their front yard so I took out the windex and they were history. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

try using a 50 /50 mix of icing sugar and borax washing powder it worked for me and they did not come back

[Anonymous]

Pennyroyal and Transy will repel ants, but I am not sure what would happen to the plants if your area gets snow in winter... please excuse my lack of L.A. weather smarts.

[Anonymous]

May I suggest that you use something completely non toxic to you or your pets: diatomaceous earth, more commonly known as d.e.. just place it in a circle around the ant nest or any place you see an ant trail. Do not put this on your track unless you plan on removing it before operation of your railroad. It comes in powdered form and is available at most pool suppliers. It works by getting in the ants joints . Also, having previously lived in L.A., you will find it works equally well on cockroaches, if you have this problem. D.E. will wash away with the rain (NOT A BIG PROBLEM IN LA),so just reapply

[Anonymous]

Hi Pablo,

Here in Florida we have Fire Ants, not only a problem, but they have considerable
bee like bite. I use Spectricide Crystals (Home Depot). One light application
should do the trick. As a side note, last week I was adjusting track on a siding
a memtioned to the wife had she bought another rubber snake for the garden
(We have birds etc in the garden), she said no, so the snake that was 2' from
where I was working was real. These are some of the pitfalls of Garden RR.
Good Luck!

[DannyS]

Living in Queensland, Australia, we have a product called Antkill granular, which you sprinkle around where the ants are moving about, and they carry it back to their nest and share it around with all their mates, and they all die, including the Queen Ant, tomorrow no ants. However a new colony will move in after a while, as ants are good colonisers, if they find a property with no ants, they will move in, so we start the whole process again.[^]

[Anonymous]

Target Stores sell an ant gel , just place in different areas and they are gone in two to three weeks. good luck jeff fr KY

[Anonymous]

Vic.

Will the cheapo Windex from a dollar store work to?

I miss Bman!

Toad

[Coogler Rail Line]

Diggin up topics from the grave?

[Anonymous]

Diggin up topics from the grave?

Well, you ever hurd of Windex as ant killer....did not know if it had to be "the" Windex?.

Toad

[ttrigg]

Toad:

Ants breath through their thorax (not so sure of the spelling), IOW their chest & belley.  Fill those little pours with a fiine soap and they cannot breath.  It would be like tying a plastic bag over your head.  You can do the same with wetted water. 

[jerryl]

It's probably the amonia in Windex that does the trick..maybe try a 50/50 mix of amonia & water. Get the sudsy amonia & you will have everything Windex has.  Jerry