Ants

[mand]

At our home in Argeles we are having problems with ants they are climbing the exterior wall on the neighbours side and nesting between our ceiling and wood beams i have tried everything from spraying them on the wall outside where they run,spraying the beams in the house, putting down gel and even purchasing those little boxes that are sold in france that's supposed to kill them, but nothing is working.

only on very rare occassion have we seen them running around on the ceiling normally we only see the debris they throw out and if we haven't been there for a few weeks it is a small mound on the floor...I am really struggling to get rid of them, when we first saw the dust on the floor we thought we had termites and called in a specialist who said it was ants and just to spray as much as possible in between the beams but obviously that hasn't worked, any idea's?

thanks

[blackduff]

Mand
I wrote a good reply but this went down the sewer. So, here's the shortened method to stop these ants.

I use "Chili Oil" and this is sold at the Asia markets. It's sold in a small bottle (ca 25cl) and it's not too dear.

Brush a bit of the oil wherever the ants follow their entry areas. Poof! They leave and never come back.

I used to rub an end of a Thai pepper and this worked fairly good but this Chili oil is the real solution.

Blackduff

[Roger O]

Sounds interesting - we have ants on the terrace which climb the wooden beams of the verandah then disappear under the roof.
Chili Oil sounds like a reasonable solution!!!

I'll get some at our local oriental shop which stocks all kinds of nice things!!

Thanks!

[blackduff]

Roger
The type I'm using is called "Chili Oil" and in French it's "Huile De Piment Rouge". The brand is "Lee Kum Kee". The bottle is 207 ml and it was marked as 2.74€. It came from the Asia Market in Argeles.

It does work!

Blackduff

[blackduff]

Here's the bottle:

http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog ... i-Oil.html

Blackduff

[Kathy]

I have found those boxes useless too.

[mand]

Thanks for that i will give that a go and let you know how i get on

[Roger O]

Here's the bottle:

http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog ... i-Oil.html

Blackduff

Stupid question, but have you tried Tabasco as an alternative as one can buy that anywhere.. however, it's not exactly an oil!

Anyway, I'll try our local Boucherie Orientale Halal in the ZAV La Bouriette, Carcassonne because they
have also loads of Indian, Chinese and South East Asian food products, as well as furniture, artifacts, etc.

It's a very interesting store!

[Eamon Avis]

Roger
The type I'm using is called "Chili Oil" and in French it's "Huile De Piment Rouge". The brand is "Lee Kum Kee". The bottle is 207 ml and it was marked as 2.74€. It came from the Asia Market in Argeles.

It does work!

Blackduff

Thanks for that Blackduff, we have them too and I have been looking for an effective deterrent. Might also try it on stir fried beef and vegetables too