Source of tiny brown ants??

15 years ago

I cannot find the source of a few tiny brown ants I have seen on my kitchen counter. Only one or two a day - some days none. I have cleaned every cabinet, wastebasket - even ran a disposal cleaner packet. In all the cleaning I haven't seen even one ant inside a cabinet, etc.

Help! I need to find out where they are coming from to completely get rid of them! Any suggestions???

Thanks!

~Cindy

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Comments (3)

jannie
15 years ago
Do you have any potted or hanging plants in your home? Check the soil. I once had ants come in from outside-they slipped in thru a side door I keep permanently closed (to people only, obviously).
cindykg23
Original Author
15 years ago
I do, but no where near the kitchen. And on the counter is the only place I have seen any. Even then, it's only one little tiny one today, maybe one tomorrow, or maybe none. They are so darned sporadic! - but then that's better than an whole army! LOL just makes it harder to find where they are coming from!
There are no doors in the kitchen, only the window above the sink - & I've not seen any there either. Why can't those little critters just 'fess up & tell me their 'homeland'??!

Thanks for your suggestion - I still checked the plants, even tho they are 2 rooms away. Nope, none there.

~Cindy
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graywings123
15 years ago
I had that situation in an upstairs bathroom. I believe those are scouting ants, going out from the group in search of food.

If that's the case, if you want to get rid of the one or two a day, you could set some food out for them to discover, such as a teaspoon of sugar, and then wait for them to lead the ant army to the feast. That will show you where they are entering the house. Then you set out Terro bait stations and kill off the colony.

When I moved into this house, I had a serious ant problem in the kitchen and one or two each day in the upper level bathroom. The oh-so-romantic English ivy all over the property was being used by the ants as a highway. The first round of Terro in the kitchen knocked them back for a while, then they reappeared. Removing the ivy and then a second round of Terro bait stations solved the problem. And no more scout ants in the bathroom.

If you go this route, follow the directions on the package - use multiple bait stations placed where the ants are active. That's why I suggest first drawing in the ants so that you can see their path. Place the bait stations where you can keep an eye on them but not in the center of your kitchen counter because they have to stay there for 10 days or so.

Here is a link that might be useful: Terro bait stations