Ants

[brawburd]

what encourages them?

[brianwaring]

the opposite sex

[froggequene]

At the moment we're having a slight problem with them in our kitchen and I'm assuming that it's easy access to food, I have found them in the food cupboards several times and if we have toast without cleaning away the crumbs, once our backs are turned, they're out poking among them.

[sddsddean]

Ants like sweet things most of all, as a little sugar(including natural sugars like glucose) gives an ant a lot of energy. Thats why you mainly find them in houses in the kitchen.

[Cetti]

Yes, the smell of sugars is what drives an ant wild with ecstasy as the black ant feeds in part on the honey-dew of aphids. Repelling them from houses can be a nightmare - a lot of people swear by Borax ( it worked when my Mum had an infestation), for some reason they hate it.

[xyzzyplugh]

Sugar, honey. :-)

[Lily]

bare flesh on the lawn in summer. Seriously though, if you want to keep them out of the house I found that placing a jar outside the door where they are coming in filled with jam or something sweet, they stop there and don't bother entering the house, no need for pesticides, worry and spoilt food!

[xyzzyplugh]

I am told they won't cross a line of chalk. I am told they won't cross a line of cinnamon. I am told they won't cross a line of vinegar. I am told they won't cross a line of talc.

[Phantaxus]

Dont squash them! if ant is killed it realeases a distress chemical and more ants will turn up to defend the territory and carry the body away. There is a saying dont kill an ant as two more will come to his funeral.

[fraserjim]

Sherry and Scones