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This might sound bizarre but I swear I'm not hallucinating. Has anyone else had problems with tiny ants ("sugar ants" I believe) swarming your electronics?

If so, what can be done? My cat enjoys eating them but he's a busy guy and can't always be counted on.

Usually helps to trace where they are coming from and then use some sort of silicone gel or other material to seal that off so they can't get back in. There's also that home defense spray you can get that generally keeps things out. Not sure if your cat is strictly inside or a free spirit that roams wherever but you generally want to apply that stuff outside and then not let animals out for a few hours while it dries.

Also you can bait the mound if they get to be a real nuisance and you can find the mound.

I've had them in a laptop but never pedals. I assume it was because I would eat and crumbs would get into the keyboard. They also come after moisture. Ant bait traps were generally more attractive to them. They'd come into the house seasonally and when I hadn't trimmed the bushes or trees that had branches that touched the side of the house.

Blackened Soul wrote:https://www.thesprucepets.com/pet-anteaters-4110164

SOLVED.

"young, hand-raised baby anteaters"

Thanks, all - I should've been more specific - I was thinking in particular about what (if anything) to do about the electronics themselves. Our house is old and will never be ant-tight; I mostly just don't want them to fuck up my gear.

They sometimes converge on warm and confined spaces (so if your electronics are always ON watch out). I had some move in on my alarm clock once. I find peppermint oil is like fart gas to those things, YMMV.

crochambeau wrote:They sometimes converge on warm and confined spaces (so if your electronics are always ON watch out). I had some move in on my alarm clock once. I find peppermint oil is like fart gas to those things, YMMV.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. They're not always on, but they do seem to come on fast once I fire up the board. I'll try some peppermint oil. Thanks!

Cinnamon and turmeric powder are supposed to be great natural ant repellants. You could put some powder down at cracks and around door frames. You could also spray a light mist in affected areas.

I moved into my first freestanding house several years ago and have come up with this ritual for every March. Buy a new tub of Home Defense because it does lose its effectiveness. It takes 20 minutes. When you will have a couple of dry hours, go outside and start spraying. Put a line all around your house where the ground meets the wall. Peel back the grass if you need to. Go outside and inside any beds with a sidewalk perimeter. You have put a toxic skirt around your house. This method keeps the poison outside your house. Sometimes I see ants before I get around to doing it and afterwards I still see them for a few days; I have to remind myself that those are the scouts who are now trapped inside. I never had any luck with borax/sugar and besides, I have a dog I don't trust not to find it and eat it.

sears wrote:I moved into my first freestanding house several years ago and have come up with this ritual for every March. Buy a new tub of Home Defense because it does lose its effectiveness. It takes 20 minutes. When you will have a couple of dry hours, go outside and start spraying. Put a line all around your house where the ground meets the wall. Peel back the grass if you need to. Go outside and inside any beds with a sidewalk perimeter. You have put a toxic skirt around your house. This method keeps the poison outside your house. Sometimes I see ants before I get around to doing it and afterwards I still see them for a few days; I have to remind myself that those are the scouts who are now trapped inside. I never had any luck with borax/sugar and besides, I have a dog I don't trust not to find it and eat it.

Sounds like a solid plan, but what's the danger to non-ant wildlife? We've got a bunch of rabbits and squirrels and foxes and stuff that I really don't want to inadvertently (or advertently) poison.

Errant Tiger wrote:

sears wrote:I moved into my first freestanding house several years ago and have come up with this ritual for every March. Buy a new tub of Home Defense because it does lose its effectiveness. It takes 20 minutes. When you will have a couple of dry hours, go outside and start spraying. Put a line all around your house where the ground meets the wall. Peel back the grass if you need to. Go outside and inside any beds with a sidewalk perimeter. You have put a toxic skirt around your house. This method keeps the poison outside your house. Sometimes I see ants before I get around to doing it and afterwards I still see them for a few days; I have to remind myself that those are the scouts who are now trapped inside. I never had any luck with borax/sugar and besides, I have a dog I don't trust not to find it and eat it.

Sounds like a solid plan, but what's the danger to non-ant wildlife? We've got a bunch of rabbits and squirrels and foxes and stuff that I really don't want to inadvertently (or advertently) poison.

It's safe for pets after it dries; basically as long as the other fauna don't run up behind you and lick it up, they should be fine.

calfzilla wrote:

Errant Tiger wrote:

sears wrote:I moved into my first freestanding house several years ago and have come up with this ritual for every March. Buy a new tub of Home Defense because it does lose its effectiveness. It takes 20 minutes. When you will have a couple of dry hours, go outside and start spraying. Put a line all around your house where the ground meets the wall. Peel back the grass if you need to. Go outside and inside any beds with a sidewalk perimeter. You have put a toxic skirt around your house. This method keeps the poison outside your house. Sometimes I see ants before I get around to doing it and afterwards I still see them for a few days; I have to remind myself that those are the scouts who are now trapped inside. I never had any luck with borax/sugar and besides, I have a dog I don't trust not to find it and eat it.

Sounds like a solid plan, but what's the danger to non-ant wildlife? We've got a bunch of rabbits and squirrels and foxes and stuff that I really don't want to inadvertently (or advertently) poison.

It's safe for pets after it dries; basically as long as the other fauna don't run up behind you and lick it up, they should be fine.

Thanks!

All the professional studios place potted sarracenia minor near their gear to capture and devour ants.

Anytime I've had trouble with ants in the past I've put out a few of these little Terro liquid ant bait poison capsules and they work really great. From the ingredients it looks like it is basically borax and sugar, though, as mentioned above.