Ants in my Couch

July 2, 2005 5:53 PM

Ants in my couch!

I just moved into a new townhome and I've got an ant problem. They're in the walls, under the carpets and now they've moved into my couch. I'm not sure if they're imported fire ants or pharaoh ants. I've contacted the landlord who contacted pest control, but with the 4th of July weekend, I don't expect much action until Tuesday. In the meantime, they've moved into my couch. Any ideas on some kind of stopgap solution to get them out of the couch until pest control shows up?

posted by ahughey to home & garden (7 comments total)

Well, you'll know if they're fire ant if one bites you.

If you're not too sensitive, you could spray some the non-scented Raid, I find chemical warfare very effective. A good vacuum works great as well.
posted by Marky at 7:21 PM on July 2, 2005

Yes, use that skinny vacuum attachment to clean thoroughly between all the gaps, and spray some ant killer around the couch.
posted by Ruki at 7:27 PM on July 2, 2005

previous related thread.
posted by dhruva at 8:17 PM on July 2, 2005

I have a lot of ants in my room; ants that enjoy roaming around on my bed. I've found that putting ant killer gel (you can get it at any store that sells Raid) around the walls near the floor distracts them and, after a few weeks, kills their colony. Maybe gel combined with vacuuming would work for you?
posted by cmonkey at 9:25 PM on July 2, 2005

I used to live in Texas where there were lots of ants including fire ants and Terro was by far the most effective thing I found in getting rid of ants. Get either the liquid baits or just the liquid which is more economical. Just put a dime or nickel size drop on a piece of cardboard and spread them where the ants are. This will initially attract more ants but pretty soon they will be no more. After using Terro in two different apartments I never saw ants again.
posted by 6550 at 10:08 PM on July 2, 2005

Chatfilter:

I once had a very small ant colony take up residence in a wired "handset" style phone.

They were mostly unobtrusive and stealthy. Every so often while talking on the phone, and an ant would pop out. I would go "Eww? That was odd." and not really think about it, considering it just to be a stray common black ant that had wandered up the cord.

Then once I dropped the phone, and a few dozen or even close to a hundred ants came swarming out through the microphone grill.

I sort of freaked out, gathered my wits, and then immediately disassembled the phone. Inside the phone, I found a tight, writhing ball of black ants, complete with a small queen, a few eggs and larvae or whatever, all held up inside the phone just by the ants themselves. I don't know how many ants in total. A hundred or less? A few hundred? How do you count moving grains of sand?

I tapped the ants out of the phone outside, and never saw them again. It was the damndest thing.

Just proof that they can take up permanent or temporary residence in some really unusual places. Look for an antball in your couch, vacuum it up, or spray it.
posted by loquacious at 2:47 AM on July 3, 2005 [1 favorite]

Inside the phone, I found a tight, writhing ball of black ants, complete with a small queen, a few eggs and larvae or whatever, all held up inside the phone just by the ants themselves.

Wow, that is a fucking HORRIBLE story, straight out of a trasy sci-fi book. Thank you for sharing it!

Does Terro work against carpenter ants?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:03 PM on July 17, 2005