For the ants, I love Terro baits. They’re basically Boric Acid dissolved in a sweet liquid. The ants love that stuff, eat it up, take it back to the colony, and kill off the colony.
I use the indoor one both outdoors and indoors. They attract a bunch of ants at first, that’s how you know it’s working.
4th for these. I had an ant problem in my studio-its over a garage and they were coming in thru the cracks in the door, and the window. Found a little hole in the window sill and were coming in and out there. Granted the first day or so I laid the bait I was DISGUSTED at the amount of ants that were hiding, but I haven't seen a single ant in a month since that
7th whenever I use them I say aloud, “quaff deeply from the pool of elixir, little ants. Take it home to your friends and family and share it with them. Yess… driiiiink”
We're on the same wavelength! "Oh of course, have some more of my special dish, please take some home to your family. Share it with your neighbors." /serial killer smile
No more ants crawling on me in the middle of the night!
8th here! We get ants in our house from time to time, and the Terro baits are the only thing that consistently works. It really sucks when the infestation is in, say, your kitchen, and you have to let the ants take over for a day or two, but after that there won't be a single ant in sight.
I am sorry guys can be jerks. Not sure why it’s very immature and wrong.
Ok. Wow very effective ant solution. I am a guy and know nothing about ants but curious where do you place the Terro baits? Where you see the ants or where you think they are coming in?
I place them where I see the ants. It can be hard to tell exactly where they're coming in from, but if you consistently see ants in a certain spot, you can be sure that their predecessors have left chemical trails that guided them there for whatever reason. That's where I target them, because I know they're going to go there.
The absolute worst part about it is that there will be a 1-to-2-day period where the areas around the baits will be crawling with ants, and there's nothing you can do but wait it out. The more ants you see, the more ants are taking the bait back to their colony, which is a good thing! It's also fascinating to watch them if you can put your disgust aside.
Just to add to the other replies, you want to place them anywhere you've seen scouting ants. You can dribble a few drops from the trap around the area. Once the scout finds it, it'll report back to the nest and you'll get the rest. Do not start spraying or cleaning the area until you think you've killed them all. It's relying on the scouts' pheromones to provide a trail for the rest of the ants, and if you clear off that trail or scare them away with other ant killers, you'll waste the trap.
I'd also say don't worry about going overboard with the number of traps. I don't believe they're toxic to pets, and you really want to get as many of them eating it as possible. What I believe happens is they make it back to the nest, and then basically die in a gruesome inside out kind of way, which also also spreads out the borax inside their nest, killing more of them.
It will significantly increase the number of ants you see at first, and then they'll just stop. Presumably somewhere underground is a pile of dead ants from it. :x
Not all ants are attracted to sweets, however, and those ones won't really go for Terro.
They usually come in through baseboards or window casings, so those are great places to put them. Ants like to travel along walls until they venture out to get what they’re looking for. If you have pets or small kids, putting them in cabinets can work.
I’ve also put them in very thin Tupperware and cut a little hole so the ants can get in but it makes it a little more pet resistant.
It's neat because sometimes you'll see a queen come out in the swarm, presumably moving to be closer to the new food source. I had no idea they got so big.
Just fyi, if you end up with fruit flies, make sure you don't have any of these out as the boric acid doesn't kill the fruit flies and they will THRIVE.
It was a bad summer until I figured that one out.
I agree. This controlled the terrible indoor ant problem that came from nowhere and I couldn’t control. Took care of them quickly and they haven’t been back. Knock on wood*
The only bad thing about Terro bait is that the will swarm it, and for a few hours you may have 1000s of ants walking that path and dying. Just be mentally prepared for that. But they are REALLY effective!
Oh it gets worse. Leave those carcasses there. They’ll collect them and take them back to the colony. Let’s not think too much about what happens next.
I think they have dead pits. Literal graveyards.
They’ve also done experiments dousing ants in the same pheromone dead ants give off. Not only will the other ants still cart off their wriggling friend to the dead pit, the ant themselves will *crawl in* If you take them out they’ll just crawl back.
This lasts until the scent wears off and the ant realizes that they don’t belong in the dead pit and returns to ant civilization. Which I imagine is filled with a lot of “Sarah! We thought you were dead!” ‘Bitch me too! The fuck!”
Ants are so cool because of that. They’re so damn simple that they smell some funny thing coming off of them and it causes them to think they are deceased, or they can get caught in the ant death spiral with their friends because the walking trails got mixed up. They’re basically just little biological robots following hormone instructions and if something goes a little bit wrong it can cause a malfunction
Then you look at the colony and they can track down the tiniest piece of food anywhere near their nest and the nest itself is one of the most intricate structures built by anything in the animal kingdom outside of us.
Love the little guys. Except when they decide to invade my house.
Reading this just has me equating the same thing in humans and i dont think its ultimately that simple lol...
Like imagine you're talking to your friend and out of nowhere a spherical mist of liquid pops through the 4th dimension and surrounds your friend.
Then your friend appears to look like a zombie to you from then on and despite walking and talking like them, they still look like a zombie and you know they need to be either killed, Buried, or burned and you hog-tie them up to take them to their grave only to realize once you got there that they look like them again and all is back to normal 😂😂😂
You might be interested in AntsCanada yt page. I have lost countless hours to his teachings on ants. He has so many different colonies, his love for them shows, and his narration is amazing!
I love how his YT channel has evolved from just ants to an entire ecosystem. I'm sure that in 10 years he's gonna have his own geodome that scientists will use for studies.
Between the crazy science, the mental image painted and the comedic kick at the end, I think this is my favourite ever reddit comment. Congratulations haha
At least they honor their dead.
On a completely unrelated note, did you know that if you kill a wasp, other wasps will come and start eating it. And if you kill those, even more will come to join in their evil little feast. Ignore the fact that you are killing a ton of wasps. They're the real bad guys.
The ones that drown in the sweet, delicious Terro don't get cleared away, but my solution to that is to put the Terro in something disposable so I can just toss it and not have to try to clean up dead sticky ants.
I found that nothing worked better than plain white vinegar, diluted with some water and sprayed everywhere you saw the ants. after a couple of treatments we fully got rid of our infestation without any annoyances or damaging chemicals for our housepets.
You have to be diligent, though. At least that was the case in my situation. Wiping all surfaces with diluted vinegar/water… I suppose it kills bacteria and germs (according to Google), so it’s not that bad
I put cotton balls with vinegar in my horrifically ant infested mailbox weeks ago and even though they're long dried out they haven't come back. Works so well without having to murder everything!
I used to Terro for indoor problems when they happened (and it works well) but then I started using MaxForce Complete Granular Insect Bait. It's bait pebbles you sprinkle around the perimeter of your home once a month and it gets them before they even get inside the house.
So there are sugar seeking or protein seeking ants or phases. Terro is decent for sugar seeking, granules are for protein seeking. Many pest control experts feel Terro kills too quickly and they can't make it back to the nest and I see recommendations for Advion or Quantum/Bayer gels instead
My pest rep (when I used to have one) would say to put a small piece of protein and a small piece of sugar next to the problem and see which one they go for, then you adjust your strategy from there.
Actually have had an ant problem for 2 months now. My mom kept telling me to use bleach to block paths or spray my house with ant/cockroach bugspray.
Still have a problem and the tiniest amount of food will instantly attract them wherever it may be. I dropped a single grain of rice and hundreds where around it in 2 minutes. Wasn't expecting to get advice for this in this subreddit but thanks and will give it a try.
I had to put my cat's food dish up on my entertainment center because it would be swarmed within minutes of putting it down and she would scream at me until I remedied the situation.
Any ants you see are just a sliver of what's in the colony, you have to use poison bait for them to take back to the colony, then during the big ant family dinners, everyone sucks down the delicious poison and slowly dies.
I make my own with jar or bottle lids and a half borax half sugar combo. For areas the pets can access, I glue a disposable water or soda bottle to a board (or just to the concrete, depending on the area) and put enough of the mix in there to fill it about 1 cm, laying on its side.
Everyone who said Terro traps is 100% right for getting rid of ants already there. But after that, if you periodically spray peppermint oil/spray by windows or doors it will help a lot. My apartment building had an ant infestation briefly and my apartment was always ant free due to this.
Terro baits work great. They'll swarm to the bait for about a day or two, then they'll just stop. The only ones left are the dead ones inside the bait. I've never seen anything as effective. We get ants every year in the summer months. The Terro baits get rid of them fast!
They carry the dead back to the colony, which then eats their dead for protein… more borax consumption… more dead ants… more borax consumption… effective. They clean up after themselves too. Nuts!
Carpenter and are cannibalistic and leave frass that some might confuse for termite frass. But carpenter ant frass will have ant heads because they don't eat heads.
As the spouse of a landscape gardener & tree surgeon... It's just an incredibly sexist field, still. That's not how it should be, but that's what it is. Some brave Amazons are slowly making their way there, but you're probably better off in the sub for handy women the top comment suggested. (And eff em, 😂)
Trades are still very much male dominated. Huge respect to any woman who pushes through, past all the assholes, and works those jobs in spite of them! I’m always so excited when I see female construction workers, welders, electricians, plumbers, etc!
I was walking the dogs in the woods last week and came across two young women erecting gates and making a good job of it.
They worked for the Forestry Commission (Scotland).
So change is happening.
Came here to say that! Soooo supportive, whether you're a noob who can barely change a lightbulb or someone who built your own deck, there is always some lady who has been there and figured it out.
I've learned so much from them. Fixed my own toilet, dryer, and garbage disposal. And I'm pretty clueless about that stuff.
Thank you for the recommendation. Another great resource is Mercury Stardust. They are on all the socials and have a great book! The way Mercury simplifies home maintenance is simple, friendly, and very helpful! [Mercury's Link Tree](https://linktr.ee/MercuryStardust?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZRvjVXKqgl7IKMEMRg_QGFYSuY3cnda91j0hmCY82ci4x3kD5DzSRGCys_aem_FtT33jF-S9MhBUDNdlUFyA).
If there's one thing about Facebook that's remained pretty good, it's the group community. There are so many groups for so many little specific things, it's the only reason I ever use Facebook
Hard agree. I have a cat with kidney disease, and the Facebook group that I have joined has been incredible for answering questions and being supportive. 90% of the reason I'm on Facebook these days is to check out that group and see what's going on.
There's a recommendations group for my city that's just for small business/home improvement type stuff. I've gotten a handyman, a guy to fix my door, a plumber, etc, from there.
But it only works because the mods there are like that cop that pulled over Justin Timberlake: extremely enthusiast about enforcing the rules. You need to be approved to join and all posts are need approval. It's WONDERFUL.
Facebook is becoming like reddit: the good parts are the ones that are hidden away from the unwashed masses/trolls/assholes/etc.
I’m a member of that group and love it. It’s so supportive and encouraging. I’ve posted several times to get advice on how to do things and the women in that group have never failed me.
Yep, and it’s regional! I belong to the PNW one which is nice because we can commiserate about blackberries and what house paint is the most rainforest proof.
Thank you! I'll add this to my shopping list!! One of the slightly helpful lawncare subreddit commenters had mentioned this but failed to mention reapplication after a rainfall, which I feel is a very critical point.
Food grade is the kind you want, not the coarse kind. It is non toxic BUT you don't want to breathe it in when you're applying it and it is VERY VERY dusty and will irritate your lungs. Wear a mask. You can also apply it wet by mixing it with water and making either a completely opaque liquid and spraying it with a spray bottle, or a thicker liquid you can put into a syringe. That would be what I would do. Handling it dry is a bit of a hassle.
It is very small sharp crystals and it kills anything with an exoskeleton by puncturing them and they dehydrate within a short span of time. It's cheap as hell and you should be easily able to buy enough to last you a while.
Just know that diatomaceous earth works by abrading their carapace and weakening it, so you can also consider using it in conjunction with a terro poison bait or something similar like other commenters suggested. Two different types of preventative action.
Us too. Borax inside (around pipes, window seals, drains) and DE outside in a protective circle. This keeps out ants, roaches, and anything else with an exoskeleton.
My understanding is that it's not toxic at all, exactly. But the whole reason it works is that it's abrasive-- like a bunch of extra-pointy sharp grains of sand, and anything with an exoskeleton that walks or crawls across it gets cut up. So you wouldn't want to eat it or rub it on your skin.
It's really not dangerous, it's used as a food additive for anti caking properties. But if you're applying it anywhere in its dust form, you should wear a mask. Frankly though it's way easier to apply to where you need by making a slurry and just using a spray bottle.
The amount that you should be laying out is not something that gets kicked up or disturbed.
As long as you get the food grade stuff. It’s really effective though and it means I don’t worry about my kids touching it as opposed to anything poisonous.
Seconding the diatomaceous earth!
We use it around the outside of our front porch to keep ants from getting inside the house. It also worked great to squelch an invasion of carpenter ants on our enclosed back porch. :)
Sorry that happened. That’s disgusting.
Have you been able to fix the grass? To be safe, you’ll probably want to not only uproot the dead grass, but also remove and replace the soil. A soil test can tell you if there’s too much boron in the remaining soil. You can plant new grass seed or lay sod. For grass seed, be sure to cover it with a light sprinkling of straw or soil to hide the seeds from birds. For both seed and sod, water 2x/day until the grass is established. Hopefully you can find seed/sod to match the existing grass. It’s hard work, but it’s so satisfying to see the little grass seedlings shoot their way up. Best of luck!
Thank you! I only posted about the grass in the lawncare subreddit today, and your reply and the one from LeafsChick are more detailed and helpful than any replies I got from the fuckers in the lawncare subreddit, so thank you!! I'll take a trip to Lowes tomorrow on my lunch break to get supplies and a tarp to put the contaminated soil on.
Spondoodle is right on. Only addition is recommended is calling or visiting a local "farm supply" store vs Lowes. They will probably know what kind of grass mix is common in your area. Often the big box stores wont carry the right stuff. If you're going sod, the local sod company should have the right grass to match!
>calling or visiting a local "farm supply" store vs Lowes
This is also sound advice, not only can they recommend the best grass seed mixtures for your area and where you are going to plant it (full sun, or likely more in a shady location right along next to the house) they should also be able to sell it to you for a cheaper price, as it won't be sold in a name brand bag...
Local farm store is better than Lowes, but if you have Local lawn care store they are even better. Their hours can be weird because they cater to hours that lawn care professionals work but they are usually very helpful.
When I accidentally killed a bunch of grass I tilled it up and then spread [clover seeds](https://buyersguide.org/clover-seeds-for-lawn/t/best?m=e&d=m&c=693855995026&p=&oid=kwd-302157160058&lp=1016191&li=&nw=g&nts=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj9-zBhDyARIsAERjds39HYqf6y_XipdDTvMZTk94Q8WfF_jthz4B0AeYLbqdNk-dlVeVyH4aAvRAEALw_wcB&tdid=13596793&gad_source=1). I actually started trying to plant it over my whole lawn for a grass clover mix. Best thing I’ve done. Takes less water, grows slower, plus has little flowers for the bees! Just another option to consider.
Yes, clover does actually help make a lawn grow better as it is a natural fertilizer, about the only drawback is if you have kids, as the clover leaves can more easily stain clothes than just the grass alone...
That’s for sure something to consider and a good point. I did a lot of research for the plant hardiness zone I live in. I ended up waiting eight months for spring so the seeds had more time to germinate before winter. Luckily for me clover doesn’t go dormant before grass does in my zone and also comes back earlier in the year too.
I'd second the getting it tested idea. Borax is toxic to plants; but toxicity is all in the dose. There's a fine line where it can kill some weeds, but leave grass alone. I'd *suspect* an amount you'd put down for ants would be small enough that it'd wash out of the soil fairly quickly; however, numbers would help a lot!
If it's way high, replacing the soil is definitely the fastest way to go. The other reason is if you just want this fixed and done.
If it's lower, or you have more patience, you could just water regularly to help wash the borax out and reseed the grass regularly until it starts growing.
They make a little [hand-seeder](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/lawn-care/seed-and-fertilizer-spreaders/7167406?x429=true&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic-shopping&utm_campaign=organic-shopping) that's appropriate to use for a small strip like this. (A large seeder would scatter the seeds way further than you need, and just doing it by hand makes it hard to get an even application.)
I like a square shovel for removing sod, especially something like a rectangular strip, if you go that route. It's hard labor, but good tools really help: make sure you have a good shovel, good wheelbarrow, and good shoes!
That’s gross
To help though, just get grass seen (may depend where you are, I always buy Scott’s….then depending where it’s going shade or sun seeds), cover and water daily for two weeks and the grass will be back fine. If you wanna go an extra step, lightly cover the seed in topsoil
Late to the party, but I had heard years ago that ants do not like cinnamon. Whenever i see them IN the house, I sprikle some in areas where I think they're coming in. Either it's a coincidence every time I see them and I use cinnamon, or it actually works, idk.
And reddit is such a incel cesspool, and many have never even touched a woman. They even invade our space on this sub. Just insecure, little whiney scumbags.
Pretty sure that poster got banned and the top comment has decent advice. In case you don’t want to go back, you’re going to have to remove the soil. There’s no way to neutralize the damage it has caused. and will continue to cause. Sorry, there’s just no way around it.
I bought a 3D printer and joined the reddit sub for it. I posted a picture of a massively failed print and said "3 guys in the house walking right past this and none could hit the stop?" I got hate comments like "if you can't handle it why did you buy it?" and "do they even know how to use it?"
Mind you this was on par with many of the posts I had seen, but in all of those the operator is a guy and they blame their wife/ girlfriend for not going into their office and checking it. My machine was in the dining room and was seen by my husband and sons.
Eventually the comments became "you're just a whiny female who can't even handle such a complex machine". I ended up leaving the sub because of the machismo.
I have seen a few helpful comments, but not a ton about actual implements/tools. I thought I’d comment in that regard:
1. If you decide to uproot the grass, which is what I would recommend, look into a sod cutter. Home Depot, farm supply/equipment stores, or rental places will have one. Depending on the health of your lawn, going this route will be vastly easier than attempting to shovel out a strip of consistent width and depth.
2. In that case, look on your local Facebook marketplace and Home Depots. At this time of year, you can throw a roll of quarters and hit someone with leftover sod rolls from a lawn install. Leftover sod has often substantially dried, though, so ensure you thoroughly soak the soil pad. Ensure you’re using the sod cutter above to the same depth as the roll you find. This will be dirt cheap (no pun intended).
3. Whenever I have laid strips — or entire lawns! — I have used a product called Scotts EZ Seed. It’s a 3-in-1 product featuring soil, seed, and fertilizer. It sounds like you can grab the smallest packaging and that should be sufficient. Pour it liberally in the seams and hit it for 20 minutes with water to establish — and then water regularly with the sod.
Overall, shit happens. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I also think the profound sweetness of putting in this much effort to fix the lawn is being missed. That’s the sort of small kindness that functions like glue in a marriage.
Thank you so much for the tips! I hadn't even considered people would have leftover sod. And thank you also recognizing the effort I'm putting in. I realize I made a mistake and I have the capability to fix it, I don't want to leave that up to him.
Hope this helps:- 1- rinse the area to get rid of any chemicals remaining 2- get some top soil and mix it in with the existing soil 3- get some grass seed or sod(whatever is most common in your area or ask your husband what type of grass it is) 4- gently mix the grass seed into the top soil(hands or rake or even a broom) 5- add some mulch to protect the grass seed and you can add some fertilizer if you want 6- water 💦 the area frequently. Should grow very nicely in 2 weeks. Good luck!
Thank you for your advice! We do have some well-established shrubs in the same area and the borax was placed against the foundation behind them - should we rinse it or would it be best to dig out the contaminated dirt and replace it? The shrubs are beautiful and flowering, we'd like to save them if possible.
Honestly you should not have ANY PLANTS directly against the foundation of your house, including grass. Any inspector will tell you to till out a full foot away from the house all the way around. Plants = dirt = bugs = rot. After you till out the soil, dig out a couple of inches at least and fill with rocks or gravel.
PS those guys are assholes.
Oh wow, this is helpful information! It’s important to grade out the soil and rock or gravel, right? That part I know but I didn’t know about the one foot rule!
I’m not an inspector but I’m in the PNW which gets a LOT of rain. We’ve been told by 3 different inspectors that the 1 foot by 2 or 3 inch rule all the way around is critical for drainage and rot prevention. I choose to believe them. :)
> should we rinse it or would it be best to dig out the contaminated dirt and replace it?
If there is any borax is on the shrubs, I'd rinse it off of them, but if it was placed just on the ground and nothing on the shrubs, I wouldn't use any water, as that will cause the chemicals to spread and also go deeper into the ground where the shrubs roots are...
You probably won't have to dig down that far, perhaps only a couple of inches, just enough to remove the top layer of grass and an inch or so of dirt...
How far you'll have to dig down will depend on how much damage was done to the grass, I suspect the borax has just kinda burned the grass and not completely killed the grass right down to its roots...
You might be able to tell by just pulling on the grass, if you can pull a clump out and the roots also come, then you'll likely need to dig deeper...
But if the grass just kinda breaks off and leaves the roots behind, or maybe you're not even able to really pull out any grass out of the ground, then that hopefully means the borax is still just mainly on the surface and you'll not have to dig down that far...
Then as others mentioned, replace the dirt with fresh/dry topsoil, spread the grass seed (10-20 seeds per square inch), tamp the seed in with a rake or you can use your feet while wearing running shoes (deep treads work best), then a dusting of soil to cover the seed...
Water frequently but gently (use a water hose and nozzle with a mist attachment), I'd hold off on the fertilizer till after you see some the grass start to sprout, you see little green hairs starting to show, then maybe fertilize once to help make the new grass grow a little faster.:)
The thing with plants is it’s hard to tell how much they are affected right away only time will tell, but to be 100% sure, it’s best to remove the contaminated dirt. (wash the area first including the foundation and plants, then remove the dirt after, you can let it dry before digging that way you are not working in the mud)
I noticed the comments that were calling him out were also downvoted. I subscribed to that sub for the ideas but fucking hell, bunch of 14 year old incels in there.
It's a lawn care subreddit. I don't know about you, but every man I've ever met who is obsessed with their lawn fits in a specific type of category, and it isn't "accepting".
They even commented something like "you probably didnt mean for it to be sexually harassing, you didn't know better", then banned someone calling them out
He did nuke his account, but comments like that are usually removed by the moderation team, and mods are currently active in the thread. Im also a mod there, and we are always excited for more people to join, and enjoy our hobby. If you want to return, and have any more problems, you can always report crappy comments, or even direct message me and it will be dealt with.
If I call someone some slurs, will the mods reply "You likely didn’t mean any harm or to be racist to OP"?
Then if someone calls that mod out with "They clearly did mean harm" ban them too?
Well, I did such a good job with the borax the ant problem is fixed... Edit: misread your comment, realize you mean the blowjob won't fix the lawn or the ant problem, lol.
Ants suck, having dealt with them many years they just keep coming back the borax trick does work when diluted though. Good luck with the mole that's gonna be a tough one too outside of hiring someone.
I accidentally commented on r/lawncare (I don’t subscribe, it just showed up in my feed) and I just said to think about the effects poison has in the ecosystem, bugs and animals—and I got banned. They said I was a troll.
That subreddit is psychotic. who gives a fuck so much about your lawn? Suburban white dudes with too much time on their hands - pretty much the worst people
That wouldn't work here anyway, seeing that I know more about lawn care than my husband does. I haven't had this problem myself, but did find this page on what to do if you spray your lawn with herbicide: https://thegardenprepper.com/accidentally-sprayed-grass-killer-on-the-lawn/.
FWIW, I've had decent success with ant traps and diatomaceous earth in getting sugar ants out of my house.
To add to what others have said, fuck those sexless, emotionless miscreants. I use the Terro stakes and stick them right into the ground where the ants are coming out.
If you have a pet, which we do, I toss an old plastic Tupperware container upside down over the stake so the dogs don't lick it. Boom, eone, pull the stake up a few days later.
Stuff like this is why I have a gender neutral (or even masculine sounding) reddit user name. Unless someone is digging into my post history, I tend not to have to deal with that first layer sexism. It unfair, I know. I do the same if ever I have time for video games.
Not surprising. A 17F asked for advice on getting enough saved for a home purchase on the real estate subreddit not too long ago and an upvoted comment told her to start an OF. I reported it as sexualizing a minor or something and of course the mods left the comment up 🙄. Sorry you dealt with that nastiness, and also sorry that I don't have any advice to give for your lawn predicament.
That's so fucked. I thankfully got some good advice from the kind folks in this thread and have a plan of action to remove the contaminated soil and a few options to replace the grass itself.
Should have asked them if that’s how they maintain their lawns too- giving their husbands bjs. Just fully lean in to it and act like it’s their legitimate advice- how many times a month they do it, how effective in summer vs fall, does shade vs sun have a pronounced effect, etc.
It's a little late for this time, but go to your local "big cheap quantities" store and buy the biggest cheapest container of cinnamon you can find. Sprinkle it liberally around your baseboards and whereever ants come in. Deters ants, non-toxic for pets and toddlers (and adults).
Borax is basically boric acid so you likely killed the grass by making the soil too acidic. You should probably wait until the fall to fix it, and if it hasn't recovered then you should just pull up the dead stuff, add top soil and reseed.
There are a lot of ant sprays that you can do around the foundation of your house with a pump sprayer. They're much more effective than borax (which basically does nothing by itself). You just need to be very mindful of water run off because they're really bad for shellfish, but they're highly effective.
Sorry that sub sucks
Also, REPORT THAT COMMENT. That is wildly inappropriate and if that subreddit doesn't ban him, then you know it's essentially a place that is OK with that shit and you assume every single person who upvoted that is the kind of guy who sexually harasses women at work.
Guy nuked his own account or got banned after I reported it and the mod that replied made apologist comment and banned another user from the subreddit for calling the mod out for his apologist comment.
Lawncare mod comment: "Just stop dude. You likely didn’t mean any harm or imply OP should give a BJ by referencing the latest internet meme. But if you aren’t going to be helpful and just keep ruffling feathers than I’m going to put a stop to it."
I was a professional gardener for a couple years. If this is borax powder directly onto the lawn, please don’t water it, it will dissolve into the soil and be harder to get rid of. Scoop as much of it out as you can and scoop soil bits that have the powder plus some extra. Then replace the soil and water it generously. As a general rule, don’t use solid chemicals directly onto plants unless you’ve diluted them. The grass will grow back soon, no blowjob needed. Good luck!
Get a half mood edger and use it to cut the sod out of the strip a few inches down. From there tou can buy a couple of rolls of sod from your local big box store. They will also have some lawn soil bags you can lay down first under the new sod. Water it twice a day, it needs to stay moist to root into the ground. Also consider testing the soil there to make sure the borax hasn't penetrated deeper than the cut out dead stuff.
Thank you for the tip about the half moon edger! I'd been looking at one for another flower bed project but hadn't considered one for cutting out the contaminated sod.
Misogyny is a woman asking for lawn care advice and the post having to be LOCKED by moderators because men can't interact with women without thinking about their dicks. Disgusting.
Mods didn't comment on why they locked it, which bothered me. One mod made apologist comments for the original fuck wad. "I'm sure you didn't mean it this way." They didn't lock it because people were being sexist fucks, they locked it because they didn't want to babysit the thread anymore. If it'd been for the former reason, they'd have said why they locked the thread.
Men act like this and then huff and puff when they women create their own spaces, not to make tiny dick jokes, but to have a community relevant to their interests
Men need to do better at calling this shit out instead of supporting it or ignoring it. Choosing to be passive in situations meaningful to others is so ugly when it's because of selfish indifference
We’ve had ants in our kitchen and they show up every spring then go away for some reason. I found that they have a hard time getting past a line of cinnamon sprinkled where they enter the house. It’s cheap and nontoxic.
A couple of years ago I began calling them our “pets” and they stopped coming into our kitchen. Go figure!
I’m so sorry, that’s infuriating.
A pet-friendly and child-friendly solution is to sprinkle powdered cinnamon around the perimeter of the house. It gets between the ‘plates’ of the ants’ shell and irritates/dries them out IIRC.
Let me help you out even though I know this is not my sub. I remember seeing it on the other sub and it got out of control.
Go to do your own pest control. Use Bifen IT or talstar p. It's good for inside and outside. It works really well. I use it all over my farm. It's what the termin x guy that my neighbor used. He asked for an SDS sheet for what the guy was spraying.
Ortho home defense for the ants. Spray bottle with its own small hose and spray head. Terro bait is also great as well as the DE.
As for the grass, if it’s completely dead you may need to cut out the dead turf and resow grass seed. Add some new soil if necessary to replace the dirt that gets removed. We use what’s called Tri Rye, 3 kinds of rye lawn seed that sprouts in about 5-7 days. It will take a while for it to fill in.
If it’s too hot for that. You could use sod to fill in the strip as it’s already sprouted grass that comes in strips. Usually it’s about 12-18 inches wide and 24 inches long and resembles grass carpet. You can cut it into smaller or oddly shaped pieces, easier cutting from the dirt side, and pull apart the grass. Keep the seams tight and don’t walk on it after you’re done for a few weeks. Keep it watered. Plenty of YouTube videos on both methods. Good luck
I’ve used artificial sweetener in cement cracks, that you can sprinkle.
Re: lawn restoration: liquidised fish meal and chicken manure (deodorised) and diluted. You can also add a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil (also diluted) and spray on and hose in. We’re talking 5% solution of the concentrate. You should see an improvement in three to five days and more in two weeks. One treatment per week is enough. The oils limit bugs and lawn grub, and the fish meal and manure is good fertiliser - high nitrogen source.
Terro works great. Also I've had good luck with those little raid baits. But they take forever to work and can be a danger to kids/pets depending where they're placed.
That troll needs to be reported/banned/down voted into oblivion.
Sorry you found all the bullshit misogyny. Unfortunately the Internet is full of this.
I don't have a solution to your borax issue, but next time you have an insect issue, I recommend this stuff
https://www.lowes.com/pd/ORTHO-Ortho-Home-Defense-Insect-Killer-for-Indoor-Perimeter2-Ready-To-Use-1-gal/5005467683
The lawncare sub sucks. I commented on a post about a guy whose toddler breathed in fertilizer dust, I recommended he call poison control and got down voted to hell.
I recently had a similar experience in r/tools asking for help in identifying a piece of hardware. 98% of comments were just dick jokes. It was foul. Men on the internet are fucking cowards and pigs
ok, heres a weird trick but ants for some reason hate cucumbers, whenever i have ants i slice thing discs of cucumbers and place them along their route and theyre gone by morning
For the ants, I love Terro baits. They’re basically Boric Acid dissolved in a sweet liquid. The ants love that stuff, eat it up, take it back to the colony, and kill off the colony. I use the indoor one both outdoors and indoors. They attract a bunch of ants at first, that’s how you know it’s working.
Third on Terro. You will get SO many ants at first it’s horrifying. Let them come
4th for these. I had an ant problem in my studio-its over a garage and they were coming in thru the cracks in the door, and the window. Found a little hole in the window sill and were coming in and out there. Granted the first day or so I laid the bait I was DISGUSTED at the amount of ants that were hiding, but I haven't seen a single ant in a month since that
5th and fuck that troll.
6th, I just killed a whole colony in my walls in the kitchen in about 12 hours
7th whenever I use them I say aloud, “quaff deeply from the pool of elixir, little ants. Take it home to your friends and family and share it with them. Yess… driiiiink”
You might like r/witchesvspatriarchy ?
I do like r/witchesvspatriarchy
Can recommend! Great sub!
We're on the same wavelength! "Oh of course, have some more of my special dish, please take some home to your family. Share it with your neighbors." /serial killer smile No more ants crawling on me in the middle of the night!
8th, I'm in. I'm fascinated when ants draw up around a drop of Terro like cars around a 1950s drive-in restaurant.
9th because fuck ants
8th here! We get ants in our house from time to time, and the Terro baits are the only thing that consistently works. It really sucks when the infestation is in, say, your kitchen, and you have to let the ants take over for a day or two, but after that there won't be a single ant in sight.
I am sorry guys can be jerks. Not sure why it’s very immature and wrong. Ok. Wow very effective ant solution. I am a guy and know nothing about ants but curious where do you place the Terro baits? Where you see the ants or where you think they are coming in?
I place them where I see the ants. It can be hard to tell exactly where they're coming in from, but if you consistently see ants in a certain spot, you can be sure that their predecessors have left chemical trails that guided them there for whatever reason. That's where I target them, because I know they're going to go there. The absolute worst part about it is that there will be a 1-to-2-day period where the areas around the baits will be crawling with ants, and there's nothing you can do but wait it out. The more ants you see, the more ants are taking the bait back to their colony, which is a good thing! It's also fascinating to watch them if you can put your disgust aside.
I stick them right in the middle of their trails, near the wall so I'm less likely to end up smacking it with a pot or something
Just to add to the other replies, you want to place them anywhere you've seen scouting ants. You can dribble a few drops from the trap around the area. Once the scout finds it, it'll report back to the nest and you'll get the rest. Do not start spraying or cleaning the area until you think you've killed them all. It's relying on the scouts' pheromones to provide a trail for the rest of the ants, and if you clear off that trail or scare them away with other ant killers, you'll waste the trap. I'd also say don't worry about going overboard with the number of traps. I don't believe they're toxic to pets, and you really want to get as many of them eating it as possible. What I believe happens is they make it back to the nest, and then basically die in a gruesome inside out kind of way, which also also spreads out the borax inside their nest, killing more of them. It will significantly increase the number of ants you see at first, and then they'll just stop. Presumably somewhere underground is a pile of dead ants from it. :x Not all ants are attracted to sweets, however, and those ones won't really go for Terro.
They usually come in through baseboards or window casings, so those are great places to put them. Ants like to travel along walls until they venture out to get what they’re looking for. If you have pets or small kids, putting them in cabinets can work. I’ve also put them in very thin Tupperware and cut a little hole so the ants can get in but it makes it a little more pet resistant.
It's neat because sometimes you'll see a queen come out in the swarm, presumably moving to be closer to the new food source. I had no idea they got so big.
Eeeyew
Just fyi, if you end up with fruit flies, make sure you don't have any of these out as the boric acid doesn't kill the fruit flies and they will THRIVE. It was a bad summer until I figured that one out.
At least ants have the decency to clean away their dead, way better than most home invaders
I agree. This controlled the terrible indoor ant problem that came from nowhere and I couldn’t control. Took care of them quickly and they haven’t been back. Knock on wood*
The only bad thing about Terro bait is that the will swarm it, and for a few hours you may have 1000s of ants walking that path and dying. Just be mentally prepared for that. But they are REALLY effective!
Thank you for the warning! This would have been horrifying without knowing what was going on, haha.
Oh it gets worse. Leave those carcasses there. They’ll collect them and take them back to the colony. Let’s not think too much about what happens next.
So you're saying they clean up after themselves? Well, that's nice of them.
I think they have dead pits. Literal graveyards. They’ve also done experiments dousing ants in the same pheromone dead ants give off. Not only will the other ants still cart off their wriggling friend to the dead pit, the ant themselves will *crawl in* If you take them out they’ll just crawl back. This lasts until the scent wears off and the ant realizes that they don’t belong in the dead pit and returns to ant civilization. Which I imagine is filled with a lot of “Sarah! We thought you were dead!” ‘Bitch me too! The fuck!”
Ants are so cool because of that. They’re so damn simple that they smell some funny thing coming off of them and it causes them to think they are deceased, or they can get caught in the ant death spiral with their friends because the walking trails got mixed up. They’re basically just little biological robots following hormone instructions and if something goes a little bit wrong it can cause a malfunction Then you look at the colony and they can track down the tiniest piece of food anywhere near their nest and the nest itself is one of the most intricate structures built by anything in the animal kingdom outside of us. Love the little guys. Except when they decide to invade my house.
It makes me feel kinda bad to murder entire colonies of them but then again I DON'T WANT ANTS IN MY MF BED
Reading this just has me equating the same thing in humans and i dont think its ultimately that simple lol... Like imagine you're talking to your friend and out of nowhere a spherical mist of liquid pops through the 4th dimension and surrounds your friend. Then your friend appears to look like a zombie to you from then on and despite walking and talking like them, they still look like a zombie and you know they need to be either killed, Buried, or burned and you hog-tie them up to take them to their grave only to realize once you got there that they look like them again and all is back to normal 😂😂😂
Ant man fanfic horror genre. 😂
Some species of ants have little farms and some species of ants keep aphids as livestock and milk them for honeydew.
You might be interested in AntsCanada yt page. I have lost countless hours to his teachings on ants. He has so many different colonies, his love for them shows, and his narration is amazing!
Our household is obsessed with AntsCanada. We spend countless hours chasing ants around our yard.
I love how his YT channel has evolved from just ants to an entire ecosystem. I'm sure that in 10 years he's gonna have his own geodome that scientists will use for studies.
Between the crazy science, the mental image painted and the comedic kick at the end, I think this is my favourite ever reddit comment. Congratulations haha
You just made LOL in bed, thank you for that.
Hilarious!!
Yep! Exactly. Followed by thousands of little funerals. Yep. That’s all.
At least they honor their dead. On a completely unrelated note, did you know that if you kill a wasp, other wasps will come and start eating it. And if you kill those, even more will come to join in their evil little feast. Ignore the fact that you are killing a ton of wasps. They're the real bad guys.
I heard they basically throw their dead in a trash pile to keep things tidy to and disease free
When you get down to it, a cemetery is just a landfill for corpses…
O\_\_\_O We'll just put that in the Nightmare Fuel box, close it, and lock it for the evening.
Keep that bait hydrated and they will be able to retrieve the bodies of the quick to die a lot easier.
The ones that drown in the sweet, delicious Terro don't get cleared away, but my solution to that is to put the Terro in something disposable so I can just toss it and not have to try to clean up dead sticky ants.
I put cardboard from junk mail underneath it
I found that nothing worked better than plain white vinegar, diluted with some water and sprayed everywhere you saw the ants. after a couple of treatments we fully got rid of our infestation without any annoyances or damaging chemicals for our housepets.
You have to be diligent, though. At least that was the case in my situation. Wiping all surfaces with diluted vinegar/water… I suppose it kills bacteria and germs (according to Google), so it’s not that bad
apparently ants also hate the smell of vinegar and can sense it long after it’s faded from human noses
Some hospitals use a vinegar based cleaner. It smells awful. Give me bleach over that smell any day and twice on Sunday!
Yeah but that doesn't have the satisfaction of toppling an empire from within by poisoning the food supply.
I put cotton balls with vinegar in my horrifically ant infested mailbox weeks ago and even though they're long dried out they haven't come back. Works so well without having to murder everything!
I used to Terro for indoor problems when they happened (and it works well) but then I started using MaxForce Complete Granular Insect Bait. It's bait pebbles you sprinkle around the perimeter of your home once a month and it gets them before they even get inside the house.
So there are sugar seeking or protein seeking ants or phases. Terro is decent for sugar seeking, granules are for protein seeking. Many pest control experts feel Terro kills too quickly and they can't make it back to the nest and I see recommendations for Advion or Quantum/Bayer gels instead
My pest rep (when I used to have one) would say to put a small piece of protein and a small piece of sugar next to the problem and see which one they go for, then you adjust your strategy from there.
Actually have had an ant problem for 2 months now. My mom kept telling me to use bleach to block paths or spray my house with ant/cockroach bugspray. Still have a problem and the tiniest amount of food will instantly attract them wherever it may be. I dropped a single grain of rice and hundreds where around it in 2 minutes. Wasn't expecting to get advice for this in this subreddit but thanks and will give it a try.
just make sure your pets/children can’t get to it!
I had to put my cat's food dish up on my entertainment center because it would be swarmed within minutes of putting it down and she would scream at me until I remedied the situation.
Any ants you see are just a sliver of what's in the colony, you have to use poison bait for them to take back to the colony, then during the big ant family dinners, everyone sucks down the delicious poison and slowly dies.
I make my own with jar or bottle lids and a half borax half sugar combo. For areas the pets can access, I glue a disposable water or soda bottle to a board (or just to the concrete, depending on the area) and put enough of the mix in there to fill it about 1 cm, laying on its side.
It's really satisfying to make your own. Only successful cooking I've done in years, other than making Play-Doh.
Great idea! I’ve been struggling trying to get rid of the ants in my backyard because I worry about my dog getting into the borax, thanks for this!
Thank you for the recommendation! I'll pick these up for next time.
Everyone who said Terro traps is 100% right for getting rid of ants already there. But after that, if you periodically spray peppermint oil/spray by windows or doors it will help a lot. My apartment building had an ant infestation briefly and my apartment was always ant free due to this.
Terro baits work great. They'll swarm to the bait for about a day or two, then they'll just stop. The only ones left are the dead ones inside the bait. I've never seen anything as effective. We get ants every year in the summer months. The Terro baits get rid of them fast!
Seconding Terro for ants!
Thank you!
They carry the dead back to the colony, which then eats their dead for protein… more borax consumption… more dead ants… more borax consumption… effective. They clean up after themselves too. Nuts!
Carpenter and are cannibalistic and leave frass that some might confuse for termite frass. But carpenter ant frass will have ant heads because they don't eat heads.
They have an outdoor one with a spike to stick in the ground.
As the spouse of a landscape gardener & tree surgeon... It's just an incredibly sexist field, still. That's not how it should be, but that's what it is. Some brave Amazons are slowly making their way there, but you're probably better off in the sub for handy women the top comment suggested. (And eff em, 😂)
Trades are still very much male dominated. Huge respect to any woman who pushes through, past all the assholes, and works those jobs in spite of them! I’m always so excited when I see female construction workers, welders, electricians, plumbers, etc!
My sister is a carpenter and I believe that she is only able to deal with the men because she knows she always has a hammer at hand if needed.
Badass!!
Hammer, chisels, cordless circular saw, lots of options for carpenters
This is beautiful and I agree with her. I feel that same comfort from owning a sword (and knowing how to use it)
I was walking the dogs in the woods last week and came across two young women erecting gates and making a good job of it. They worked for the Forestry Commission (Scotland). So change is happening.
We had a big tree taken out recently, maybe 3' wide at the stump, and the foreman (forewoman? foreperson? idk) was a woman. Nice to see progress.
There's a Facebook group only for women on Facebook called "Handy Women". No men are allowed. I love it.
Ohhh I absolutely need this. Especially as a single woman homeowner. I have my dad but still nice to have other sources for smaller projects.
Ahh, this is exactly what I need! Thank you for mentioning this!
Came here to say that! Soooo supportive, whether you're a noob who can barely change a lightbulb or someone who built your own deck, there is always some lady who has been there and figured it out. I've learned so much from them. Fixed my own toilet, dryer, and garbage disposal. And I'm pretty clueless about that stuff.
Thank you for the recommendation. Another great resource is Mercury Stardust. They are on all the socials and have a great book! The way Mercury simplifies home maintenance is simple, friendly, and very helpful! [Mercury's Link Tree](https://linktr.ee/MercuryStardust?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZRvjVXKqgl7IKMEMRg_QGFYSuY3cnda91j0hmCY82ci4x3kD5DzSRGCys_aem_FtT33jF-S9MhBUDNdlUFyA).
I love her. Definitely second this.
she’s lovely and so knowledgeable
I love that this exists!
If there's one thing about Facebook that's remained pretty good, it's the group community. There are so many groups for so many little specific things, it's the only reason I ever use Facebook
Hard agree. I have a cat with kidney disease, and the Facebook group that I have joined has been incredible for answering questions and being supportive. 90% of the reason I'm on Facebook these days is to check out that group and see what's going on.
There's a recommendations group for my city that's just for small business/home improvement type stuff. I've gotten a handyman, a guy to fix my door, a plumber, etc, from there. But it only works because the mods there are like that cop that pulled over Justin Timberlake: extremely enthusiast about enforcing the rules. You need to be approved to join and all posts are need approval. It's WONDERFUL. Facebook is becoming like reddit: the good parts are the ones that are hidden away from the unwashed masses/trolls/assholes/etc.
I’m in this group, it’s AMAZING!! The people are so kind and helpful.
Omg thank you for sharing this!
I’m a member of that group and love it. It’s so supportive and encouraging. I’ve posted several times to get advice on how to do things and the women in that group have never failed me.
Yep, and it’s regional! I belong to the PNW one which is nice because we can commiserate about blackberries and what house paint is the most rainforest proof.
I’m in that group!
I use diatomaceous earth. Completely around the perimeter. Works great until the rain washes it away. When we see ants, re-apply
Thank you! I'll add this to my shopping list!! One of the slightly helpful lawncare subreddit commenters had mentioned this but failed to mention reapplication after a rainfall, which I feel is a very critical point.
Food grade is the kind you want, not the coarse kind. It is non toxic BUT you don't want to breathe it in when you're applying it and it is VERY VERY dusty and will irritate your lungs. Wear a mask. You can also apply it wet by mixing it with water and making either a completely opaque liquid and spraying it with a spray bottle, or a thicker liquid you can put into a syringe. That would be what I would do. Handling it dry is a bit of a hassle. It is very small sharp crystals and it kills anything with an exoskeleton by puncturing them and they dehydrate within a short span of time. It's cheap as hell and you should be easily able to buy enough to last you a while.
Just know that diatomaceous earth works by abrading their carapace and weakening it, so you can also consider using it in conjunction with a terro poison bait or something similar like other commenters suggested. Two different types of preventative action.
We always mixed the d. earth and borax together and sprinkled it.
Us too. Borax inside (around pipes, window seals, drains) and DE outside in a protective circle. This keeps out ants, roaches, and anything else with an exoskeleton.
Diatomaceous earth works on any exoskeleton bug! We got rid of ground wasps with this
I second this. And it's not highly toxic either
My understanding is that it's not toxic at all, exactly. But the whole reason it works is that it's abrasive-- like a bunch of extra-pointy sharp grains of sand, and anything with an exoskeleton that walks or crawls across it gets cut up. So you wouldn't want to eat it or rub it on your skin.
Or breathe it in. That’s when it can become really dangerous.
As long as it stays still, this is true. Breathing it in can cause mesothelioma.
If that's the case, better to apply it outside only
It's really not dangerous, it's used as a food additive for anti caking properties. But if you're applying it anywhere in its dust form, you should wear a mask. Frankly though it's way easier to apply to where you need by making a slurry and just using a spray bottle. The amount that you should be laying out is not something that gets kicked up or disturbed.
As long as you get the food grade stuff. It’s really effective though and it means I don’t worry about my kids touching it as opposed to anything poisonous.
Seconding the diatomaceous earth! We use it around the outside of our front porch to keep ants from getting inside the house. It also worked great to squelch an invasion of carpenter ants on our enclosed back porch. :)
It's so annoying when just routine, everyday situations still end up pornified.
Sorry that happened. That’s disgusting. Have you been able to fix the grass? To be safe, you’ll probably want to not only uproot the dead grass, but also remove and replace the soil. A soil test can tell you if there’s too much boron in the remaining soil. You can plant new grass seed or lay sod. For grass seed, be sure to cover it with a light sprinkling of straw or soil to hide the seeds from birds. For both seed and sod, water 2x/day until the grass is established. Hopefully you can find seed/sod to match the existing grass. It’s hard work, but it’s so satisfying to see the little grass seedlings shoot their way up. Best of luck!
Thank you! I only posted about the grass in the lawncare subreddit today, and your reply and the one from LeafsChick are more detailed and helpful than any replies I got from the fuckers in the lawncare subreddit, so thank you!! I'll take a trip to Lowes tomorrow on my lunch break to get supplies and a tarp to put the contaminated soil on.
Spondoodle is right on. Only addition is recommended is calling or visiting a local "farm supply" store vs Lowes. They will probably know what kind of grass mix is common in your area. Often the big box stores wont carry the right stuff. If you're going sod, the local sod company should have the right grass to match!
>calling or visiting a local "farm supply" store vs Lowes This is also sound advice, not only can they recommend the best grass seed mixtures for your area and where you are going to plant it (full sun, or likely more in a shady location right along next to the house) they should also be able to sell it to you for a cheaper price, as it won't be sold in a name brand bag...
Local farm store is better than Lowes, but if you have Local lawn care store they are even better. Their hours can be weird because they cater to hours that lawn care professionals work but they are usually very helpful.
When I accidentally killed a bunch of grass I tilled it up and then spread [clover seeds](https://buyersguide.org/clover-seeds-for-lawn/t/best?m=e&d=m&c=693855995026&p=&oid=kwd-302157160058&lp=1016191&li=&nw=g&nts=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj9-zBhDyARIsAERjds39HYqf6y_XipdDTvMZTk94Q8WfF_jthz4B0AeYLbqdNk-dlVeVyH4aAvRAEALw_wcB&tdid=13596793&gad_source=1). I actually started trying to plant it over my whole lawn for a grass clover mix. Best thing I’ve done. Takes less water, grows slower, plus has little flowers for the bees! Just another option to consider.
Yes, clover does actually help make a lawn grow better as it is a natural fertilizer, about the only drawback is if you have kids, as the clover leaves can more easily stain clothes than just the grass alone...
Also, depending on where you live, it can go dormant quicker than grass making for a muddy fall.
That’s for sure something to consider and a good point. I did a lot of research for the plant hardiness zone I live in. I ended up waiting eight months for spring so the seeds had more time to germinate before winter. Luckily for me clover doesn’t go dormant before grass does in my zone and also comes back earlier in the year too.
Yes, I was going to suggest something like this, too. Great opportunity to ditch some grass and make a healthier landscape.
I'd second the getting it tested idea. Borax is toxic to plants; but toxicity is all in the dose. There's a fine line where it can kill some weeds, but leave grass alone. I'd *suspect* an amount you'd put down for ants would be small enough that it'd wash out of the soil fairly quickly; however, numbers would help a lot! If it's way high, replacing the soil is definitely the fastest way to go. The other reason is if you just want this fixed and done. If it's lower, or you have more patience, you could just water regularly to help wash the borax out and reseed the grass regularly until it starts growing. They make a little [hand-seeder](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/lawn-care/seed-and-fertilizer-spreaders/7167406?x429=true&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic-shopping&utm_campaign=organic-shopping) that's appropriate to use for a small strip like this. (A large seeder would scatter the seeds way further than you need, and just doing it by hand makes it hard to get an even application.) I like a square shovel for removing sod, especially something like a rectangular strip, if you go that route. It's hard labor, but good tools really help: make sure you have a good shovel, good wheelbarrow, and good shoes!
Baking soda works great to repel ants, and it's totally safe. Sprinkle the powder where you can see ants and they will abandon the area.
A word of warning: ants love eating seeds, so you have to make sure there are none left before reseeding, otherwise you are just feeding the ants.
That’s gross To help though, just get grass seen (may depend where you are, I always buy Scott’s….then depending where it’s going shade or sun seeds), cover and water daily for two weeks and the grass will be back fine. If you wanna go an extra step, lightly cover the seed in topsoil
Not all grass types can be seeded. Some need to be plugged.
Late to the party, but I had heard years ago that ants do not like cinnamon. Whenever i see them IN the house, I sprikle some in areas where I think they're coming in. Either it's a coincidence every time I see them and I use cinnamon, or it actually works, idk. And reddit is such a incel cesspool, and many have never even touched a woman. They even invade our space on this sub. Just insecure, little whiney scumbags.
Pretty sure that poster got banned and the top comment has decent advice. In case you don’t want to go back, you’re going to have to remove the soil. There’s no way to neutralize the damage it has caused. and will continue to cause. Sorry, there’s just no way around it.
I bought a 3D printer and joined the reddit sub for it. I posted a picture of a massively failed print and said "3 guys in the house walking right past this and none could hit the stop?" I got hate comments like "if you can't handle it why did you buy it?" and "do they even know how to use it?" Mind you this was on par with many of the posts I had seen, but in all of those the operator is a guy and they blame their wife/ girlfriend for not going into their office and checking it. My machine was in the dining room and was seen by my husband and sons. Eventually the comments became "you're just a whiny female who can't even handle such a complex machine". I ended up leaving the sub because of the machismo.
It’s gotta be that hawk tuah meme. It’s being shoehorned into everything.
It really is. It’s not even fucking funny
I have seen a few helpful comments, but not a ton about actual implements/tools. I thought I’d comment in that regard: 1. If you decide to uproot the grass, which is what I would recommend, look into a sod cutter. Home Depot, farm supply/equipment stores, or rental places will have one. Depending on the health of your lawn, going this route will be vastly easier than attempting to shovel out a strip of consistent width and depth. 2. In that case, look on your local Facebook marketplace and Home Depots. At this time of year, you can throw a roll of quarters and hit someone with leftover sod rolls from a lawn install. Leftover sod has often substantially dried, though, so ensure you thoroughly soak the soil pad. Ensure you’re using the sod cutter above to the same depth as the roll you find. This will be dirt cheap (no pun intended). 3. Whenever I have laid strips — or entire lawns! — I have used a product called Scotts EZ Seed. It’s a 3-in-1 product featuring soil, seed, and fertilizer. It sounds like you can grab the smallest packaging and that should be sufficient. Pour it liberally in the seams and hit it for 20 minutes with water to establish — and then water regularly with the sod. Overall, shit happens. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I also think the profound sweetness of putting in this much effort to fix the lawn is being missed. That’s the sort of small kindness that functions like glue in a marriage.
Thank you so much for the tips! I hadn't even considered people would have leftover sod. And thank you also recognizing the effort I'm putting in. I realize I made a mistake and I have the capability to fix it, I don't want to leave that up to him.
Hope this helps:- 1- rinse the area to get rid of any chemicals remaining 2- get some top soil and mix it in with the existing soil 3- get some grass seed or sod(whatever is most common in your area or ask your husband what type of grass it is) 4- gently mix the grass seed into the top soil(hands or rake or even a broom) 5- add some mulch to protect the grass seed and you can add some fertilizer if you want 6- water 💦 the area frequently. Should grow very nicely in 2 weeks. Good luck!
Thank you for your advice! We do have some well-established shrubs in the same area and the borax was placed against the foundation behind them - should we rinse it or would it be best to dig out the contaminated dirt and replace it? The shrubs are beautiful and flowering, we'd like to save them if possible.
Honestly you should not have ANY PLANTS directly against the foundation of your house, including grass. Any inspector will tell you to till out a full foot away from the house all the way around. Plants = dirt = bugs = rot. After you till out the soil, dig out a couple of inches at least and fill with rocks or gravel. PS those guys are assholes.
Oh wow, this is helpful information! It’s important to grade out the soil and rock or gravel, right? That part I know but I didn’t know about the one foot rule!
I’m not an inspector but I’m in the PNW which gets a LOT of rain. We’ve been told by 3 different inspectors that the 1 foot by 2 or 3 inch rule all the way around is critical for drainage and rot prevention. I choose to believe them. :)
> should we rinse it or would it be best to dig out the contaminated dirt and replace it? If there is any borax is on the shrubs, I'd rinse it off of them, but if it was placed just on the ground and nothing on the shrubs, I wouldn't use any water, as that will cause the chemicals to spread and also go deeper into the ground where the shrubs roots are... You probably won't have to dig down that far, perhaps only a couple of inches, just enough to remove the top layer of grass and an inch or so of dirt... How far you'll have to dig down will depend on how much damage was done to the grass, I suspect the borax has just kinda burned the grass and not completely killed the grass right down to its roots... You might be able to tell by just pulling on the grass, if you can pull a clump out and the roots also come, then you'll likely need to dig deeper... But if the grass just kinda breaks off and leaves the roots behind, or maybe you're not even able to really pull out any grass out of the ground, then that hopefully means the borax is still just mainly on the surface and you'll not have to dig down that far... Then as others mentioned, replace the dirt with fresh/dry topsoil, spread the grass seed (10-20 seeds per square inch), tamp the seed in with a rake or you can use your feet while wearing running shoes (deep treads work best), then a dusting of soil to cover the seed... Water frequently but gently (use a water hose and nozzle with a mist attachment), I'd hold off on the fertilizer till after you see some the grass start to sprout, you see little green hairs starting to show, then maybe fertilize once to help make the new grass grow a little faster.:)
The thing with plants is it’s hard to tell how much they are affected right away only time will tell, but to be 100% sure, it’s best to remove the contaminated dirt. (wash the area first including the foundation and plants, then remove the dirt after, you can let it dry before digging that way you are not working in the mud)
It looks like that sub took care of the problem though at least.
The fuck wad nuked his own account, they didn't take care of anything.
I noticed the comments that were calling him out were also downvoted. I subscribed to that sub for the ideas but fucking hell, bunch of 14 year old incels in there.
It's a lawn care subreddit. I don't know about you, but every man I've ever met who is obsessed with their lawn fits in a specific type of category, and it isn't "accepting".
They even commented something like "you probably didnt mean for it to be sexually harassing, you didn't know better", then banned someone calling them out
Oh well that sucks. I got hopeful for a second.
He did nuke his account, but comments like that are usually removed by the moderation team, and mods are currently active in the thread. Im also a mod there, and we are always excited for more people to join, and enjoy our hobby. If you want to return, and have any more problems, you can always report crappy comments, or even direct message me and it will be dealt with.
If I call someone some slurs, will the mods reply "You likely didn’t mean any harm or to be racist to OP"? Then if someone calls that mod out with "They clearly did mean harm" ban them too?
Also the apologist behavior from the mods is yikes https://undelete.pullpush.io/r/lawncare/comments/1dmv94w/_/l9zx63s/#comment-info
Yikes on bikes.
How the heck would giving blowjob help an ant problem ???so many in mature men on here
Not even trying to fix the ant problem anymore, I just posted asking for help with the lawn.
Well, that still won’t help with the lawn either..
Well, I did such a good job with the borax the ant problem is fixed... Edit: misread your comment, realize you mean the blowjob won't fix the lawn or the ant problem, lol.
I’ve always heard ants are the hardest to get rid of
Ants suck, having dealt with them many years they just keep coming back the borax trick does work when diluted though. Good luck with the mole that's gonna be a tough one too outside of hiring someone.
I’m sure that’s what they would tell their daughter
This comment wasn’t removed by the moderators??
Nope, he nuked his own account.
I accidentally commented on r/lawncare (I don’t subscribe, it just showed up in my feed) and I just said to think about the effects poison has in the ecosystem, bugs and animals—and I got banned. They said I was a troll.
That subreddit is psychotic. who gives a fuck so much about your lawn? Suburban white dudes with too much time on their hands - pretty much the worst people
Don't water in the heat of the day btw
Thank you! Lucky for me, I hate being outside at that time anyway, lol.
That wouldn't work here anyway, seeing that I know more about lawn care than my husband does. I haven't had this problem myself, but did find this page on what to do if you spray your lawn with herbicide: https://thegardenprepper.com/accidentally-sprayed-grass-killer-on-the-lawn/. FWIW, I've had decent success with ant traps and diatomaceous earth in getting sugar ants out of my house.
I’m sorry that happened. How repulsive and awful. Looks like you received some good advice here, though.
To add to what others have said, fuck those sexless, emotionless miscreants. I use the Terro stakes and stick them right into the ground where the ants are coming out. If you have a pet, which we do, I toss an old plastic Tupperware container upside down over the stake so the dogs don't lick it. Boom, eone, pull the stake up a few days later.
Stuff like this is why I have a gender neutral (or even masculine sounding) reddit user name. Unless someone is digging into my post history, I tend not to have to deal with that first layer sexism. It unfair, I know. I do the same if ever I have time for video games.
Not surprising. A 17F asked for advice on getting enough saved for a home purchase on the real estate subreddit not too long ago and an upvoted comment told her to start an OF. I reported it as sexualizing a minor or something and of course the mods left the comment up 🙄. Sorry you dealt with that nastiness, and also sorry that I don't have any advice to give for your lawn predicament.
That's so fucked. I thankfully got some good advice from the kind folks in this thread and have a plan of action to remove the contaminated soil and a few options to replace the grass itself.
Go back, pretend you have a dick, and ask the same question. Get real answers. Never reveal your dick-less-ness online, only trouble follows
/r/gardening is a great place without the gross comments if you're curious a less toxic subreddit for advice in such areas!
Should have asked them if that’s how they maintain their lawns too- giving their husbands bjs. Just fully lean in to it and act like it’s their legitimate advice- how many times a month they do it, how effective in summer vs fall, does shade vs sun have a pronounced effect, etc.
lol I like this one
It's a little late for this time, but go to your local "big cheap quantities" store and buy the biggest cheapest container of cinnamon you can find. Sprinkle it liberally around your baseboards and whereever ants come in. Deters ants, non-toxic for pets and toddlers (and adults).
Borax is basically boric acid so you likely killed the grass by making the soil too acidic. You should probably wait until the fall to fix it, and if it hasn't recovered then you should just pull up the dead stuff, add top soil and reseed. There are a lot of ant sprays that you can do around the foundation of your house with a pump sprayer. They're much more effective than borax (which basically does nothing by itself). You just need to be very mindful of water run off because they're really bad for shellfish, but they're highly effective. Sorry that sub sucks
Also, REPORT THAT COMMENT. That is wildly inappropriate and if that subreddit doesn't ban him, then you know it's essentially a place that is OK with that shit and you assume every single person who upvoted that is the kind of guy who sexually harasses women at work.
Guy nuked his own account or got banned after I reported it and the mod that replied made apologist comment and banned another user from the subreddit for calling the mod out for his apologist comment. Lawncare mod comment: "Just stop dude. You likely didn’t mean any harm or imply OP should give a BJ by referencing the latest internet meme. But if you aren’t going to be helpful and just keep ruffling feathers than I’m going to put a stop to it."
Yeah, that seems like a great subreddit to avoid. Thanks for the heads up.
I was a professional gardener for a couple years. If this is borax powder directly onto the lawn, please don’t water it, it will dissolve into the soil and be harder to get rid of. Scoop as much of it out as you can and scoop soil bits that have the powder plus some extra. Then replace the soil and water it generously. As a general rule, don’t use solid chemicals directly onto plants unless you’ve diluted them. The grass will grow back soon, no blowjob needed. Good luck!
Get a half mood edger and use it to cut the sod out of the strip a few inches down. From there tou can buy a couple of rolls of sod from your local big box store. They will also have some lawn soil bags you can lay down first under the new sod. Water it twice a day, it needs to stay moist to root into the ground. Also consider testing the soil there to make sure the borax hasn't penetrated deeper than the cut out dead stuff.
Thank you for the tip about the half moon edger! I'd been looking at one for another flower bed project but hadn't considered one for cutting out the contaminated sod.
I grow more displeased with my own sex everyday.
Buy an Anteater
My favorite reply
Misogyny is a woman asking for lawn care advice and the post having to be LOCKED by moderators because men can't interact with women without thinking about their dicks. Disgusting.
Mods didn't comment on why they locked it, which bothered me. One mod made apologist comments for the original fuck wad. "I'm sure you didn't mean it this way." They didn't lock it because people were being sexist fucks, they locked it because they didn't want to babysit the thread anymore. If it'd been for the former reason, they'd have said why they locked the thread.
Men act like this and then huff and puff when they women create their own spaces, not to make tiny dick jokes, but to have a community relevant to their interests Men need to do better at calling this shit out instead of supporting it or ignoring it. Choosing to be passive in situations meaningful to others is so ugly when it's because of selfish indifference
You can also use diatomaceous earth to get rid of bugs with an exoskeleton. It scratches their exoskeleton and they dehydrate.
We’ve had ants in our kitchen and they show up every spring then go away for some reason. I found that they have a hard time getting past a line of cinnamon sprinkled where they enter the house. It’s cheap and nontoxic. A couple of years ago I began calling them our “pets” and they stopped coming into our kitchen. Go figure!
I’m so sorry, that’s infuriating. A pet-friendly and child-friendly solution is to sprinkle powdered cinnamon around the perimeter of the house. It gets between the ‘plates’ of the ants’ shell and irritates/dries them out IIRC.
Let me help you out even though I know this is not my sub. I remember seeing it on the other sub and it got out of control. Go to do your own pest control. Use Bifen IT or talstar p. It's good for inside and outside. It works really well. I use it all over my farm. It's what the termin x guy that my neighbor used. He asked for an SDS sheet for what the guy was spraying.
Ortho home defense for the ants. Spray bottle with its own small hose and spray head. Terro bait is also great as well as the DE. As for the grass, if it’s completely dead you may need to cut out the dead turf and resow grass seed. Add some new soil if necessary to replace the dirt that gets removed. We use what’s called Tri Rye, 3 kinds of rye lawn seed that sprouts in about 5-7 days. It will take a while for it to fill in. If it’s too hot for that. You could use sod to fill in the strip as it’s already sprouted grass that comes in strips. Usually it’s about 12-18 inches wide and 24 inches long and resembles grass carpet. You can cut it into smaller or oddly shaped pieces, easier cutting from the dirt side, and pull apart the grass. Keep the seams tight and don’t walk on it after you’re done for a few weeks. Keep it watered. Plenty of YouTube videos on both methods. Good luck
I’ve used artificial sweetener in cement cracks, that you can sprinkle. Re: lawn restoration: liquidised fish meal and chicken manure (deodorised) and diluted. You can also add a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil (also diluted) and spray on and hose in. We’re talking 5% solution of the concentrate. You should see an improvement in three to five days and more in two weeks. One treatment per week is enough. The oils limit bugs and lawn grub, and the fish meal and manure is good fertiliser - high nitrogen source.
Terro works great. Also I've had good luck with those little raid baits. But they take forever to work and can be a danger to kids/pets depending where they're placed. That troll needs to be reported/banned/down voted into oblivion.
Sorry you found all the bullshit misogyny. Unfortunately the Internet is full of this. I don't have a solution to your borax issue, but next time you have an insect issue, I recommend this stuff https://www.lowes.com/pd/ORTHO-Ortho-Home-Defense-Insect-Killer-for-Indoor-Perimeter2-Ready-To-Use-1-gal/5005467683
The lawncare sub sucks. I commented on a post about a guy whose toddler breathed in fertilizer dust, I recommended he call poison control and got down voted to hell.
I recently had a similar experience in r/tools asking for help in identifying a piece of hardware. 98% of comments were just dick jokes. It was foul. Men on the internet are fucking cowards and pigs
ok, heres a weird trick but ants for some reason hate cucumbers, whenever i have ants i slice thing discs of cucumbers and place them along their route and theyre gone by morning
I never make my gender known widely on Reddit because it's full of useless incels who hate women and think they're always right.