Sugar Ants - Douglasville,GA

Have you looked around the outside of the house to see if you can spot any ant homes that are finding a way in your house through any cracks? I would also spray the outside of your home as well and keep using the ant homes, they will eventually go away, we had a similar problem and used sprays and all but the best and safest thing were the ant homes. Also make sure you change them every week only because they may get full! Hope I was helpful! Good luck!

Cloths soaked in vinegar placed at the ants entry points work as a deterrent. I know you said your little furries can't tolerate sprays but Raid flea area spray (supposed to be safe for pet beds etc) is awesome. It kills returning ants for over a week. It is in a purple can. Oh and yes, it is FLEA spray but works great on ants.

The best way to get rid of them is to find the nest. I found three this year. One inside my running shoes (in my bedroom!), another in a potted plant on my patio, and one more in the boards that surrond the patio. We haven't had much of a problem since getting rid of the nest. Another trick is to set out some cream of wheat (uncooked) ants eat is and bring it back to the nest and their stomach's explode. Also citrus. We use the orange glow cleaner on our counters.

YAY! I can answer this!

So, I have a bit of a candy addiction. I like something sweet before bed. I always keep everything carefully sealed, but apparently my boys found my stash and decided to raid it and leave things open.

Enter the sugar ants.

You'll need:

2 Tablespoons Borax powder (laundry aisle at Walmart)
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Hot water
a couple of little lids off plastic food storage containers
A small bowl
a fork

Here's what you do: Take a couple of lids from the teeny-tiny rubbermaid leftover food containers. You know...the ones you'd use for salad dressing? Or in my case, the ones I almost never use. Anyhow, put them on the counter. Put the sugar in the bowl. Add a little hot water. Start with about a tablespoon and use the fork to stir it until the sugar is dissolved in the water. Then add the Borax. Mix it with a fork and make a paste with about the consistency of toothpaste. Add more water if needed. Mix well. Now take and dab the paste on each of the lids (use whichever side won't allow the paste to escape over the side).

These are your "ant baits." Put them whereever you've seen the ants. Since I also have cats, I put mine under my nightstand where they can't get to them. So I suggest putting them under a piece of furniture where your dogs can't go.

Give the ants about two days. They will bring the bait back to the nest and feed their friends. No more ants. Then you can pick up the baits, clean the lids with dish soap and hot water (might have to let them soak), and they're safe to use again.

Enjoy!

Anything natural will have to be re-applied from time to time. My mother uses Borax powder in the areas they come in.

Find the area where they are coming in and keep it cleaned. You can also try mixing some essential oils like peppermint oil and tea tree oil (not too much just a few drops in water) spray the area and/or clean with it.

I found this on line:

Put cucumber slices near cracks or entry points because ants apparently hate cucumbers.
Draw chalk lines around your doorways and windowsills—as with the baby powder, this may work because ants don't like particles sticking to their feet.
Put bay leaves or sprinkle cayenne pepper where the ants are coming in; according to Planet Green, ants hate the scent of these.
Make a cleaning solution of vinegar, water, and about ten drops of tea tree oil and spray it around your counters/doorways/etc. Also similar to the baby powder trick, this makes ants lose their scent trails and stop coming around (hopefully).