Renthead Mommy Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We have been getting ants and I finally figured out they were coming in and then climbing onto the counter from the inside of the dishwasher. How do I get rid of them? Kind of hard to put ant traps in the bottom of the dishwasher. The dishwasher is above a small crawl space, but is surrounded by cement and there is no access. Plus tge bug guy (and me) have already sprayed where house meets ground there. So I need to treat from dishwasher out I guess. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Huh! I've never heard of that and have no help. But I'm so sorry you're dealing with ants! We had major issues with them in California and they liked to come out the pipes in the tub through some unknown path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 We had it bad once in Okinawa, but that house was on a slab, and there was some kind of humidity vent pipe or something in the outside wall. I called base bug and the guys came out and did something, but they were Okinawan so I didn't really have a 'so what did you do to fix it conversation'. Plus I figured it was an Oki thing, not ever expecting it to be an issue again. It is certanly not a hirrible infestastion, but a few here and there ate making it up to the counters. So want to deal with it before it gets worse. I can tell you when you get a swarm, like at first in Oki, running yhe dishwasher in hit dies NOT fix the problem! Those tiny suckers can escape between the dishwasher seals. That was a crazy few minutes as they swarmed out of the dishwasher! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Call your big guy back and tell him you need a reservice until it's fixed. If it's a reputable company they should come for free till the problem is solved. Can he drill into the slab? That's how they treat termites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 If it were me, I'd do dishes in the sink for a week (or until it was clear) and use Terro Ant Baits. We've had good results with these. http://www.terro.com/terro-liquid-ant-baits-2-pack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 (edited) That is a good idea. But maybe we'll just eat out more! LOL! Edited July 1, 2016 by Renthead Mommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Set some Terro baits (mentioned by pp) on the counter where you have been seeing the ants. They will be attracted to the baits and you will see swarms of them at first. This is a good thing. They will then take the bait back and feed it to the nest and, if all works well, kill out the nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I have had this problem several times. I put borax in my dishwasher after I unload the clean dishes. It takes care of the problem in just a couple of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 Set some Terro baits (mentioned by pp) on the counter where you have been seeing the ants. They will be attracted to the baits and you will see swarms of them at first. This is a good thing. They will then take the bait back and feed it to the nest and, if all works well, kill out the nest. The ant baits have been out. Both floor and counter top. To put them where you see the ants, would be dead center along the front of counter area. They don't usually wonder back as far as the back of the counter. Plus every time I see them, I squish them with my finger and then usually do a vinegar spray wipe down. But that was why it was so confusing before I realized they were coming out of the dishwasher. The bait was there. The counters were clean. They were just coming in and searching. The was never more than a few at any given time. Tracking down where they were coming from was huge. I have had this problem several times. I put borax in my dishwasher after I unload the clean dishes. It takes care of the problem in just a couple of days. This is an excellent plan! I had sprinkled borax along the foundation, along the door jam to the side of the kitchen, and in the window frame behind the sink. But it didn't seem to be doing anything. Mainly because it turns out there are not in those areas at all, even though that is where they normally would be coming in from. I'm going to throw some in right now. We only need to run the dish washer ever few days so hopefully they will get their fill and take it back. And had not even though of that, even though I'd been sprinkling it other places. I just had ant bait on the brain and how do you that in a dishwasher. DUH! Can't believe I never thought of that, even thought I know you can put borax into the dishwasher. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 FWIW, one summer in college I stayed in an apartment that had roaches come out of the top of the dishwasher door where the latch was. Sorry for the visual but it would be another place to possibly spray or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 We're dealing with ants in and around our dishwasher, too. 'Tis r season! Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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