Dunno about all ants but the small black ants which invade the kitchen don't like bay leaves. I leave a few pieces of dried bay leaf in the kitchen cupboards and the ants stay out of the cupboards. If you can get fresh leaves the deterrent may be even better.

Doug.

Thanks Doug, I will try ANYTHING.

Bazza

Hey Bazza

This may not be good news for you but I just had a really interesting chat with the Department of Ag here in NSW and according to them, the coastal brown is set to become a HUGE PROBLEM. The only way they suggested to get rid of them is with a product called Maxforce from Agserv in Granville over here.
She told me that not enough attention is being paid to this pest and that they are really hard to get rid of. It requires dedication and years of work. I have them everywhere, nesting in the walls, in pot plants, in unused saucepans, crawling through every room in my house, including all over me. I am thoroughly sick of them. They are an import not a native ant and they kill everything else around. So, I don't have any cockroaches either. Anyway, hope this helps. Agservs phone number is Sydney 9682 5155. I haven't tried it yet myself so this isn't an ad, just what the Department of Agriculture suggested.
Good Luck
Girlangel

Pleased to know i'm not alone in my fight to get rid of these tiny ants.I tried ant-rid syrup which works for all other ants i've encountered but alas didn't work on this one 'cause they don't seem to be looking for food & they don't travel in'line'formation so trying to tempt them into taking something nasty back to the nest is impossible.They must be living in my roof cause i find them walking all over my ceilings in different parts of the house.they drop on us in bed,they fall into food as i'm preparing it in the kitchen.i think they're also making a meal out of my dog as she has bites all over her & it's definitly not fleas.I recently stuck some ant-rid traps to my kitchen ceiling, which is the worst affected room & we don't seem to be seeing as many.Although we don't see a lot of activity around the traps either.A mystery i must say.

Hi
I have just attended a Great Gardens workshop, and they suggest a product called Amdro. I have not tried it myself yet.
These workshop are worth getting to, they are mainly about giving us gardeners, a better understanding of our soils, watering and design. Good Value FREE!
www.greatgardens.info

We too have these ants everywhere! My husband jokes that if they ever got bigger they would take over the world. Not much action in this prolonged dry spell - but once it rains - ant hills pop up every two centimetres! Kills the lawn mower - the kids get plastered in dirt and it looks revolting. A friend of ours got rid of them for three years with a poison used on bananas - Regal I think was the name - it costs about $500 for 1lt - and I'd like to know how toxic it is - any one had any luck with it?
If someone could come up with an organic solution a fortune would be theirs!
Sally

Wiping surfaces in kitchen with methylated spirits seems to keep them away but not sure for how long. They just vanish/retreat as soon as it its applied so better than nothing. They also don't like Moove natural insect spray. Important to make sure that there are no crumbs around and no scraps left out of fridge. Put dog biscuit packets inside larger plastic bag and tie up so that there is nothing to attract ants. Will do anything to avoid toxic chemicals but they are a challenge. Will try bay leaves too.

These ants are driving me crazy even getting into plastic containers with lids, closed dishwasher and laundry basket. we have a bay tree right outside kitchen where they started from so doubt bay leaves make any difference..Help what can we do?

Slow moving brown ants turned up about a year or two ago. Some have big jaws. All the old black ants now gone. They dig sand out from between pavers leaving sand everywhere that then gets tracked through the house. They get into kitchen, wheelie bin, dishwasher etc. Hard to tell how they get into the house but they are relentless and constantly scouting for scraps. Tried surface spray all over, under pots, in cracks and that seems to have slowed them down. Can see ant hills in lawns, in neighbors yard, and now forming in cracks in footpath and road. They'll be back......

We had been over run with these coastal ants at our home in Perth, then a funny thing happened in October, my son got a sand pit for his birthday which we placed on the pavement, since then there have been none of these ants digging up the builder sand under our pavement or anywhere on the grass or garden beds where the white beach sand has fallen (or been thrown!), and since we swept the paved area they haven't come up anywhere else in the paved area either. I thought this may be worth a mention. It has come a little late since they have made the bricks uneven, but at least now we're not experiencing any further damage.

I worked at AgWa answering this question.
The Coastal brown Ant is best controlled by baiting with Amdro .
I think there was another product called Drax,, not sure if you can still get that.

Coastal Brown ants are oil feeders, they will not take sugar baits.
those big headed ants amongst them with the big jaws are there to crack seeds.
the bait is made of soya and they have about the only chemical that the CBA will accept mixed in.
The chemical is UV sensitive and will break down very quickly in the sun, so put baits out late afternoon out of the direct sunlight.
Don't put the bait in clumps the CBA can detect the poison when it is in large clumps.
Spread the bait thinly and let the ants forage for it.
bait outside and the ants inside the house will also disappear
The smart thing is to get your neighbours to bait at the same time, sharing the $70 plus bill for Amdro will also help.
I have pretty much got rid of them here in Kalamunda.

Coastal Brown Ants are oil feeders, so they need a specific bait.
I saw that some one posted Amdro already.
Amdro and Drax are the only two products that will work.
They have the only toxin in them that the ant will accept.
The toxin breaks down rapidly in UV light, so put it out in the shade in the late afternoon.
The ants inside the house will disappear when you treat the outside of the house.
Amdro is expensive, but it works really well.
One container will last a long time , however it does not store well.
If you can share with neighbours and all bait at the same time you will extend the control period, as they will move in from untreated areas.

Hi All,

I know this is an old thread but have just had these ants arrive in huge numbers on our 1 acre property.

I'm keen to use Amdro as it looks like the CBA's favorite but can't find much info on with-holding periods. The Amdro distributor's brochure says
"When spread over treated areas at recommended rates, Amdro is not hazardous to pets, livestock or children. However, Amdro should not be applied near waterways or in areas where it may be washed into ponds, gutters or down drains." all of which sounds a bit vague to me.

We also have chooks that free range around the yard and I'm worried about the toxicity to poultry given that chooks peck at small specs like shell grit amongst the sand. Anyone (miketrees?) know what precautions should be taken?

Thanx in advance . . .