How to Deal with the Polygynous Pharaoh Ant seemingly now infesting Chiang Mai?

[MisterBleach]

How many of you in Chiang Mai are suddenly being plagued by the Pharaoh ant during recent days?  The Pharaoh ant is only 2 millimeters in length, but it can run extremely fast.  Also, it is able to crawl up one's legs and over one's arms, back, neck, and other unmentionable places.

 

I am NOT joking, here.

 

This is one of the worst pests that I have ever encountered in my life.  You really cannot even see them in dim light, but you sure can feel them.

 

These must be the fastest traveling animals, relative to their size, of any in the animal world.

 

I am positive that I am not the only one to notice the infestation of these ants, beginning about 10 days ago.  There is a season for everything, and now seems to be the season for Pharaoh ants in Chiang Mai.

 

In an attempt to rid my abode of these things, I have tried wiping down all surfaces, other than the walls, with a 25-percent solution of bleach.  However, this seems to be of little use.

 

Also, I think these guys are too small for ant traps.

 

Sometimes, when I feel them crawling on me, the only thing that seems to help is a quick shower.

 

Horrid animals, they are, in my opinion.

 

Well, I am willing to try almost anything other than using insecticides to free myself from these tiny forms of life.

 

I will attach a link to Wikipedia so that you can see for yourself what they look like when magnified substantially. 

 

I am sure that there must be a best solution, but what is it?  I am not a native to this locale, and so I have no clue, and maybe you do.

 

 

Thank you.

Mister Bleach

 

Note:  These ants are something that seem most prevalent at this time of year.  I do not know why. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh_ant

 

[donnacha]

I'd recommend giving your homeless shelter a jolly good cleaning.


 

[MisterBleach]

Please Note:  It is only my very best guess that these are Pharaoh Ants, due to their minute size.  And, since they are so minute, they are difficult to identify.

 

And, well, if I have misidentified them, then what are they?

 

All I really know is that they are about 1.5 millimeters in length, and are extremely agile and fast moving.

 

And, in addition, they seem to appear at about this time of year.

 

Any tips?

 

Thank you.

[holy cow cm]

Don’t think pharaoh ants but something else. They come in droves and go everywhere but primary in the kitchen. Tiny little things and are relentless. You have to think they live in tiny cracks or a pinhole in cement. Actually anywhere. So you have to hit cracks up. Same as the small red ants, in any little hole or crack. Do these ants bite and hurt or don’t bite ? 

 

 

[andy72]

you supplied the link

 

did you not read it?

 

here is the solution for pharaoh and other ant species

 

The recommended method to eliminate pharaoh ants is by the use of baits attractive to the species. Modern baits use insect growth regulators (IGRs) as the active substance; the ants are attracted to the bait by its food content, and take it back to the nest. Over a period of weeks the IGR prevents the production of worker ants and sterilizes the queen. Renewing the baits once or twice may be necessary.^[31]

Pharaoh and other ants have also been exterminated with baits of 1% boric acid and sugar water.^[32]

 

^{i also find that closing gaps with silicone sealer is good they do not seem to like it}

[holy cow cm]

Mine have been around for 4 mo the already. But the most annoying are the small red persistent ants. But know what you mean, these little ones do have a tendency to crawl o to you and annoy pretty well 

[chickenslegs]

Bayer Quantum.

Can be found at Tops, Home Pro, maybe other stores.

Find the ants paths and leave a small drop. They take it back to the nest and it kills them off (for a while).

Quite expensive for a very small tube, but really effective.

https://www.tops.co.th/en/bayer-quantum-ant-killer-12g-8850172831016

[worgeordie]

The best solution to the problem with ants i have found

is Ant Chalk,you can find it in some supermarkets,and

those cheap shops that sell tat, 19 Bhat shops I call them

just draw marks on the floor or anywhere the ants are traveling,

last time i used it ,we had about five different ant species

in the house,from tiny ones you can hardly see (but give a bite

that lasts for days,) to some quite large ants,that seem to live

in very small colonies,and only come out at night.

 

After applying the chalk,next day they were all gone,the rest 

dead on the floor. when you have killed them all just wipe

away the chalk. P.S. last time I bought the Chalk, it was 19 Thb

regards worgeordie

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

Borax or boric acid mixed with honey. The chemical should be dissolved in hot water first. Ants take it back to their nest, and it poisons the queen ant.

[andy72]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Borax or boric acid mixed with honey. The chemical should be dissolved in hot water first. Ants take it back to their nest, and it poisons the queen ant.

 

the gift that keeps giving 

 

Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants. It acts as a stomach poison affecting the insects' metabolism, and the dry powder is abrasive to the insects' exoskeletons.^[36][37][38] Boric acid also has the reputation as "the gift that keeps on killing" in that cockroaches that cross over lightly dusted areas do not die immediately, but that the effect is like shards of glass cutting them apart. This often allows a roach to go back to the nest where it soon dies. Cockroaches, being cannibalistic, eat others killed by contact or consumption of boric acid, consuming the powder trapped in the dead roach and killing them, too.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/541186-where-can-i-buy-boric-acid/

 

[MisterBleach]

32 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Don’t think pharaoh ants but something else. They come in droves and go everywhere but primary in the kitchen. Tiny little things and are relentless. You have to think they live in tiny cracks or a pinhole in cement. Actually anywhere. So you have to hit cracks up. Same as the small red ants, in any little hole or crack. Do these ants bite and hurt or don’t bite ? 

 

 

OK...

These ants definitely do not bite.

However, they do crawl rapidly all over one's body once they get onto one's extremities.

In other words, if you rest an arm on a table where these ants are running, then they immediately hop on, and crawl from the arm to one's neck, or anywhere else.

And, even worse, you can't find them to get them off you.

 

The only recourse is to take a quick shower.

 

I have never seen these things other than in Thailand, and only during a short period of the year.

 

I am sure that they will be gone soon, on their own, just due to changing weather conditions.

 

However, for now, they are definitely murder.

 

Still, I do NOT want to spray insecticide in my abode because I hate the smell of the chemicals, even though I do not care a twit about the health effects of spraying.

[MisterBleach]

33 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Bayer Quantum.

Can be found at Tops, Home Pro, maybe other stores.

Find the ants paths and leave a small drop. They take it back to the nest and it kills them off (for a while).

Quite expensive for a very small tube, but really effective.

https://www.tops.co.th/en/bayer-quantum-ant-killer-12g-8850172831016

"There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward. John Mortimer"

 

Wonderful quote.

 

[holy cow cm]

31 minutes ago, MisterBleach said:

OK...

These ants definitely do not bite.

However, they do crawl rapidly all over one's body once they get onto one's extremities.

In other words, if you rest an arm on a table where these ants are running, then they immediately hop on, and crawl from the arm to one's neck, or anywhere else.

And, even worse, you can't find them to get them off you.

 

The only recourse is to take a quick shower.

 

I have never seen these things other than in Thailand, and only during a short period of the year.

 

I am sure that they will be gone soon, on their own, just due to changing weather conditions.

 

However, for now, they are definitely murder.

 

Still, I do NOT want to spray insecticide in my abode because I hate the smell of the chemicals, even though I do not care a twit about the health effects of spraying.

Not all bug spray smells. And I agree with you as I just cannot stand it, so I buy the non smelling spray. Not the worst and but you need to head them off and from where they were coming from. Yes they are extremely fast. They have been in and out of my house for many months. Just now have seemed to stopped. 

[ThaiPauly]

...and if all these options fail then get yourself a professional company to come and do it for you.

 

I use a company called CNX Pest Control, I NEVER get any problems with creepy crawlies, but then again I pay an annual fee for them to come and spray my house monthly...worth every baht I can tell you, I certainly would not want to be in your situation.

 

You can always tell when they have been and sprayed as there are many dead  or dying cockroaches upside down drawing their last breath thanks to "The Bug Guys" as we call them

 

Tel # 053 805469

 

www.cnxpest.com

 

 

[elektrified]

The small black ants have appeared in our kitchen too. My kid left out a can of sweetened, condensed milk. When I walked into the kitchen there was easily 5,000 of them crawling on the counter. They seem to disappear once anything sweet is put away.

[MrBrad]

I've had these little, teenie-weenie ants on my kitchen counter tops off and on over the years. I am meticulous about having a clean kitchen, yet, on occasion they appear.  And for the longest time I really couldn't find where they were coming from.  Sometimes I'd no more than turn my back, and they'd appear.

 

Finally, I got the idea of using a super-bright flashlight to help me see what they were up to.  I drew my finger across their path, and the scent of my skin gave them a scare which sent them running extremely fast for home.  With the light I followed the little <deleted>s to a pinhole in the cement wall.  It was just the smallest hole that nothing could get through, but there it was, their entrance.

 

With a dab of superglue I plugged the hole and it worked!  They were immediately gone.  True, they popped up again days later via another pinhole, but plugging that one, too, kept them at bay.  I've had to take this action several times, but at least for the time being I'm free of those mini-ants.  I cannot control what they do inside the wall, but when they're in my kitchen, it's all-out war.  And, finally, I'm winning.

 

As for those buggers crawling on me while I'm at the computer, yes, that happens to me, too.  And yes, they're quick.  They don't bite, but are annoying just the same.  I'm not opposed to spraying with Baygon which does the trick on them.  Additionally, I spray a bit on a paper towel and wiped down the areas that I don't really want to saturate by spraying.  This method seems to have convinced them that my desk is an off-limits area.  I've not been pestered by mini ants for many months.  I think that quick action is key to controlling them before they take over the house.

[Dante99]

1 hour ago, MrBrad said:

I've had these little, teenie-weenie ants on my kitchen counter tops off and on over the years. I am meticulous about having a clean kitchen, yet, on occasion they appear.  And for the longest time I really couldn't find where they were coming from.  Sometimes I'd no more than turn my back, and they'd appear.

 

Finally, I got the idea of using a super-bright flashlight to help me see what they were up to.  I drew my finger across their path, and the scent of my skin gave them a scare which sent them running extremely fast for home.  With the light I followed the little <deleted>s to a pinhole in the cement wall.  It was just the smallest hole that nothing could get through, but there it was, their entrance.

 

With a dab of superglue I plugged the hole and it worked!  They were immediately gone.  True, they popped up again days later via another pinhole, but plugging that one, too, kept them at bay.  I've had to take this action several times, but at least for the time being I'm free of those mini-ants.  I cannot control what they do inside the wall, but when they're in my kitchen, it's all-out war.  And, finally, I'm winning.

 

As for those buggers crawling on me while I'm at the computer, yes, that happens to me, too.  And yes, they're quick.  They don't bite, but are annoying just the same.  I'm not opposed to spraying with Baygon which does the trick on them.  Additionally, I spray a bit on a paper towel and wiped down the areas that I don't really want to saturate by spraying.  This method seems to have convinced them that my desk is an off-limits area.  I've not been pestered by mini ants for many months.  I think that quick action is key to controlling them before they take over the house.

They have probably relocated to your hard drive and are feasting on keyboard crumbs after midnight.  Checked it out yet?

[scottiejohn]

8 hours ago, Dante99 said:

They have probably relocated to your hard drive and are feasting on keyboard crumbs after midnight.  Checked it out yet?

I have heard of "computer bugs" but not bugs in computers, certainly not on that scale!

[CanuckThai]

A solution of sugar and borax truly does work.  It's not instantaneous, the buggers take the bait back to their humble abode, and the collective including the Queen, feed on the solution and die a horrible death.   Relatively non toxic.

[Damrongsak]

3 hours ago, CanuckThai said:

A solution of sugar and borax truly does work.  It's not instantaneous, the buggers take the bait back to their humble abode, and the collective including the Queen, feed on the solution and die a horrible death.   Relatively non toxic.

In the U.S., we've had problems with small black ants.  I tried Boric acid and sugar. Seemed to help, though it took awhile.  I was careful to use proportions recommended by others so that they would take it back to the nest.  This year, we had a real outbreak.  I had 6-lane highways of ants coming and going.  My wife mixed some Boric acid and sugar in water (her proportions) and set it out.  About two days later, they were gone!  I was using something like a 1:6 or 1:8 ratio of acid to sugar.  I still don't know what she mixed.  No doubt a lot stronger.

[NancyL]

On 10/26/2019 at 9:19 AM, Dante99 said:

They have probably relocated to your hard drive and are feasting on keyboard crumbs after midnight.  Checked it out yet?

This is why I use a wireless keyboard.  Keeps the crumbs away from the actual computer.

[MrBrad]

21 hours ago, NancyL said:

This is why I use a wireless keyboard.  Keeps the crumbs away from the actual computer.

Not eating at the computer also works well.

[Jai Dee]

Regularly wiping down the kitchen counter tops with a mix of 30% dish washing liquid and 70% water also seems to keep ants at bay, without resorting to a more harmful chemical solution. Let it dry naturally, and the little buggers just go elsewhere.

[NancyL]

5 hours ago, MrBrad said:

Not eating at the computer also works well.

Oh come on, what fun is that!  Don't be a kill-joy.  

 

Reminds me of when I had a company car and there was a firm rule about distracted driving.  I operated out of Houston, TX with very congested roads and the only way you'd survive was to eat in your car.  In fact it was a joke about "the Houston diet" how you could lose weight if you simply stopped eating while driving.

 

Anyway, one way while eating a BBQ sandwich while driving on the 610 West Loop South near the Westheimer Exit (anyone who knows Houston will know this is considered the most congested stretch of highway in Texas with much road merging action), I started to choke on the sandwich.  A full-out, throat spasm, I-can't breath episode.  I knew it was a very unsafe situation as the cars whizzed by mine, in the fast lane and I had visions of how I'd write up the company safety report if I survived an accident. 

 

I threw the sandwich aside and actually did a modified version of the Heimlich maneuver on myself in the driver's seat (I was very good at steering with my knees) and just like in the movies, the hunk of sandwich popped right out. 

 

Needless to say, I continued to eat in the car, but was more careful about taking small bites. 

[Dellboy218]

On 10/24/2019 at 9:49 PM, MisterBleach said:

OK...

These ants definitely do not bite.

However, they do crawl rapidly all over one's body once they get onto one's extremities.

In other words, if you rest an arm on a table where these ants are running, then they immediately hop on, and crawl from the arm to one's neck, or anywhere else.

And, even worse, you can't find them to get them off you.

 

The only recourse is to take a quick shower.

 

I have never seen these things other than in Thailand, and only during a short period of the year.

 

I am sure that they will be gone soon, on their own, just due to changing weather conditions.

 

However, for now, they are definitely murder.

 

Still, I do NOT want to spray insecticide in my abode because I hate the smell of the chemicals, even though I do not care a twit about the health effects of spraying.

Have you thought about diatomaceous earth?  You can get food grade which is good for the digestion and killing insect pests.  Safe in the kitchen and the bed!   

 

[Dellboy218]

31 minutes ago, Dellboy218 said:

Have you thought about diatomaceous earth?  You can get food grade which is good for the digestion and killing insect pests.  Safe in the kitchen and the bed!   

 

My apologies I tried to delete the youtube link.  There are others that explain how they kill troublesome insects.