Last week Jeff and I saw a few ants in the house. A couple in the office scurrying across the
desks, a couple running across the kitchen counter and a couple at the front
door. Did we Panic?! No.
Did we call the Orkin Man?!....no.
Instead we went down to Lowe’s and purchased some Terro Liquid Ant Baits,
a natural non toxic product that has a Borax base. It works every time and it is safe. It is not a harmful, hazardous chemical…it is
not a toxic pesticide. It is a solution
of borax and sugar in a liquid solution.
Easy to use and completely safe for humans, children, pets, the elderly
and the neighbors. A one ounce bottle
will cost $3.29 and it also comes in convenient, pre-filled liquid ant baits
which are what we use. A box of 6 liquid
filled ant stations costs $5.97 plus tax.
Terro also offers ant stations for outside and around the foundation. Simple and easy to use, safe and inexpensive. And, for those who hold the EPA Gospel, the
EPA considers Terro to be the safest and least toxic chemical available to
consumers.
We just place the bait traps where we see the ants and in a very short time, a large number of worker ants will appear, enter the trap and drink to their hearts content. They LOVE this stuff. When they are full, they go back to their nest or colony and feed the other ants especially the Queen. In a short while, the borax in the solution will dry out the lining of their stomachs and interfere with their digestive systems and the ants die. It is a slow kill but 100% effective…..Queen and all. You get rid of the ants you see and the ants you don’t see. After a few days, all that needs to be done is to pick up the bait stations and vacuum up the dead ants that may be visible on the floor. Job done. No muss…no fuss, and no danger to the health of family members, pets and the neighbors.
Terro kills all types of ants, even the tiny sugar
ants. When I lived in Canton, Terro even killed carpenter ants that
are so prevalent to wooded areas. If
ants are nesting inside the walls, there is no need to drill tiny holes to
apply your ant killer. All you have to
do is set the bait on any flat surface and the ants will find it, no matter
where they live. You can use this
product inside your house or out, without worrying about harming the
environment.
OR!....you can call the Orkin Man or companies like that who
use toxic chemicals and pesticides. Even
though these products are approved by the EPA, they are not safe. And they really are not effective. As the ants become immune to the pesticides
used, a stronger more toxic pesticide is then needed. The companies that apply the pesticides will
tell you they are safe, they are not. Over
the years, science has uncovered health hazards due to these pesticides. The
chemical companies and the government have launched campaigns to suppress and
discredit the information that is being discovered. I know this to be true, as I am a victim of
pesticide poisoning and no chemical company, government official or farmer or
exterminator is ever going to convince me that they are safe. They are known immune suppressors, hormone
disruptors, cholinesterase inhibitors and even carcinogenic. They have been responsible for the onset of
asthma and allergies and the list goes on and on.
Knowing what I know about the dangers of pesticides, it is
amazing to me to see people calling the “Orkin Man”, or exterminating companies
like them, when all they have to do is purchase inexpensive Terro and get the
same results. So I did some research and
called the two most popular exterminator companies in the area….Terminex and
Orkin. Their marketing approach and
exterminating methods are almost identical but makes no sense to me.
When I made my call, the person on the other end insisted on giving me a brief course in ANTS-101. Without taking a breath, she explained to me that I had a catastrophic problem that will take a year to solve. A technician will come out to look the place over and plan a strategy of attack. She could not tell me what chemicals/pesticides would be used, only that they were perfectly safe. I would need to have chemicals and pesticides applied out side all around the foundation and 3 feet out. Also pesticides would be applied to the house starting from the foundation and 3 feet up…..to make sure all critters are killed. Then all the rooms inside will have to be treated with chemical pesticides, even between the walls. They would come every other month for a year and that should do it. Well, I certainly hope so!!! Sounds like “chemical warfare” to me but I was told it is perfectly safe. That seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for some ants.
Then I asked the important question….how much? Like I said….they have a plan of attack that takes a year so it ends up to be quit an expense. For Orkin, the cost for a year was approximately $700 to $900 depending on the type of ants. And Terminex was a little less….only approximately $600 a year. And to think we use Terro for only $5.97 plus tax for a box of 6 bait stations, no matter what type of ants we find. Plus there is no need to drill through walls to inject pesticides between the walls…..as with Terro, the ants find it, eat it, then go back to the nest and feed it. Job done. Clean, simple, effective and safe.
As I said, the customer service person would not tell me the exact name of the poisons being used so allow me to do my best to give you a little picture of the hazards of pesticide ant control. Insect growth inhibitors are used such as methoprene and pyriproxyfen , which is very toxic to aquatic life as it has a tendency to lower the immune system. Proper disposal is required. It is important that it does not get into the ground water.
Hydramethylnon types can be used. They are damaging to developing fetuses and interfere with reproduction. Neonicotinoids are harmful to insects such as bees, they are toxic to humans as well. Absorbed through the skin, they are toxic to the nervous system and lowers sperm count.
Avermectin are granular type pesticides that are toxic to the nervous system and to developing fetuses at very low doses. Fipronil is another commonly used pesticide that is toxic to the nervous system and has been classified as a possible carcinogen by US EPA. Fenoxycarb is toxic to the liver and also is a probable carcinogen.
Fipronil, Metaflumizone, Indoxacarb baits all have weighed in with a certain amount of toxicity. The problem occurs when you are continuously and repeatedly exposed to these pesticides over a period of time. Both Orkin and Terminex recommend what they call repeated monthly maintenance treatments which will add to your family’s repeated exposure and possible adverse health effects. Is it worth it?
Pyrethroids have been implicated as causing asthma attacks and setting off allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Organophosphates and carbamates are neurotoxic at relatively low doses, and several are probable or possible carcinogens. Now I ask you. Does this sound “Safe” to you???
When I made my call, the person on the other end insisted on giving me a brief course in ANTS-101. Without taking a breath, she explained to me that I had a catastrophic problem that will take a year to solve. A technician will come out to look the place over and plan a strategy of attack. She could not tell me what chemicals/pesticides would be used, only that they were perfectly safe. I would need to have chemicals and pesticides applied out side all around the foundation and 3 feet out. Also pesticides would be applied to the house starting from the foundation and 3 feet up…..to make sure all critters are killed. Then all the rooms inside will have to be treated with chemical pesticides, even between the walls. They would come every other month for a year and that should do it. Well, I certainly hope so!!! Sounds like “chemical warfare” to me but I was told it is perfectly safe. That seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for some ants.
Then I asked the important question….how much? Like I said….they have a plan of attack that takes a year so it ends up to be quit an expense. For Orkin, the cost for a year was approximately $700 to $900 depending on the type of ants. And Terminex was a little less….only approximately $600 a year. And to think we use Terro for only $5.97 plus tax for a box of 6 bait stations, no matter what type of ants we find. Plus there is no need to drill through walls to inject pesticides between the walls…..as with Terro, the ants find it, eat it, then go back to the nest and feed it. Job done. Clean, simple, effective and safe.
As I said, the customer service person would not tell me the exact name of the poisons being used so allow me to do my best to give you a little picture of the hazards of pesticide ant control. Insect growth inhibitors are used such as methoprene and pyriproxyfen , which is very toxic to aquatic life as it has a tendency to lower the immune system. Proper disposal is required. It is important that it does not get into the ground water.
Hydramethylnon types can be used. They are damaging to developing fetuses and interfere with reproduction. Neonicotinoids are harmful to insects such as bees, they are toxic to humans as well. Absorbed through the skin, they are toxic to the nervous system and lowers sperm count.
Avermectin are granular type pesticides that are toxic to the nervous system and to developing fetuses at very low doses. Fipronil is another commonly used pesticide that is toxic to the nervous system and has been classified as a possible carcinogen by US EPA. Fenoxycarb is toxic to the liver and also is a probable carcinogen.
Fipronil, Metaflumizone, Indoxacarb baits all have weighed in with a certain amount of toxicity. The problem occurs when you are continuously and repeatedly exposed to these pesticides over a period of time. Both Orkin and Terminex recommend what they call repeated monthly maintenance treatments which will add to your family’s repeated exposure and possible adverse health effects. Is it worth it?
Pyrethroids have been implicated as causing asthma attacks and setting off allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Organophosphates and carbamates are neurotoxic at relatively low doses, and several are probable or possible carcinogens. Now I ask you. Does this sound “Safe” to you???
So there you have it.
You can hire an exterminator to come to your house forever and spray
harmful chemicals putting your family at risk for hundreds of dollars to solve
your ant problem…..or you can purchase Terro for a few dollars, put it down
yourself and all you have to do in a few days is to sweep up dead ants. No muss….no fuss. And as always, it is to your advantage to
live healthy chemical free.
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