On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:02:27 -0600, Andy > wrote:

>spamtrap1888 > wrote:
>
>> On Mar 9, 10:11*am, Janet Bostwick > wrote:
>>> On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:36:50 -0500, Brooklyn1 <Gravesend1> wrote:
>>>
>>> the ant that
>>> came upon the first one must have reported back, because no more ants
>>> even approached that feeder that season.
>>
>> That was the basis of a recommendation to keep ants out of your house,
>> that I read a few years back. If you see a single ant, kill it and
>> leave the corpse. That was probably a scout ant. If it finds something
>> good, it will go back to the ant hill and there will be a steady line
>> of ants coming and going to get the food. But if it doesn't come back,
>> another scout will check. If this one finds a dead ant, it will report
>> back to the hill that your house is dangerous, and the ants will avoid
>> it.
>
>
>A co-worker's Pop was a bug exterminator and invented his own mix for in
>house use that was kid and pet safe.
>
>He mixed four parts sodium bicarbonate and one part fine dry oatmeal.
>
>An inch or two from the problem wall, draw a line of the mix on the floor.
>
>If the bugs so much as touched the sodium bicarbonate, it would suck the
>moisture out of them. They'd be dead in an instant. Kids and pets worst
>that could happen? BURP! Vacuum up and replace every so often and replace.
>
>For a bird feeder leave the oatmeal out. Only drawback would be wind
>blowing it away.

What about rain, and other critters eating it? I'll live with the few
ants that cling to the feeders... I wash them off outdoors with the
garden hose. All sorts of other insects are attracted to that sweet
stuff, I can't exterminate everything in my yard. I find very few
insects indoors as I never open my windows, and the few flying
critters that sneak in through an open door don't last long, they
become cat toys/food.