Ants in Electrical Outlets

[Togath]

So the house I'm staying at is having cases of huge swarms of tiny black ants clustering inside(and on anything plugged into) electrical outlets. Anyone have advice?
When I went to unplug something earlier, it had a swarm 2-4 ants deep(yes, DEEP) on the plug and it's prongs.

[Rynjin]

Just stick a fork in there and dig them out.

...

Yeah, seriously though, same way you'd deal with any other ant infestation. Poison, effort, and CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Call a professional if you can't get rid of them with off the shelf solutions.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Yeah, seriously though, same way you'd deal with any other ant infestation. Poison, effort, and CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Call a professional if you can't get rid of them with off the shelf solutions.

Yeah, I'm seconding this. We had a few ant infestations when I was younger and the only way to stop them is with poison, either off the shelf or from a professional. Vigilance is what stops them coming back after you've gotten rid of them: ants lay a pheromone trail wherever they walk that attracts other ants to follow it; the more that walk the same route, the stronger it gets. If an ant gets from outside, into <where the food is> and back, it will establish a path for more to follow. If it doesn't make it back, the route is half as strong and will be quickly forgotten.

[Togath]

Gonna start looking into poisons tomorrow as soon as I have time. It seems really bad for the ants to even be at risk for getting inside our electronics(and I have noticed plenty skittering on my computer's screen... and twice, one's silhouette from the inside).

[Ninja_Prawn]

and twice, one's silhouette from the inside

Ugh, that's so annoying. I had a thunderbug get into my laptop's screen a few years ago... I didn't think it would last long, but kept moving for weeks and took over a year to disintegrate enough that I couldn't see it anymore.

[DrunkMongoose]

Definitely call a professional! if the ants are so bad they are pouring out your electrical socket then they might have build a large home in your walls or insulation which not only would be hard to get rid of but they could be doing damage to your house.

[Togath]

They aren't carpenter ants, so little worry of doing damage, as far as I know. Plus they're tiny, and it was only the socket with a half-in plug.

[Algeh]

Our neighborhood has so many ants that it's definitely a case of trying to control them rather than remove them. It is my least favorite thing about living here.

When we've done that mostly works is identify a place that's easy for them to get to without wandering around the entire house first, and then bait that with Terro and keep replacing the bait as they eat it (we do this next to the heat vent in the downstairs bathroom). I sometimes suspect we are more bribing the ants away from the kitchen than actually killing them off (alternate theory: new groups of ants from the neighborhood surplus keep re-colonizing the "empty" territory whenever we kill any off), but it keeps them in "exploit an existing food source" mode rather than "scout widely" mode, which in turn means we find fewer ants in the rest of the house. We also use a perimeter spray whenever we find them congregating anywhere else in the house. (I also keep all dry goods in canning jars, since ants can't seem to get in those. I've found they have a better seal than most jars marketed for pantry use, plus they can go in the dishwasher so they're easy to keep clean.)

You may want to remove the outlet cover and see what it looks like behind it. I'm not sure if you can use ant spray on electrical outlets (read the label), but if so removing the outlet cover, spraying behind it, and also spraying the removed outlet cover with perimeter spray might keep them from coming in that particular way.

[Bhu]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasberry_crazy_ant check the map to see if you live in crazy ant territory. If you do, call professionlas.

[gooddragon1]

Borax and powdered sugar in a 50/50 mix might work. They take it to their queen and it dies.

[Grytorm]

I wish you the best of luck. Also, this reminds me of a time when randomly ants showed up in a power strip. They weren't that bad then, but the ants you have seem disturbing. Ants should stay where they belong, in small random colonies away from the house, cracks in sidewalks, antfarms, antlion jaws, and under random pieces of wood.

[Togath]

Borax and powdered sugar in a 50/50 mix might work. They take it to their queen and it dies.

Been trying it... But after they started to die off, I got hit by another swarm around the plug to my TV(again. It's the same plug as last time, but in a different outlet, oddly). This time, they were even thicker and had either eggs and/or larva on it.

[Rynjin]

You probably want to call somebody at this point. The more ants in there, the higher the chance they'll complete a circuit, get fried, and potentially start a fire.

[Togath]

Unfortunately, calling someone takes money.

[Ninja_Prawn]

You might be able to find something like this (but for ants) that might give you a sort of DIY fumigation... obviously it'd be safer and more likely to work if you called in a professional, but since money is a problem, this might be an alternative.

[Vizzerdrix]

For now you may want to turn the electricity off to that plug/room to prevent fires. If you rent, contact the landlord. If you own, you are in for a long, drawn out battle.

Use the sugar and borax. Try to locate any anthills close by, kick them open and dump the mix right inside.

If you can deactivate the outlet, stick a vacuum in there (immediately change the bag or dump the contents. Preferably into something like a sealed bucket untill they die).

Wash the floors and walls every few days to break up their trails.

You may also be interested in looking up some videos on ant hill casting. If you feel you can handle molten metal safely, you can make some wonderful art.

[Honest Tiefling]

Been a while since I've had to deal with this (Once it got so bad that the ants ate the soap!), but consider a mix of diatomaceous earth and boric acid. I believe your region of the world should have a Home Depot where you can get both of these relatively cheaply. But do be warned, they can be kinda messy.

I believe they should be safe for most pets, but I'd double check the packaging and look up better instructions on the combo. Children, if you have them, should be mostly safe, but I'd double check that as well.

[Togath]

For now you may want to turn the electricity off to that plug/room to prevent fires. If you rent, contact the landlord. If you own, you are in for a long, drawn out battle.

Use the sugar and borax. Try to locate any anthills close by, kick them open and dump the mix right inside.

If you can deactivate the outlet, stick a vacuum in there (immediately change the bag or dump the contents. Preferably into something like a sealed bucket untill they die).

Wash the floors and walls every few days to break up their trails.

You may also be interested in looking up some videos on ant hill casting. If you feel you can handle molten metal safely, you can make some wonderful art.

As far as I know, the landlord doesn't care. Also we have dogs and carpets, so washing floors and poisoning the yard are both not options.

May try the vacuum and diatomaceous earth thing. I know it worked at our last house when we had flea issues.

[Honest Tiefling]

As far as I know, the landlord doesn't care. Also we have dogs and carpets, so washing floors and poisoning the yard are both not options.

Yeeaaaaaaaaaaaah...As someone who helps with the family business of landlording, take that jerk to court. There might be tenant rights meetings, discussion boards or something similar in your area that might be able to help.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Yeeaaaaaaaaaaaah...As someone who helps with the family business of landlording, take that jerk to court. There might be tenant rights meetings, discussion boards or something similar in your area that might be able to help.

Depends on the state. NY is fairly tenant biased, as is NJ, but I have heard some of the Midwest states offer next to nothing for tenant protections. The best choice is to find a way to pay for an exterminator before the place burns down.