Spreading diatomaceous earth, how?

[EricU]

so does anyone think this works on ants?  We have a batch that refuse to give up, just outside our kitchen

[daddo]

so does anyone think this works on ants?  We have a batch that refuse to give up, just outside our kitchen

 What type of ants?

Sugar ants?
  Mix boric acid with some corn syrup and place it in a soda cap and set it away from animals but near the ants.

 Fire ants- Amdro.

 Carpenter ants- they make a spray for those, but they are hard to get rid of.

[bennybmn]

It's supposed to be good for ants in a lawn that's why I got it.

[Duane N]

I use the stuff around the Bluebird nest boxes I have in my yard and it works until it rains then I just re-apply it.  I'd rather not use chemicals in my yard because of the wildlife that relies on my yard for bugs and such so I look for natural solutions to minor insect issues.  I spread it around using my hand but I make sure I apply it on a not so windy day.

[Matt Williams]

My understanding of how it works is that the particles are so small that they get in their joints and kill them.  I had someone give me a bag of it and I sprinkled and sprinkled and it didn't make any noticeable difference so in disgust I put the whole bag on top of the ant hill and got lucky that it was dry for a week or so and that killed them.  
I had a couple ant hills in the field that I tried burning out and found that I had to dig them up and burn them so that wasn't a great strategy.  Then I went to the store and bought ant poison, mixed it up and sprayed the area of the ant hill and it was gone!  
I also tried flooding them out when I was younger but obviously that didn't work either!
Hopefully you find this at least entertaining if not useful so you can go immediately to the solution that works best for you.

[bennybmn]

After leaving a few little mounds of white stuff around my patio, I'm only half impressed. I don't think it's a viable solution for broadcast ant control in the lawn. I did make a puffer bottle last night from a soda bottle. What a PAIN that was to load up! I think I'll make one from a gatoraid bottle, something with a wider mouth, and use it to puff some stuff onto my rose bushes, that sort of thing. Sounds like that's the type of application it's good for. I think it did work to kill off the individual ant hills, but chances are those were just fire escapes from a giant underground lair.

[tomsteve]

if its not flammable, this



should be able to cover a LOt of ground quick.