[Lynn Cheffins]

OK, this is a weird one...
I build some new doghouses this summer and insulated the roofs and floors with the pink rigid polystyrene insulation. Tonight I noticed a large amount of fine pink "sawdust" inside the doghouse and I lifted the removeable roof and found that ants had burrowed and tunneled in the insulation and chewed paths to the extent that the insulation can be crumbled away with my fingers in several places. I need some suggestions on - what kills ants but won't poison the dogs and how dio you keep the little b*****ds from eating all the insulation out of everything? I expect bugs to eat natural stuff like wood but synthetic insulation???? I just build a three hole set of summer dogboxes that are completlely insulated with this stuff and am nervous about what is going on under the wood....

Depressed DIY'er

 

[Bob Scott]

Lynn, the ants aren't eating the insulation. They are tunneling in it to build a nest. Moot point because they're destroying it.
Is there any way you could safely seal some kind of poison between the walls?
There are dozens of poisions out there. Seven is a name that comes to mind that isn't as tyoxic as most.

 

[Lynn Cheffins]

Thanks Bob - Sevin it is! The ants seem to attack the insulation along the cut edges and not the factory finished edge. I am trying to figure out what I could paint on the edges to discourage them.
On the doghouses I just tacked the insulation under the roof, so it is exposed more than the stuff on the dogboxes which are sealed in pretty well. I hope well enough
I hate bugs! :x

 

[Bob Scott]

Here's a site I found. http://www.pestproducts.com/ants.htm
My dog house is double wall with foam insulation also. When I put it together, I calked the edges before I screwed them shut.
I like there screws because I can remove panels fro repair/replacement.

 

[Bob Scott]

YOu could probably paint the insulating panels with a latex paint. Oilbase may disolve it.

 

[Lynn Cheffins]

I like the latex paint idea - I will try a bit and see how it works. Usually it is the big furry "ants" :roll: that destroy dog houses - this time is little bugs, can't win.

 

[Michele Moore]

Weirdly enough....cream of wheat kills ants. It might attract other bugs though.

 

[Michele McAtee]

Interestingly enough, I just heard this yesterday about ants. Expired coffee grounds! Apparently, if you smear a layer of coffee grounds around where the ants are, they attempt to carry the grounds off and something with the caffeine kills them off...don't know if this is true or not, but my neighbor says it works for him!

 

[Kristen Cabe]

Cats aren't fond of coffee grounds either, but they (used, not fresh out of the container) make pretty good fertilizer, so you can kill two birds with one stone by putting them in your garden!

Never heard of ants eating insulation before. Hope you get it under control!

 

[Lynn Cheffins]

I am getting this picture of little ants running around really, really fast until they explode from a caffiene overdose! or blowing up from cream of wheat...Seeing what the little buggars do in a doghouse kinda makes you wonder what is going on in the walls of your house! Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Becky Shilling]

Plain old table salt will kill them off if they get in your house, and it's non-toxic. Put it under the sink and at the back of all your cabinets. We had an influx several years ago and that ran or killed them all off in just a week or so. I didn't want to use boric acid lest the cats or dogs get into it.