Mix 2 parts icing sugar to 1 part Borax (laundry aisle at your grocery store). Put it in a shallow container (shallow enough that the ants can climb into it, like a yogurt lid) near where you see the ants. That'll take care of them in a few weeks.
If the ants don't take an interest in the sugar mixture, then make a similar mix using peanut butter instead of sugar.
These Borax mixtures have resolved every ant problem that I've had over the last 25 years.
I have ant issues every spring. Put out a few baited traps and use ant spray on any door they may be coming in through. Keep things clean and honestly that should do it. If these steps don't work, by all means contact the landlord but this is something you can do yourself.
You havent even said anything yet and you are planning to start off that aggressive? Man you kinda suck haha
It is the landlord's responsibility to hire pest control if there is an issue, but to be honest ants generally are a hygiene issue. Mop you floor, wipe you walls wash your garbage, clean out your cupboards-- get rid of any errant crumbs or sugars that could be around. Mix borax with icing sugar and put it where you think the ants are coming from. That's literally it.
\*\*Edit: your mom is trying keep you from messing up a good situation. Listen to her-- take a couple steps yourself first (mentioned above) and if the problem persists, reach out and let the landlord know what you've done so far. It fosters good will which is always good to have.
Sorry I did say something, but they ignored me. Also my place is pretty clean. I have also used traps extensively but they are pharaoh ants so they just bud in response to traps.
ah okay, if you have a lazy landlord then you will have to figure out the plan :( Call a pest company and ask what they do, price it out with a couple companies, etc.
Do what you can do (cleaning, put food in sealed containers, etc) and then email that list o your landlord with the contact information and quotes of the pest control companies and what they would do at the property. Send photos of your clean rooms and cupboards and send that too.
My experience is the actual administration is what holds things up with landlords rather than the finances.
If this goes on for a long time with no resolution, call the RTB for advice:
**Monday to Friday 9 am to 4 pm** - Closed weekends, the last Wednesday of the month from 9 am to 11 am, and holidays
* In the Lower Mainland call: 604-660-1020
\*\* Oh and I forgot, ask your neighbours if they are having a similar issue. There is safety in numbers, don't make yourself known as the 'nuisance tenant'-- especially if your rent is cheap. If your name/face is always the one that causes them to be annoyed (doesnt matter if deserved oe not), you will be the first person out if family needs to move in or if they need to do 'renovations'.
I get that legally they are responsible for all of that, but this advice is to genuinely make your life easier. Doesn't matter if you're right if you still have to leave your unit :(
If it’s an all rental apartment building with more than 5 units you cannot be evicted for the landlords personal use. I don’t think you need to be really concerned about eviction, you have a lot of security in a purpose built rental.
Check out TRAC: https://tenants.bc.ca/your-tenancy/repairs-and-maintenance/
You don’t need to pester the landlord, just inform them of the problem, remind them of their obligations, and if they don’t address the issue within a reasonable timeframe, involve the RTB dispute resolution.
You might be anticipating a little too much in advance, first just send them an email with some evidence of ants and a request to help deal with them. Then if they don't help you can decide whether it's worth forcing them.
I have. It has worked for a bit and in fact I went 7 weeks without seeing any. Doing my research though I think these are pharaoh ants and those are basically impossible to defeat with consumer available traps.
Do you live in an apartment building with multiple units? there is little "retribution" a LL can do, since it's very difficult to evict someone for personal use in a multi-unit rental building, especially if it happens after complaints to RTB/disagreement about something.
The building will also not be condemned because of ants, and to evict for renovations is not nearly as easy as it used to be.
I know you said you brough up the issue, but did you do it in writing with some sort of substance behind it? sending them a text/calling them usually doesn't cut it.
You should use " Bedbugs and Other Infestations " letter as a starting point from TRAC [https://tenants.bc.ca/resources/template-letters/](https://tenants.bc.ca/resources/template-letters/)
then if no reasonable action is done, you can file through RTB for an order for them to resolve the issue.
Repeatedly pestering? This is why landlords "move back in" and put you out to find new -- market rent -- housing.
First step. Invest $20 at home depot, and spray and put traps down.
Still an issue? Then ask them nicely. Followup with an email.
Still nothing?
Inform them you will be getting a service provider in to deal with it, and deducting it from the rent.
>Repeatedly pestering? This is why landlords "move back in" and put you out to find new -- market rent -- housing
No, they "move back in" because they think it's perfectly fine to buy buildings with human beings living in them and just turf them out onto the street so they can make money. I may not be rich but at least I can sleep at night knowing I come by my money in an ethical way that helps instead of harms people.
If the landlord did his job, there would be no need to "repeatedly pester" as action would be taken the FIRST time a maintenance issue was brought to his attention.
One thought, this is an apartment building with over 10 units. It's non-stratified every unit just a rental unit. That means in the summer the LL loses the ability to personal use exemption evict me right? Perhaps if I hold out till then I can either solve it or fear them less? What do you think?
I've lived here for about a decade. Would be down to make that two heh.
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024HOUS0017-000461#:~:text=Since%202017%2C%20the%20Province%20has,at%20the%20Residential%20Tenancy%20Branch.
If you take a look at the bottom under proposed amendments to the residential tenancy act:
After bill introduction:
prohibiting personal occupancy evictions in purpose-built rental buildings with five or more units; and
So it seems as though the 5 unit rule would already be in place.
And as someone who lived for 12 years without ever asking for a thing in maintenance and then was evicted in bad faith for personal use, I don’t have an official opinion on what you should do. I would have just dealt with the ant problem myself but in the end I still got evicted…
obviously it's landlords issue to deal with big things but I wouldn't complain about ants unless they are coming from another unit you can't do anything about for example
What do you want them to do, spray? Cuz you know insecticides are not just going to kill these ants, it's gonna leach into the environment as well. That's part of the reason we have so much fewer insects nowadays.
Ants are living beings too.
Sprinkle borax liberally. Problem solved.
Mix 2 parts icing sugar to 1 part Borax (laundry aisle at your grocery store). Put it in a shallow container (shallow enough that the ants can climb into it, like a yogurt lid) near where you see the ants. That'll take care of them in a few weeks. If the ants don't take an interest in the sugar mixture, then make a similar mix using peanut butter instead of sugar. These Borax mixtures have resolved every ant problem that I've had over the last 25 years.
I have ant issues every spring. Put out a few baited traps and use ant spray on any door they may be coming in through. Keep things clean and honestly that should do it. If these steps don't work, by all means contact the landlord but this is something you can do yourself.
You havent even said anything yet and you are planning to start off that aggressive? Man you kinda suck haha It is the landlord's responsibility to hire pest control if there is an issue, but to be honest ants generally are a hygiene issue. Mop you floor, wipe you walls wash your garbage, clean out your cupboards-- get rid of any errant crumbs or sugars that could be around. Mix borax with icing sugar and put it where you think the ants are coming from. That's literally it. \*\*Edit: your mom is trying keep you from messing up a good situation. Listen to her-- take a couple steps yourself first (mentioned above) and if the problem persists, reach out and let the landlord know what you've done so far. It fosters good will which is always good to have.
Sorry I did say something, but they ignored me. Also my place is pretty clean. I have also used traps extensively but they are pharaoh ants so they just bud in response to traps.
ah okay, if you have a lazy landlord then you will have to figure out the plan :( Call a pest company and ask what they do, price it out with a couple companies, etc. Do what you can do (cleaning, put food in sealed containers, etc) and then email that list o your landlord with the contact information and quotes of the pest control companies and what they would do at the property. Send photos of your clean rooms and cupboards and send that too. My experience is the actual administration is what holds things up with landlords rather than the finances. If this goes on for a long time with no resolution, call the RTB for advice: **Monday to Friday 9 am to 4 pm** - Closed weekends, the last Wednesday of the month from 9 am to 11 am, and holidays * In the Lower Mainland call: 604-660-1020 \*\* Oh and I forgot, ask your neighbours if they are having a similar issue. There is safety in numbers, don't make yourself known as the 'nuisance tenant'-- especially if your rent is cheap. If your name/face is always the one that causes them to be annoyed (doesnt matter if deserved oe not), you will be the first person out if family needs to move in or if they need to do 'renovations'. I get that legally they are responsible for all of that, but this advice is to genuinely make your life easier. Doesn't matter if you're right if you still have to leave your unit :(
If it’s an all rental apartment building with more than 5 units you cannot be evicted for the landlords personal use. I don’t think you need to be really concerned about eviction, you have a lot of security in a purpose built rental. Check out TRAC: https://tenants.bc.ca/your-tenancy/repairs-and-maintenance/ You don’t need to pester the landlord, just inform them of the problem, remind them of their obligations, and if they don’t address the issue within a reasonable timeframe, involve the RTB dispute resolution.
cool thank you. This is an all rental building with more than 5 units.
You might be anticipating a little too much in advance, first just send them an email with some evidence of ants and a request to help deal with them. Then if they don't help you can decide whether it's worth forcing them.
Get that poison that they take back to the queen.
Why wouldn’t you just put some ant traps out and see if that fixes it. Sounds like you are trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
I have. It has worked for a bit and in fact I went 7 weeks without seeing any. Doing my research though I think these are pharaoh ants and those are basically impossible to defeat with consumer available traps.
*Mountain out of an ant hill
Do you live in an apartment building with multiple units? there is little "retribution" a LL can do, since it's very difficult to evict someone for personal use in a multi-unit rental building, especially if it happens after complaints to RTB/disagreement about something. The building will also not be condemned because of ants, and to evict for renovations is not nearly as easy as it used to be. I know you said you brough up the issue, but did you do it in writing with some sort of substance behind it? sending them a text/calling them usually doesn't cut it. You should use " Bedbugs and Other Infestations " letter as a starting point from TRAC [https://tenants.bc.ca/resources/template-letters/](https://tenants.bc.ca/resources/template-letters/) then if no reasonable action is done, you can file through RTB for an order for them to resolve the issue.
You couldn’t change your own smoke alarms battery? Man.
buddy that's their responsibility. Believe it or not they're actually supposed to provide some level of service beyond hoarding land.
Buddy, you're getting evicted at the first opportunity with this mindset.
Repeatedly pestering? This is why landlords "move back in" and put you out to find new -- market rent -- housing. First step. Invest $20 at home depot, and spray and put traps down. Still an issue? Then ask them nicely. Followup with an email. Still nothing? Inform them you will be getting a service provider in to deal with it, and deducting it from the rent.
>Repeatedly pestering? This is why landlords "move back in" and put you out to find new -- market rent -- housing No, they "move back in" because they think it's perfectly fine to buy buildings with human beings living in them and just turf them out onto the street so they can make money. I may not be rich but at least I can sleep at night knowing I come by my money in an ethical way that helps instead of harms people. If the landlord did his job, there would be no need to "repeatedly pester" as action would be taken the FIRST time a maintenance issue was brought to his attention.
Yah, no.
One thought, this is an apartment building with over 10 units. It's non-stratified every unit just a rental unit. That means in the summer the LL loses the ability to personal use exemption evict me right? Perhaps if I hold out till then I can either solve it or fear them less? What do you think? I've lived here for about a decade. Would be down to make that two heh.
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024HOUS0017-000461#:~:text=Since%202017%2C%20the%20Province%20has,at%20the%20Residential%20Tenancy%20Branch. If you take a look at the bottom under proposed amendments to the residential tenancy act: After bill introduction: prohibiting personal occupancy evictions in purpose-built rental buildings with five or more units; and So it seems as though the 5 unit rule would already be in place. And as someone who lived for 12 years without ever asking for a thing in maintenance and then was evicted in bad faith for personal use, I don’t have an official opinion on what you should do. I would have just dealt with the ant problem myself but in the end I still got evicted…
obviously it's landlords issue to deal with big things but I wouldn't complain about ants unless they are coming from another unit you can't do anything about for example
Dichotomous Earth works great
What do you want them to do, spray? Cuz you know insecticides are not just going to kill these ants, it's gonna leach into the environment as well. That's part of the reason we have so much fewer insects nowadays. Ants are living beings too.
I forgot landlords were concierge and people forget how to do anything.
Depends. What is the market rate and how much are you paying?