Sarah Metlova
Effective Ways To Get Rid Of Ants – To find out which ant trail leads back to the nest, put a drop of honey or jam on a piece of stiff paper next to where the ants congregate. (iStock)
Q: We have ants in the kitchen. I think it started with our cats getting a little dirty with their food bowls. When I put a tray under the bowls, the problem improved, but did not go away completely. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of ants for good?
Effective Ways To Get Rid Of Ants
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Effective Methods To Get Rid Of Ants Naturally
A: Dealing with ants can be very frustrating. People may be small, but communities are big. Thus, removing one wave of intruders does not prevent the entry of others. With many pests, the infestation can be eliminated by removing all food and water and closing the entrances. But with ants, crumbs and stains are enough as food, and the entrance can be small cracks. Sometimes they don’t even need space because they have already created a nest inside the house, maybe in a wall or behind a closet.
It is wise to start with home care. Placing a tray under the cat’s bowl is a good step, but it also helps to rinse the bowl when the cat stops eating. But when that’s not enough, you may have to resort to pesticides – but in a smart way.
Forget about using ant spray that spreads pesticides around your home but doesn’t solve the ant problem. It only kills the ants in the eyes, which you can also do by wiping with a wet cloth and rinsing.
All species of ants live in colonies consisting of hundreds or even millions of individual ants and one or more egg-laying queens. For permanent control, you must get rid of the entire colony, including the queen and the brood that will grow into the next generation of worker ants.
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This can be caused by slow-acting pesticides that the ants do not recognize as poison. When the pesticide is mixed into a sweet or fatty bait they like, the ants bring parts of the food back to the nest and share them with their mates. It can take two weeks or more, but eventually it can be done throughout the colony.
Slow-release ant pesticides can be purchased at bait stations in plastic enclosures, a convenient, no-mess solution. According to Michael Potter, a University of Kentucky entomologist who often consults with pest control companies, gel formulations that come in squeezable tubes or tube-like syringes are even more effective. “Often, squeezable gel formulations are more versatile because you can drop many drops of bait wherever ants leave their tracks (along cracks, corners, horizontal and vertical surfaces, etc.),” Potter wrote in an email.
Although both types of products often contain the same active ingredients, gels typically contain sweeter, sugary baits that native ant species often prefer, he said. Ants are picky about food and sometimes change their preferences. Fortunately, there are many brands of gel and plastic baits that use different bait flavors. “If a certain type of ant won’t take your bait, you may have to try another,” Potter said.
In the Northeast, the little ants are probably stinky house ants, Potter said. The gels, which are marketed by professionals and can also be purchased online by homeowners, are very effective, he said. An example is Maxforce Quantum Ant Bait Gel ($28.13 for a 120 gram tube at Solutionsstores.com). Other products include Maxforce FC, Advion, Optigard and Alpine. Gels from consumer-oriented brands such as Combat, Raid, Ortho and Terro are more affordable. For example, Ace Hardware sells Combat Max Ant Killing Gel ($7.99 for 0.95 ounces) and Raid Ant Gel ($6.99 for 1.06 ounces).
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Around children or pets, it may be best to use plastic bait stations labeled child-safe, such as B. Raid Ant Baits ($5.27 for eight at Home Depot).
Of course, you can use a combination: a bait station that the child can reach, and a gel for more isolated areas.
Although the gels are designed to be squeezed into cracks, they can also be used so that the material does not end up on the floor and other surfaces. Apply a short piece of masking tape, sticky side down, and apply a pea-sized drop of pesticide to it. Do this where you saw the ants eating and on the ant trails you find. Ants tend to follow edges. Therefore, look at plinths, worktops, shelves and similar surfaces together. To find out which ant trail leads back to the nest, put a drop of honey or jam on a piece of stiff paper next to where the ants congregate. After eating, they return to the nest.
Because bait stations and gels are designed to attract ants, you may see more ants than before. Be patient – and don’t reach for the spray, as this will only attract other ants to stay away and look for food elsewhere in your home. You want the ants to like the bait you put out and take it home to share. Q: We have ants in the kitchen. I think it started with our cats getting a little dirty with their food bowls. When I put a tray under the bowls, the problem improved, but did not go away completely. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of ants for good?
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A: Dealing with ants can be very frustrating. People are small, but communities are big. So eliminate the wave of intruders by preventing more pests from creeping in. With many pests, the infestation can be eliminated by removing all food and water and closing the entrances. But with ants, crumbs and stains are enough as food, and the entrance can be small cracks. Sometimes they don’t even need space because they have already created a nest inside the house, maybe in a wall or behind a closet.
It is wise to start with home care. Placing a tray under the cat’s bowl is a good step, but it also helps to rinse the bowl when the cat stops eating. But when that’s not enough, you may have to resort to pesticides – but in a smart way.
Forget about using ant spray that spreads pesticides around your home but doesn’t solve the ant problem. It only kills the ants in the eyes, which you can also do by wiping with a wet cloth and rinsing.
All species of ants live in colonies consisting of hundreds or even millions of individual ants and one or more egg-laying queens. For permanent control, you must get rid of the entire colony, including the queen and the brood that will grow into the next generation of worker ants.
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This can be caused by slow-acting pesticides that the ants do not recognize as poison. When the pesticide is mixed into a sweet or fatty bait they like, the ants bring parts of the food back to the nest and share them with their mates. It can take two weeks or more, but eventually it can be done throughout the colony.
Slow-release ant pesticides can be purchased at bait stations in plastic enclosures, a convenient, no-mess solution. According to Michael Potter, a University of Kentucky entomologist who often consults with pest control companies, gel formulations that come in squeezable tubes or tube-like syringes are even more effective. “Often, squeezable gel formulations are more versatile because you can apply many drops of bait wherever ants will leave their tracks (along cracks, corners, horizontal and vertical surfaces, etc.),” Potter wrote in an email. .
Although both types of products often contain the same active ingredients, gels typically contain sweeter, sugary baits that native ant species often prefer, he said. Ants are picky about food and sometimes change their preferences. Fortunately, there are many brands of gel and plastic baits that use different bait flavors. “If a certain type of ant won’t take your bait, you may have to try another,” Potter said.
In the Northeast, the little ants are probably stinky house ants, Potter said. The gels, which are marketed by professionals and can also be purchased online by homeowners, are very effective, he said. An example is Maxforce Quantum Ant Bait Gel ($28.13 for a 120 gram tube at Solutionsstores.com). Other products include Maxforce FC, Advion, Optigard and Alpine. Gels from consumer-oriented brands such as Combat, Raid, Ortho and Terro are more affordable. For example, Ace Hardware sells Combat Max Ant Killing Gel ($7.99 for 0.95 ounces) and Raid Ant Gel ($6.99 for 1.06 ounces).
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Around children or pets, it may be best to use plastic bait stations that are labeled child-safe. This range includes Terro Liquid Ant Baits ($4.97).
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