Best Way to Kill Ants

Fire Ants

Ants are frequent and annoying pests in many households and backyards. They can contaminate your food, cause damage to the structure of your house, and some ants can sting, which can be life-threatening for those with allergic reactions. Trying to get rid of ants can be very frustrating, but it is possible. With persistence and patience, you can reclaim your house and lawn from this foraging pest.

Things You'll Need

• Commercial ant bait

Instructions

1. Find the colony. The colony is the nerve center of all the ant activity that you may see. A colony may contain hundreds or even millions of ants. Most important is that the colony contains the egg laying queen ant. Getting rid of the queen and her entourage of workers ensures the destruction of the ant colony.

2. 

   Place ant baits strategically, if you suspect that you have an indoor colony. An indoor colony can be found in many different places, like inside your indoor plotted plant, or under a sink. Make sure that you place the baits near the target colony. Ants leave invisible odor trails which they use to travel back and forth, so do not disturb the trails while the ants are being baited. Keep in mind that the baits contain poisonous ant food. Ants take the bait back to their colony where they consume the bait and die.

3. Change the bait if you notice the ants ignoring it. Ants are finicky eaters and may prefer one bait over another. Keep in mind that their preference for baits change as their nutritional needs change.

4. Drench the anthill with commercially available insecticide if you ant colony is outdoors. If you prefer to use natural products, pour boiling water into the ant hill. This effectively burns them out. You can also drench the hill with a detergent water mixture, bleach or vinegar to destroy the colony.

5. 

   Dig up or continually disturb the colony. This leaves the ants discombobulated and they will eventually abandon the nest. Diatomaceous can be placed in the dug up colony to ensure the ant's demise.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have problems finding the ant colony, put some jam on an index card and place it where you see ants, then follow the trail once the ants come out to feed. Remember prevention is the best was of avoiding infestation. Caulk all cracks and crevices.

• Never use gasoline to drench an anthill. The gas will contaminate the groundwater and it is a hazard far worse than the ants themselves.