How to Gid Rid of Ants

Besides being a nuisance, ants can contaminate food and cause damage to wood structures.

Ants are one of the most frequent pests found in and around the home. The most commonly encountered ant species are carpenter ants, pavement ants, acrobat ants, pharaoh ants and odorous house ants. All ant species live in large colonies comprising one or more queens, whose main function is to lay eggs; short-lived males; and hundreds of sterile females known as "workers." It is the workers you see foraging for food in your home or garden. The first step in ant control is to establish whether ants are living indoors or simply coming into your home to forage.

Things You'll Need

• Insecticide
• Ant bait
• Household detergent

Instructions

Ants Nesting Outdoors

1. Locate the main nest and any smaller satellite nests. Preferred sites include under mulch, gravel, logs, tree stumps and stones. Underground nests are marked by a mound or anthill.

2. Try to physically remove the nest and relocate it away from your property.

3. Drench the nests with a liquid insecticide if removing the nest is not practical. Alternatively, lay a granular bait product near the nest site for worker ants to feed on and take back to the nest.

4. Follow ant trails to establish where the ants are getting into your home. Look for signs of ant entry points in the cracks and crevices around windowsills, under doors or where the exterior siding meets the foundation wall.

5. Seal up the entry points so ants can no longer enter your home. Replace or repair rotting or ant-infested wood structures.

6. Scrub around entry points with a household detergent to remove the trail pheromone left by worker ants.

7. Spray the former entry points with a liquid insecticide.

Ants Nesting Indoors

1. Locate the main nest and any smaller satellite nests. Ants prefer hidden areas such as the spaces behind walls, cabinets and appliances; behind window and door frames; and beneath floors and concrete slabs.

2. Attempt to physically remove the nest and relocate it away from your property.

3. Place ant bait near the nest, along ant trails and wherever you have noticed ants in your home.

4. Continue to place bait where you see ants until the numbers decline and eventually the nest is destroyed.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be tempted to spray worker ants with insecticide while using bait. This may kill a few ants but will deter others from feeding on the bait and taking it into the nest. The aim is to completely destroy the nest as colonies can rebuild from just a few remaining ants.

• Ants are notoriously resilient to attempts to remove them. Try different types of bait until you find one that works on the particular ant species in your house. If the infestation remains, bring in a professional pest controller.

• Once you've removed ants from your home, prevent further infestation by sealing all possible entry points from outside, trimming back trees and plants away from the house, and removing potential nest locations from your property such as dead tree stumps and firewood.

• Always follow the instructions and safety precautions when using insecticides and baits as they can contain chemicals harmful to humans and animals.

References

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Ant Control; Barb Ogg
• University of Kentucky College of Agriculture; Ant Control For Homeowners; Michael F. Potter; April 2004