Our preference is clear bait stations, which make it easy to monitor ant activity and see if the bait is being used or if any ants are currently feeding. Sweet ant baits cast the widest net for attracting indoor ants. Other control methods all have significant downsides. Kill-on-contact sprays do very little and can actually make your problem worse. Putting a pesticide perimeter around your house is another option and one that Ramsey said can be effective, but only if you are sure the ants are coming from outside.
Perimeter products are usually either baits or kill-on-contact dusts. We prefer using lower-impact, easy-to-use bait stations rather than spreading and maintaining a granule bait or kill-on-contact pesticide around your entire house.
In looking at ant-control products, we placed an emphasis on availability. We also thought about safety. Most ant baits are somewhat tamperproof, but there is always the possibility of a pet or child getting into things and either exposing their skin to the bait or, worse, ingesting it.
We sought out a toxin that is strong enough to wipe out an ant colony but at the same time is something that you can place around your house with confidence. From location to location and species to species, many variables affect ant behavior, so we did not run any large-scale tests for efficacy. For that we relied on experts and published scientific data. We also considered customer feedback on various retail sites, seeking patterns of effectiveness; drawing on the wide-ranging experiences of people across the country gave us a sense of the overall worth of a bait.
As we were writing this guide, we set up a number of baits in two different houses where ants were spotted, knowing that our results would simply constitute one additional data point to consider. What we saw, though, was a single product standing far above the others. We also gathered information from a number of Wirecutter employees who have dealt with ants in the past.
Fire ants are different. Fire ant bait typically comes as a granular corn grit mixed with soybean oil and a toxin. Usually you can spread a few tablespoons near an individual mound or spread the bait across an entire yard. Come spring, if you have some that make it through that process—typically you have very few—you can treat those individually.
Puckett also noted that spreading a fire ant bait across a lawn is very different from spreading a kill-on-contact pesticide. First, the amount you need for a fire ant bait to be successful is very small. Spreading a kill-on-contact pesticide across your lawn is another story. For the active ingredient, Terro uses borax, which has proven successful against ants and is not as harmful to people and pets as some of the other pesticides out there.
Of all the ant-control products we looked at, Terro has, by far, the most anecdotal evidence backing it up, with video reviews and customer feedback indicating that people use it successfully. During our own casual testing, we watched ants walk past two other borax-based baits and line up to feast on the Terro baits. Terro also has wide distribution and should be readily available at a moment's notice in a nearby big-box store or a local hardware store.
Terro kills ants with a 5. Borax is a relatively safe chemical to have around the house. There is anecdotal evidence that no lasting harm will come to a dog or cat that ingests some of the borax bait. The Terro bait station is clear plastic other than the label on the top for easy monitoring of ant activity and the amount of remaining bait. To activate the Terro bait station, you just break off the cap piece and set it down. I get a lot of feedback … people call me and tell me what works and I hear about this Terro bait.
We did our own little test as ants arrived in our kitchens. We set out Terro and two other borax-based baits at two different houses and watched as the ants walked right by the other two and lined up to feast on Terro.
In one of the houses, there must have been 20 to 30 ants crawling over the bait station. In an informal survey of Wirecutter staffers, we heard a lot of positive feedback about Terro. The biggest downside to the Terro ant baits is that the bait itself is a liquid, so it can spill out of the bait station.
Summer is a great time for picnics, swimming, hiking and other outdoor activities. But you're not the only one enjoying the sunny weather. Summer bugs and insects are having a good time, too, and when they bite or sting, it can put a damper on the fun. The Northern Hemisphere is finally tipping towards spring, which means many people living in cooler climates will soon be trading out rakes and snow shovels for lawn mowers.
Regardless of which region of the country you live in, however, anyone who enjoys working in the yard can tell you that ant hills can easily mar the most manicured of lawns.
Diatomaceous earth is a versatile material to say the least. Made from fossilized algae, it's a sand-like or powder-like substance that's used in everything from toothpaste to metal polish. It's also a popular insecticide because it's inexpensive and easy to use. Learn more about the different types of ants. Ants are social insects, so when one ant enters your home, others may follow. Discover a few tips to help make sure ants get out and stay out of your house. By using our website, you agree to our use of cookies to analyze website traffic and improve your experience on our website.
Learn more about the types of cookies we use by reviewing our updated Privacy Policy. What are ant traps? How do ant traps work? How to use an ant trap Ant traps can be an easy and effective long-term solution to an ant infestation. Experts from the North Carolina School of Entomology and Plant Pathology suggest the following for successful ant baiting: Testing — Small amounts of the bait should be placed where you see ants foraging.
Then watch for a few minutes to see how they react. If the ants show no interest in the bait, a different bait may be required. Placement — The bait should be placed in known or suspected ant activity areas, such as under kitchen cabinets, behind furniture, in the basement or attic or other possible points of entry from the outside. Sunlight and moisture can cause baits to age. For maximum effectiveness, place baits in cool, dry, dark areas. Note: You can expect to see more ant activity in and around the ant traps themselves.
Safety — The bait should be kept out of the reach of children and pets, and it should never be used on countertops where food is prepared. Also, bait should be kept away from areas where it can contaminate drinking water, such as a sink, a pet's water bowl or near a drain.
Quantity — The ant bait should be checked regularly to make sure it isn't depleted. Also, placing bait in multiple locations may help ensure effectiveness. That food has been treated with a very low dose of something toxic to ants sometimes a natural substance; sometimes a chemical concoction that works so slowly it allows the worker ants to make repeated trips back to the queen with the bait.
But several days later, the first of the workers to find the bait gets sick and dies. Then, within a week or so, the queen is dead. Without the queen, the colony quickly dies out. So, again: The secret to any kind of ant control is to realize that the ants you see are only scouts. Somewhere nearby — maybe even outside — is a large nest with a queen.
You can kill as many workers as you want, but the queen will just pump out more. But worker ants will carry a low-dose ant poison back to the queen for you. How safe is boric acid? Your grandparents used it as an eye wash. Like boric acid, all of these naturally-occurring soil organisms are slowly toxic to ants but have little to no effect on people or pets — especially at the low concentrations and small amounts that are used in bait traps.
And, as she wisely notes, ants are often forced to come indoors when the outside soil is saturated, as it is now. Another queen from yet another colony can and will — ants are the most abundant living creatures on the planet send her workers in afterward, so always be ready with fresh traps. You should also wash any areas the ants traveled over with plain old soap and water to erase the pheromone trail that ants use to direct new workers to the original food source.
Getting rid of old trails can be very protective against future invasions. But their biggest benefit is termite protection.
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