Ants are one of the most common and persistent pests found in and around homes. This article will explain how you can get rid of ants once and for all. There are many different species of ants and they are able to adapt to most any condition. Ants will readily live under concrete, rocks and other debris and can go unnoticed for a long time. Once they establish themselves close to the home, they’ll surely get inside. This is when people start to take notice. Small ants will be seen on the counter top, in the bathroom or in the pets food. Eventually they’ll be randomly appearing throughout the entire home if left untreated so it’s always best to take a proactive stance when it comes to doing ant control.
If this is not the ant information you were looking for, we have other in depth articles posted here: CARPENTER ANTS FIRE ANTS HARVESTER ANTS PISS ANTS
COMMON HOUSEHOLD ANTS
Ants come in all sizes and shapes. The most common ants include the acrobat, allegheny, argentine, bigheaded, carpenter, citronella, cornfield, crazy, cut, false honey, field, fire, flying, fungus, ghost, harvester, honey, larger yellow, leafcutting, little black, little fire, night, odorous house, parasol, park, pavement, pharaoh, pyramid, red imported, red town, small honey, southern fire, thief, velvet, velvety tree and whitefooted ants. Their color can vary too and though you might find them in something sweet one day, this same species may be found in a protein based food a day later. Additionally, ants are both annoying and persistent yet most species do not like direct confrontation with people or pets. That being said, they are still not welcome in the home and chances are high you have an ant infestation if you are seeing just a few inside. This is because ants like to hide and only a few of them venture far from their nest in search of food. These worker or scout ants don’t like to be seen and many times will travel on pathways which are hidden. Once they find a good food supply, they will lay a scent trail which other members of their colony will use as a sort of “highway”. This highway will swell with activity if it leads to something good and it’s many times this higher concentration of ants that gets everyone’s attention.
ANT NESTS
Remember, most ant problems originate from outside nests and activity. If the outside of your home is left untreated, local nests will be sending foraging workers onto your property all the time. Eventually some of these will find their way inside. Once inside, they will lay down a scent trail to bring in more ants. Foraging ants will first come in, grab some food and retreat back to the safe confines of their nests. But if the food they’re finding inside the home is bountiful the nest might decide to take up residence closer to the food source. This new concentration of ant activity will become a sort of extension of the original nest, something called a satellite nest, and it’s not uncommon for any ant infestation to be comprised of several satellite nests all linked together. This makes them extra hard to control and all the more reason to deal with them on all fronts.
ANT PEST CONTROL
Ant control can be achieved no matter what species you have or where the nests are located. The key is using our “three prong approach”. The three prongs” refers to the three areas you’ll need to treat. Since it’s not possible to know all their nest sites, failure to treat all areas will result in having an ongoing infestation. So to get long term ant control, do all the ant treatments in all the areas and you’ll knock them out for good.
ANT BAIT FOR INSIDE THE HOME
Treating inside the home will be required if you are seeing any activity inside. But you shouldn’t use a spray. Traditional sprays will only kill the workers and the nest will quickly send in new troops. And though there are some new compounds which work different from contact kill sprays, we still recommend keeping their use to the outside. More on these liquid sprays below.
But first, you must do something about the problem inside. For these ants, some type of bait will be the most productive tool to use to control ants from the home. There are many types of bait available but we’ve found a few which seem to work on virtually all ants. For sheer convenience, DUAL CHOICE BAIT STATIONS are both easy to install and effective. They include both a sugar and protein/fat based attractive. This insures they’ll get noticed regardless of what the ants are eating. Place stations close to where you are seeing activity and trailing. Don’t leave the stations where people or pets will mess with them and make sure they are kept dry and free from water and other contaminates.
Dual Choice Stations: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/stations/advance-dual-choice-12-pk
For a more discrete bait placement, set out some MAXFORCE GEL or OPTIGARD. We have incredible results with the Maxforce Gel and if you have a lot of treating to do, the BAIT GUN might come in handy.
Ant Gel: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/maxforce-ant-gel-1-oz
Optigard Ant Gel: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/optigard-ant-gel-1-oz
Bait Gun: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/bait-applicator/blue-bait-gun
For small jobs, the tube comes with a syringe type plunger that will get the job done. The Maxforce is best used when you know the ants are feeding on something sweet. If you are unsure what they’re eating, go with the Drax Dual. It has both types of attractants, like the bait stations, and will surely get noticed at some point if placed where ants are foraging. Here is a video of some ants feeding on some Maxforce Gel. This product works great at getting rid of ants.
SEAL YOUR HOUSE SO ANTS CAN’T ENTER
Since most infestations originate outside the home, it’s important to do a good inspection to see if you can do some exclusion to help keep the ants from getting in and getting rid of them for good. Remember, entry points should be reduced and/or eliminated with the use of some FOAM SEALENT. These cans are self charged and good for small jobs.
Pur Black: http://www.bugspraycart.com/repellents/aerosol/pur-black
If you have a lot of work to do, it would be wise to invest in one of the professional FOAM GUNS and maybe even the 24″ FOAM GUN. These tools will enable you to apply the sealant foam quickly and precisely without much waste or miss-application. In other words, they will more then pay for themselves if you have a lot of sealing to do.
Foam Gun: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/tools/pur-shooter-basic-gun
Pur Gun 24″ : http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/tools/pur-pageris-24-pro-gun
You’ll need the FOAM CANNISTERS for these guns, which easily fit on either applicator, and cover a much larger area then the smaller cans. If your home is prone to animal invasions, consider the FOAM WITH REPELLENT. This canister comes with expanding foam but includes a strong repellent which insects and animals do not like. It may be just what you need to make sure annoying insects and other undesirable home invaders aren’t able to find their way inside quite. Be sure to keep your guns clean by using some FOAM GUN CLEANER. This will help keep the gun functioning and ready to go to work when next needed. Doing effective ant control sometimes means doing some mechanical alteration of the structure and sealing cracks or seams really can help.
Pur Black: http://www.bugspraycart.com/repellents/aerosol/pur-black
Foam Repellent: http://www.bugspraycart.com/repellents/aerosol/pur-ipf-foam
Pur Gun Cleaner: http://www.bugspraycart.com/sanitizer/aerosol/pur-cleaner
OUTSIDE ANT SPRAY
Once you’re sure the home is fairly tight and free from ants getting inside, a good perimeter treatment should be done on the foundation. First, you’ll need a good SPRAYER. One of the pump sprayers we have will work fine. Next, get something like CYPERMETHRIN which ants and other insects tend to avoid. This will help keep them off the home which in turn will help get rid of ants. Cypermethrin can be used monthly and is an excellent product to use for most regular pest control.
Solo 454: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/solo-1-gallon-sprayer
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
If you want something that lasts longer, get a microencapsulated active which can last up to three months per treatment. SUSPEND and BIFEN are good choices. Both are odorless and effective on most any type of ant. Most homes will require 1-2 gallons sprayed around the outside and it’s important that you are thorough when doing this treatment. Both of these are odorless ant sprays and offer longer lasting residual compared to traditional concentrates.
Suspend SC: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/suspend-sc
Bifen IT: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/bifen
Lastly, the latest products coming to market are working even better. Instead of being fast acting like the traditional compounds, these new materials are quite different. They work slowly and only effect the ants after a few days. Their mode of action insures that ants which contact the spray will pick some up and bring it back to the nest. Once back at the nest, the active ingredient will have time to infiltrate the entire structure which ultimately will kill all the occupants. In the lab, these products work well. In the real world, they will work the same if used properly.
The key here is once again get good coverage when spraying. It’s important to treat the entire perimeter of the home. Missing or avoiding even one area could lead to treatment failure. Remember, all it takes is one route of entry or untreated pathway and the nest can many times circumvent your effort and continue to be a problem.
One of the first products to hit the market using this concept was PHANTOM. It’s proven to work well on most any ant infestation and it’s now available in aerosol (as PT PHANTOM) so it’s ideal for small ant infestations that require limited spot treatments. The latest product released like Phantom is called OPTIGARD and it seems to work very well too so it seems as though we finally have a chemical concentrate option that can be used to eliminate ant infestations on structures without the old “colony budding” problem the old sprays presented.
Phantom EC: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/phantom-21-oz
Phantom Aerosol: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz
Optigard: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/optigard-flex-liquid-8-oz
Ideally, you’ll use these products as replacements to the Cypermethrin or Suspend and you’ll still need to treat the yard and inside. But a good foundation spraying using either the Phantom or the Optigard could be the difference maker and enable you to get complete ant control. Remember, the traditional sprays will only kill what the contact. Phantom or Optigard will get the whole colony and when dealing with ants, this extra impact can be what makes the overall application a success. The following video does a good job of explaining just how to do a good foundation spray using any of the products listed above.
ANT TREATMENTS FOR THE YARD
The last “prong” or area where you need to treat will be the yard to control ants in the area. This can be done using one of two approaches. Since ants can forage great distances, it’s important that you get a good bait or insecticide granule applied to these areas. The difference is simple.
ANT BAIT
Bait Granules like MAXFORCE GRANULES or NIBAN FG can be sprinkled around the home creating a type of “bait band” about 5-10 feet away from the foundation. Not much is needed; when applied right you won’t be able to see any trace of the material once it falls to the turf. And be sure to keep this band at least 5 feet away from the side of the foundation. This insures any liquid sprayed doesn’t contaminate the bait. Like spraying, it’s important to treat the entire perimeter of the structure. If the liquid spray was applied strong enough and thorough enough, it should control ants in the house and property and keep new invaders out. Now, as these ants forage for new ways to enter the home, they should find some of the “bait band” being offered and feed. By getting them before they enter you should be able to both reduce and eliminate the activity in the home within a couple of weeks.
Maxforce Granules: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/granule/maxforce-gran
Niban FG: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/granule/niban-fg-3-lb
ANT LAWN GRANULES
Alternatively, you could go with a treatment that is “contact” based. Like Cypermethrin or Suspend, these granules work when foraging pests contact them and minute amounts of pesticide rub off onto the insect. Granules like CYFLUTHRIN or DELTAGUARD G are two good options that work well. Foraging ants walking over the granules will absorb enough of the active to be killed without having to feed.
Lawn Granules: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/complete-insect-killer-granules
DeltaGard: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/delta-guard-20-lb
Lawn granules can be the better choice in many situations – especially when you don’t know where they are entering – because they use more of a “shotgun” type approach to getting ant control. When applied properly, the ants will have no choice but to walk over the treatment thus leading to their demise. Apply these with a good GRANULE SPREADER.
Spreaders: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/spreaders/scatterbox-spreader
CONTACT US
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Comments on ANT CONTROL
dino @ 9:40 pm
Hi I tried Terro and combat and many other ant bait. They are all good initially, killed the nest and without ants for 2-3 months. However, when there ants again, I presume new colony, they will avoid the ant bait. The seems to know the ant bait will kill them. Now, I have tried almost 5 different types of ant bait and they refused to eat, knowing the ant bait is a poison to them. Care to comment on my situation ?
Tech Support @ 11:31 pm
This is an easy one and quite commonly happens when the only product employed is a bait. Here’s why.
Most ant species colonize like a spreading fungus. When a lawn gets a fungus, it’s stars innocently enough. First there is one spot (nest) then 5-10 feet away more spots (more nests) and then 20 feet away another spot (another nest). And though these spots (ant nests) all look like they’re singular and independent of one another, in fact they’re all closely linked. So too are your ants and your ant nests.
So when you first start seeing ants inside the home, what you’re actually seeing is an offshoot of a nest that no doubt originated somewhere outside the home. And those came from colonies and nests off your property, etc. And because they’re all interlinked, they all share information, both good and bad.
Now when you only bait inside the home, you can no doubt influence the ants in the colony that feeds upon your offering. And yes, the bait will probably kill the colony from which the feeding ants reside. But since they’re also linked to colonies outside the home, it’s only a matter of time before the outside colony figures out something is wrong with the inside colony. And when they figure this out, they’ll send in the troops to “jump start” the old nest. But they also know not to mess with any of the food or other supplies from the now dead nest because obviously there was something very wrong with what they were eating or processing.
Now if you repeat this several times in a row with different baits, the “troops” that come inside will eventually figure out they shouldn’t eat anything that’s coming from inside the home because obviously it’s poisonous. So instead they’ll rely on getting food from outside the home but live inside the home because it’s so nice and comfortable inside.
Which brings my answer full circle and back to the article above. If you read through it, you’ll find we advise to spray the outside of the home with some Phantom or Optigard. These are the latest and greatest products for ant control and they work really, really well. Basically they act slowly and cannot be detected by foraging ants. And by the time the active “kicks in”, any ant exposed to the treatment will have exposed a lot of other ants to the same active which effectively shuts down the outside nests as well as any nests that have formed again inside the home. More importantly, the “troops” won’t come around anymore because now they will now believe the entire home area is poisonous!
So in summary, the use of ant bait alone is a somewhat limited and flawed approach to most ant problems. True most baits will perform as per label in that they’ll kill the nest from which any feeding ant lives. But the bait won’t keep new nests from appearing so in the end, you’ll continue to have your ant problems and eventually, the ant bait won’t even work on them because they’ll get wise to what’s happening. And once that happens, the best approach is the outside spray with Phantom or Optigard followed by some Phantom Aerosol inside the house. These treatments are easy to do, pose no hazard to people or pets and work really well. And for your problem, it’s probably the only option left.
Phantom EC: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/phantom-21-oz
Optigard: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/optigard-flex-liquid-8-oz
Phantom: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz
Michael Wurster @ 2:24 pm
What would you recommend for ants inside already. Never see any activity outside or in until they swarm with the flyers at night. I physically removed the nest when I replaced the back door about 8 years ago. About a two summers ago I saw a little activity near the concrete stoop and put out bait. They ate, but with such little activity I did not think I got them all. Then this spring, for the first time since I removed them, the swarm came from around the inside door stop. I am guessing they are inside the wall.
Tech Support @ 6:48 am
First and foremost, make sure they’re ants. Swarming termites look a lot like ants and are commonly mistaken as such. This video shows termites swarming and the closeups are clear so you should be able to tell if what you’ve been seeing is different or the same.
Termite Swarm: http://www.bugspray.com/termite-swarm-on-video/
Now once you know you for sure they’re ants, use the Maxforce Gel inside the home anywhere you see activity. Any ant will eat this stuff and it’s highly effective on all species.
Ant Gel: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/maxforce-ant-gel-1-oz
For the outside, spray the entire foundation with Phantom EC. This will work on all insects like ants and termites and even though you claim you aren’t seeing any, they have to forage for food and other nest components. So if there is a treatment of Phantom in place around the home, you’ll surely get them no matter where they move.
Phantom EC: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/phantom-21-oz
Michael Wurster @ 12:23 pm
Can the Phantom Spray be sprayed into a wall cavity with say the little plastic tube from a WD40 can? Would this be effective? They are definitely Ants. And they are definitely not foraging for food outside by any visible means near the nest.
Tech Support @ 12:36 pm
Most definitely. And a tube comes with it too.
Meg @ 12:45 pm
Hi,
I read your article and it was very informative. The only problem is I live in a second floor apartment and I can not treat outside. I can only rely on treating inside. I was using the raid ant killer spray and doing the whole outline of my apartment inside, as well as, the windows and doors. Though the strange thing is the ants are not in the kitchen or by any of the pet food but are mostly in the living room area where is no food present. I’m using also the bait traps as well. Is there anything else I can do?
Tech Support @ 12:52 pm
I suggest you first remove any “bait trap” now out and then thoroughly clean where you’ve been spraying the “raid”. These types of sprays and baits “repel” and warn ants which in turn cause more issues. In the end, you’ll never get rid of them using these products.
Once the old products are removed and the surfaces cleaned, get some Maxforce Ant Gel and Phantom Aerosol. Use these two in much the same way to what you’ve been doing. The difference will be that with these products employed, you’ll be able to get rid of the problem for sure. Here’s why.
Both Maxforce and Phantom use actives ants can’t tell are a problem. In fact they’ll walk right over the Phantom treatment without concern. But once it contacts them and is brought back to their nest where it contacts other members of the ant colony, the entire nest will be shut down. This process will take a good 3-5 days to run it’s course but if you keep a fresh supply of Maxforce out and renew the Phantom every 30 days, you’ll never have any kind of any active in your apartment anymore no matter how close they’re nesting. That will happen because once they’re affected by the treatment, they will believe that something in your apartment is bad and will simply stay away from the location to avoid future mishap.
Ant Gel: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/maxforce-ant-gel-1-oz
Phantom: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz