Help get rid of ants
Ants aren’t just picnic pests. Ants can be quite troublesome and it seems once you get them, they keep coming back. When their army begins to march into your home be prepared for WAR! Battling ants – and winning the war, of course – can be effective if done properly. You don’t want to put a lot of time into getting rid of them only to find out that they return in a few days or in a couple weeks.
Ants play a very important role in nature. Not only do they aerate the soil, and control the population of other insects, but they help to breakdown organic matter. We just don’t need them in our homes and food supply.
There are several different kinds of ants.
The most common is known as the “pavement” ant (also called the “sugar” ant - which is really the Australian ant and also, pavement ants are also referred to as the “house“ ant). This type of ant is the most common to invade your home. These are those little brown ants that make little mounds in the soil and sand around your home along the pavement and driveway. These ants are found all over the United States.
If you don’t want them in your home then there are steps you can take. Since these ants are attracted to food crumbs, foods left out or stuck to dirty dishes, spills, and standing water, it is best to be as aggressive as possible at keeping your kitchen as clean as possible. Keep up with doing your dishes, sweeping, vacuuming and mopping your floors and keeping your foods well covered. Sweep or vacuum each evening after eating to avoid problems.
Dirty dishes and standing water (if you are soaking dishes) will also attract them. After washing dishes, wipe up the counters – leave no residue behind at all! And what you can’t see or smell – they can. Any little crumbs left around and any slight spills will attract them immediately. Remember to clean and dry your dish drains and dish mats as well.
Storing your foods in tight-sealing plastic containers is your best bet, whether in your pantry, cupboards or refrigerator.
Also, since ants are attracted to water, fix any leaky faucets that you have.
Wiping down your kitchen counters daily or every other day with a mixture of vinegar and water or using bleach will keep them away.
Pouring bleach down your sink drain will also kill the smells of foods that will attract them.
And speaking of dish drains – it won’t hurt to check for leaky sink pipes or to wipe them down occasionally with bleach.
Something that I have always done at least a couple times a week is to fill my sink with very hot water and pour bleach in. A cup or two of bleach will do. Let your sink soak for about a half hour, drain and rinse. You can also place your kitchen sponge or dish mop in the water to totally sanitize them. This would include your dishcloth as well. Just rinse well. Not only will this sanitize but it will clean your “cleaners” (sponges, dishcloth, dish mop, etc.) and keep your whites white! I also soak my dish drain in this water – keeps it white and clean at all times.
Before draining the sink, use the water to wipe down your counter tops, etc.
Remember – a few granules of sugar from your sugar bowl left on the counter or table overnight will invite a small army of unwanted ants to party.
Today we recycle – plastic bottles and jugs, pop and beer cans, glass bottles, etc. Rinse each thoroughly – it takes just a drop or two left in the bottle or can to attract ants. And take them to the store frequently and put out on recycling day religiously to avoid problems. Remember to clean recycling containers with hot water and bleach regularly as well.
Take out your trash regularly. Don’t wait until the bags are full – if you place foods, scraps, etc. in the trash – bundle and place in your outdoor trash can. (Wash outside and inside trash receptacles with hot, soapy water with bleach on a regular basis as well; especially during the warm months.)
Remember that some of the cheaper-brand trash bags have a tendency to leak and that will create problems. You can also sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of your trash liners to deodorize the liners. And be sure your trash receptacles have tight-fitting lids on them.
If you have pets and pet dishes and water bowls – keep clean as well; and clean the area around their eating area.
We all love flowers, flower beds and foliage – but if too close to your house, that is an invitation for unwanted company. Some plants and flowers attract ants more than others. I absolutely love impatiens but so do ants – and for that reason they get planted FAR away from the house.
If you arm yourself with your vacuum to suck these pesky little devils up – first sprinkle baby powder or cornstarch on the floor and vacuum that. This way the cornstarch/baby powder will stick to their bodies and suffocate them. When done – empty the bag and put it out in the trash. You don’t need to put your vacuum away only to have them marching out and about!
Yes – baby powder! The powder sticks to their bodies and suffocates them. An inch-wide line along your doorways, window sills, etc. will effectively take care of them.
You can spray them with an ammonia-based cleaner (or straight ammonia that you keep in a spray bottle), bleach, or a mixture of vinegar and water and then just wipe them up with a hot soapy paper towel.
Brave enough to stomp on them? At least that way they can’t return to the nest and bring all their friends back to party!
There are professional baits out there that will attract ants. The poisoned food in these traps is taken back to their nests to kill them off (doesn’t that sound cruel though? – but if you are plagued with ants you get to the point where you don’t care anymore – you just want to be rid of them for good!)
These baits can be sweet-based, or protein based or they can contain strong chemicals. They can be in the form of a paste, gel, liquid or granules.
Then there is the little black ants which have been also called sugar ants – but they are not sugar ants – they are black ants. These guys eat anything – feasting on other insects as well, but they have a real taste for rotting wood and love dark spaces. Since they also like sweets, a sweet-based bait trap will work indoors while protein-based baits will do a great job outside.
Just a note – just because you may call your “house guests” sugar ants you may think they only go for sweets. Not true. Any crumbs from breads, crackers, certain vegetables and meats (including the remains of other dead insects you may have) that are hiding on your floors or in your carpets, are all an open invitation to feast.
Another method of ridding yourself of ants is by using Borax. It works as a slow-acting poison and won’t kill them quickly when ingested by ants. Mixed with a sweet-bait, this give the ants time to take it back to their nests and dispense the poison to other ants. This is a great way to get rid of an ant colony.
If you want to use Borax – combine 1 cup warm water with ½ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons Borax. Soak cotton balls in this solution and place near any trails the ants have made in your home.
Remember that vinegar is a very natural way to prevent ant invasions; ants do not like the acetic acid in the vinegar. So plain white vinegar is a cheap and natural way to rid yourself of ants. Don’t ever try to use apple cider vinegar – it won’t work!
Ants don’t like whole cloves. The strong smell from the cloves will keep them away. Some have placed whole cloves around baseboards and under counters to repel the ants.
Bay leaves under counters and around door ways is also effective.
A little home maintenance will also help to keep ants away. Mend any broken screens, clean window sills, and seal door sills and window sills. Make it difficult for them to get in.
NOTE: Pharaoh ants are also called sugar ants. These ants are quite persistent and get what they want – and they will eat anything. Usually found in hospitals, these devils are blamed for transferring dangerous bacteria (staphylococcus and/or pseudomonas). Sweet baits are best for getting rid of this type of ant.
If you live in the southern states, there is a good chance that your ant problem is caused by RED ants – also known as fire ants. The most aggressive of ants, these ants sting and cause intense pain, sweating, and sometimes even anaphylactic shock. A chemical-based ant killer is best to rid yourself of these. Remember that fire ant baiting is only temporary and will need to be repeated every 2 to 4 weeks.
Using a bait containing an insecticide Hydramethylon is effective in getting rid of fire ants. Be careful near their nests – these ants are very dangerous and you do not want to disturb them.
Carpenter ants (also known as winged or flying ants) can sometimes be mistaken for termites. These ants swarm, coming out of cracks in the walls and floors of your home. Although they are called carpenter ants, these ants do not eat wood. They enjoy dining on sweets and proteins. They burrow through the wood to expand their nests. (Like you need more to deal with!)
To find their nest, listen for the rustling noises in the walls and floors where you see ants wandering around (place your ear to a glass on the wall). Drilling holes and applying residual and aerosol insecticides is the best and most effective way to get rid of carpenter ants. Birtox is a good one to use.
And then there are the Argentine ants. Mostly found in the southern and southwestern states, these horrid little creatures are destroying America’s environmental and ecological balance by killing off our native ant species. This starves the natural predators of these species. Argentine ants team up with the garden pest aphids by tending to and transporting aphids in return for the aphid’s sweet secretions. These ants eat anything and everything and team up with other ant colonies. To get rid of these, insecticide granules (Niban or Diazinon) is probably the most effective way to get rid of these ants around your home.
Baiting ants by using ant poisons, ant killers, ant hotels, etc. is the best way to effectively get rid of stubborn residents that refuse to leave. By returning to their nests with the bait, they are will kill off the colony.
And the easiest way to get rid of ant nests – BOILING WATER! Non-toxic, cheap and effective. Just pour boiling water into the nest. After a good bath of hot boiling water, they may never return. If they do – just boil the water again. That should do the trick.
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