# Blankety blank "sugar" ants SNEER at every attempt to get rid of them--HELP! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821 "2014-03-16T05:40:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821/21 "2014-03-21T02:45:01Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’ve had quick success with the Terro syrup for the little sugar ants. > However the larger black ants seem to get me every spring and the Terro syrup is hit or miss. Does Terro make something better for larger ants? Those sound like carpenter ants. They like wood, not sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821/22 "2014-03-21T16:21:21Z")
> [@fisha](#): > > Those sound like carpenter ants. They like wood, not sugar. How do you get rid of those? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821/23 "2014-03-21T18:09:52Z")
Carpenter ants [don’t eat wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_ant) – that’s for termites, which have symbiotic gut bacteria that let them digest cellulose. Carpenter ants DO damage wood, but that’s from making their nests. A bit of searching indicates that [step one is going to be to find the central nest](http://www.epestsupply.com/carpenter_ants.php#.Uyx_bfldX4I) (rather than counting on visible worker ants to take bait back to the nest.) Sounds like it’s professional exterminator time for those, though. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821/24 "2014-03-22T16:40:46Z")
Put some sweet stuff (I used frosting) on a piece of plastic and lay it down. Have a dish of water ready. When the plastic is covered with ants, put it in water. Dry and repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821/25 "2014-03-22T18:20:25Z")
I just wanted to thank everyone who mentioned Terro bait traps. I put three in my kitchen on Tuesday. By Wednesday the only ants I saw were the ones that got all the way in the trap and drowned. I’m going to leave them in place until next Tuesday just to make sure, but I think my infestation is over! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankety-blank-sugar-ants-sneer-at-every-attempt-to-get-rid-of-them-help/683821.md?page=1)