The last few days we’ve had the occasional ant or two crawling across the kitchen counters. Since it has been so hot and dry recently, I assume they are making their way inside looking for water. (Normally we only see them in the spring, when we get so much rain that the ground is saturated.)
So last night after dinner I went to the store and bought a box of Terro ant bait traps and placed three of them in locations that appeared to have steady ant traffic.
I went in the kitchen this morning to get myself some coffee, and they were swarming all over the counter! Which I suppose is to be expected… you put out ant bait with the expectation that it will attract ants. But seeing dozens of them crawling all over the counter instead of just a few here and there kind of squicks me out.
I’ve used those ant baits before and they’re great. When you just saw the occasional ant or two, there were really many many more that you didn’t see. I know it’s disheartening to see them all at once, but in a day or two they will be gone and you won’t see them again (for months, anyway).
They all swarm the bait, take it back home, and all die. It’s good stuff! (However, be careful, because I learned the hard way that if a trap leaks–if you cut too deeply, for example–the sugar syrup that contains the poison will soak in and stain wood. That’s not pretty!)
I use to swear by Terro ant traps but they did a redesign on their package to make it so you don’t have to use a knife to open the end and I swear it makes it so that ants can’t even fit in the entrance anymore. Before the entire bottom was completely open, now when the no-cut entrance it looks like only a single ant at a time can come in and as a result very few ants took the bait. Had to find another brand with the same giant entrance for the ants to actually take the bait.
Yeah, the little trap isn’t big enough. I guess it’s designed so that next to nothing can go through that little hole, the better to guard against pets or kids getting the bait.
Nowdays I buy whole bottles of the bait, and squeeze a generous pool onto pieces of card. That way a whole mob of them can drink simultaneously. But it has to be refreshed often, because it dries out faster when it’s exposed to air like that.
As pointed out, you have to put up with a swarm of them for a couple of days, which is icky. But they’re drinking deep and are taking it back to their queen, so be patient.
If I’m not mistaken, the active ingredient in these ant baits is borax–a close relative of boric acid. It’s just suspended in sugar syrup so the ants want it more.
Yeah I noticed the redesigned package when I put the traps out last night. The instructions make it look like the end should snap right off but I had to twist and tear to get them open. Next time maybe I will try using scissors to cut the end off.
The good news is, when I came into the kitchen to get some lunch, the ant swarm had abated considerably. There are now maybe 10-12 ants total crawling on the counter or nibbling at the traps. Hopefully they’ve all gone back home to spread ant death.
I laid down a mixture of sugar and borax where I thought they were coming from and it seemed to work well. I never saw dead ants; the story is they track it back to the nest.
One problem with these is that ants can change their tastes rapidly, and some entire colonies won’t even touch these baits.
I’ve had good results with Terro in some places that I’ve lived, and in some other places I’ll only see a few ants take a nibble while the teeming millions just ignore it.
Argentine ants are a particular problem, as they seem to be everywhere. Some glommed onto the bait and some weren’t interested. Argentine ants have a behavior that is unique in the ant world, I think: When adjacent colonies bump into each other, they cooperate and essentially merge their colonies, rather than wage territorial war with each other. Thus, all the Argentine ants from the South Pole to the North Pole are effectively one huge world-wide colony.
I just want to mention that the Advion ant bait arenas that I got from Amazon are by far the best ant baits that I’ve found- they work indoors and outdoors and seem to be extraordinarily effective.
I’ve had good results smooshing boric acid into peanut butter in a plastic bag. Cut off a corner for a precision applicator. Check the local dollar store the boric acid.
Borax, sugar, and water do the trick for me for the little ants we get. Here is formula that works well:
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Borax
1 1/2 cups WARM water
Instructions
Mix the Borax and sugar together until well combined.
Add the mixture to your warm water and mix constantly until the powder has been completely dissolved.
Seal the mixture in a jar or container for future use, and use only what you need in the next steps (and save the rest). It is important that you clearly label the jar, as it will just look like water. Do not leave this where children can get to it. (Because this is such an easy solution to make, however, I only kept what I made until after the ants had been gone for a week or more.)
Fill some jar lids, milk caps, or other shallow containers
Wait. It may take the ants a while to find the solution. But, once they do, let them feast (and take the solution back to their home).
I use beer bottle caps to pour the bait in. Place near ant trails. The stuff is sticky but it may pay to let a little drip over the edge so they find it.
Generally this will get rid of infestations overnight after they find the bait. And of course you also need to be vigilant about keeping every crumb and drip cleaned up, any little thing the scouts find they will call their friends and you will be infested again.
