Controlling

Ants

in your home

Controlling

Ants

In Your Home

Controlling

ANTS

Around Your Home

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ANT CONTROL IS EASY AS 1-2-3!

1. Seal the source

  • Store food in sealed containers
  • Caulk and weatherstrip cracks and gaps

 

 

2. Bait them

  • Use bait stations and sticky traps, which are more effective than sprays
  • Choose a bait station with borax (tetraborate decahydrate) or hydramethylnon

3. Monitor

  • After ants are gone, watch for new any activity
  • To avoid a new ant invasion, spread desiccating dust in areas where you see ants
  • Avoid sprays, which only temporarily get rid of ants

Argentine ants are frequent invaders in California homes. Their small size (1/8 inch) allows them to enter the home through cracks and crevices. They typically arrive a few at a time at first (the scouts), and then in long lines, following scent trails to a food source.

A Quick Fix for an Ant Emergency

  1. Find what ants are after (usually food or water) and where they are entering the room (usually through a crack in the wall). 
  2. Spray lines of ants with soapy water and wipe up. Clean up any food or spills.
  3. Block entry points temporarily with a smear of petroleum jelly or a piece of tape.
  4. If you can’t find an entry point, place a bait station in an out-of-the-way spot on the line the ants have been following. Remember to remove the bait station when the line of ants has disappeared so you don’t attract more ants into the house. (See Tips for Using Ant Baits.)

Tips for Using Ant Baits

Bait stations are much safer for humans, pets, and the environment that sprays. Ants carry small quantities of bait back to the nest to share, reducing the local ant population. 

  • Use baits with active ingredients borax/tetraborate decahydrate. Bait stations with hydramethylnon should be enclosed. 
  • Argentine ants change their food preferences frequently. If one bait is not working, try another type. Wait at least a day to see if ants take the bait.
  • Place bait stations out of reach from children and pets. Do not spray insecticide around the bait; it will repel the ants.
  • Baits may take several weeks to kill the ants. At first you may see more ants coming to the bait, but after a few days to a week you should see fewer ants.
  • When ants are gone, remove the bait so you don’t attract more ants. Return enclosed bait stations to the original box to save and use again. Put the box inside a sealed plastic bag, and store away from children and pets.

Keep Ants Away!

  • Store food in the refrigerator, or in containers that seal tightly.
  • Keep counters and cupboards clean and dry.
  • Weather-strip doors and windows.
  • Put pet dishes in a soapy moat—partially fill a wide, shallow container with soapy water and place pet bowls in the water.
  • Man kneeling to caulk the top of a baseboardUse silicone caulk to permanently close holes in walls, cracks along moldings and baseboards, and gaps around pipes and ducts to keep ants outside.
  • Use a hand duster to apply desiccating dust such as diatomaceous earth (DE) in wall openings and cracks before sealing. DE kills insects by absorbing their outer waxy coating, causing dehydration and death. It has little toxicity to humans or pets but inhaling it can cause respiratory problems, so wear a dust mask and goggles when applying. Be sure to buy food-grade DE, not DE for pool filters.

While they can be pests, ants are helpful creatures, especially outside. Ants kill and eat many pest insects, help to aerate soil, and recycle animal and vegetable material. This is good news, because it’s probably not possible to eliminate ants from their outdoor habitat. The best way to manage an ant invasion is to keep them outside.

Outdoors

  • Follow indoor ant trails back to the spot where ants come in from outside, and place enclosed bait stations there.
  • Caulk cracks where ants are entering the home.
  • Ants are attracted to honeydew – a sweet, sticky liquid made by aphids, whiteflies, and scale insects. Use sticky barriers around the trunk of a tree or bush to keep ants away while you deal with the source of the honeydew. Prune any branches that touch walls, fences, or the ground so ants cannot get around the barrier.

Ants in Your Plants

If ants are nesting in a potted houseplant, move it outdoors. Water it thoroughly and place the pot in a bucket filled with water that comes an inch below the rim of the pot. Use a stick to make a bridge for ants to get out of the pot and the bucket without getting in the water. The ants will soon begin carrying their white-colored young to safety. When no more ants emerge, drain the pot and return it to the house.