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Jennifer Farrington is a contributing writer at Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» Homefront. She is a Florida native who has more than a decade of writing and editing experience. Jennifer has covered everything from real estate and insurance to personal finance and entertainment.
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Ants infest kitchens for food, shelter or water, typically when temperatures are warmer.
Ant bait can be used to detect the ants’ entry point and colony location.
You can prevent an ant infestation by having the exterior of your home treated in the summer months.
Your kitchen is where you enjoy meals and sip your morning cup of joe — it’s not a dining hall for ants. But these resourceful little pests love a good snack as much as you do. That’s why it’s not too far-fetched that crumbs could lead to ant infestation. So how do you get rid of ants in the kitchen?
One rookie mistake when dealing with ants is using over-the-counter pesticides, cautioned Shawn Payne, owner of based in Lakewood, Ohio. Though these chemicals can quickly eliminate visible pests, they “generally don’t work very well for social insects like ants,†he said. Instead, you want to identify the type of ant, pin down what attracts them, their point of entry and, ultimately, their nest — then strike.
You have a variety of slow-acting poisons at your disposal to get rid of ants in the kitchen, such as ant bait traps, borax and sugar, and non-repellent sprays. Scout ants will return to their nests with the bait, share it with others and wipe out the entire colony. Then you can use a vinegar spray to erase any pheromone trails that act as beacons for other ants.
Now, let’s figure out why a line of marching ants suddenly showed up in your kitchen, how to get rid of them and prevent them from returning.
Ants infest kitchens when they are in search of food, shelter or water, typically in spring and summer when temperatures are warmer. These pests have four to five times more odor receptors than other common insects, according to , making your kitchen more vulnerable to infestations if you have tiny cracks in your home’s foundation and you are prone to leaving bits of food on counters.
When scout ants locate an entry point to your home and discover food, they will secrete pheromones to create a trail. This trail assists the ants in traveling back and forth from your home to their colony. Fortunately, these trails run both ways — they may allow more ants to infest your kitchen, but they also allow you to ferry poison back to their home base.
An ant’s size and color are two features that distinguish them from one another. Knowing whether you’re dealing with the typical little black ant or a carpenter ant determines how quickly you need to act, and if you need to contact a professional.
More than 700 ant species can be found in the U.S., but only about 25 of these are known to infest homes, according to the . Here’s a look at the five most common types of ants that infest homes.
Ants are not only a nuisance, but they pose a health risk by contaminating food with bacteria. The argentine ant, for instance, can crawl on garbage or deceased animals, carrying and depositing disease-causing bacteria throughout your home. Warmer climates, such as Florida and Georgia, are home to the white-footed ant that can also transfer disease-causing organisms, including E.coli, to food surfaces, according to a .
Powdered insecticides, borax, diatomaceous earth, vinegar and even liquid dish soap can help you destroy the ants you can see foraging outside of their nest. But to truly eliminate this pest, you need to locate and eliminate the colony and seal off their entry point.
Ant colonies are usually hidden behind walls, large appliances and rotting wood. Outdoors logs, debris, rocks or mounds of soil are other desired colony hubs.
To find the ant colony, Payne instructed that you should look for debris — gravelly bits or sawdust-like frass, depending on the species of ants — which they kick out of their nest. You can also pre-bait by putting capfuls of sugar, honey or syrup out and wait for an ant trail to develop.
Then Payne recommended removing the pre-bait and replacing it with regular ant bait where you see the trail forming. The next step is to track them to a crevice along the baseboards, the wall or electrical outlets.
Locating an ant colony makes it easier for you to effectively treat your ant problem as this is the hub where the queen resides, laying her eggs. A well-fed queen can lay up to 800 eggs daily, making it crucial to halt reproduction.
Once you’ve pinpointed the colony’s location, do not seal it off just yet. Focus your treatment on this area. It will eliminate the ants and dismantle the primary structure they use for storing food, living and reproduction.
To eliminate the ant colony, you’ll need to get rid of the queen ant responsible for reproduction and her worker ants that forage for food.
Various methods can be used to destroy an ant colony, and the choice depends on your resources and whether you prefer using pesticides or natural chemicals. Below, we’ll delve into how you can implement a few strategies.
Ant bait traps contain insecticides that lure in ants. Assuming they are collecting food, the worker ants will carry this slow-acting poison back to their colony and share it with other ants — including the queen.
You want to place these near ant trails to lure the most ants, but do not interrupt the trails. It’s important for the ants to be able to find their way back to the nest with the bait. Use both carbohydrate-based and protein-based bait to attract a wide variety of ants, unless you know which food source your unwanted guests prefer.
Many ant bait traps contain hazardous ingredients so avoid placing them in food prep areas or where they may be accessible to kids and pets.
How to use:
Sodium tetraborate, or borax, contains the naturally occurring element boron. The white, powdery substance is used as a food preservative and cleaning agent and can be found in pesticides. Ants won’t eat borax on its own so mix it with something sweet, such as sugar or honey. Borax can be harmful if ingested, so keep it away from children and pets.
Repellent insecticides send bugs packing when they come into contact with the undesirable chemicals in the spray. However, ants have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell and are adept at detecting repellent sprays and finding a way in through holes in your defenses.
Non-repellent insecticides don’t alert pests, thereby allowing them to pass through it and collect the poison on their bodies. Then the ants carry this poison back to their nest and contaminate other ants inside. Repellent sprays can treat both the interior and exterior of your home and are commonly used in kitchens, bathrooms, patios, and other infested areas of a home.
You’ll know you eliminated the ant colony when you no longer see ant trails in your home. Now it’s time to seal off their point of entry and kill remaining ants. If you see any stragglers, which is common, you can use a nontoxic mixture such as lemon juice and water to wipe them away. Fast-acting insecticides will kill ants on contact, though you can also use vinegar or alcohol to kill them off instantly.
A popular non-repellent insecticide among consumers is Real-Kill Ant & Roach, which is rated 4 out of 5 stars, based on over 400 reviews left by Home Depot customers. Raid Ant & Roach Killer 26, also kills on contact and is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars, based on over 3,000 reviews left by Walmart customers.
is a soft rock deriving from the fossilized remains of diatoms, consisting of silicon dioxide. It has a white or light gray powdery texture and causes severe damage to an ant’s exoskeleton, not to mention it dehydrates and kills them. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the areas where ants are present and entering your home. Window sills, baseboards, and cracks in the walls are good places to start. Diatomaceous earth isn’t poisonous but it is an irritant.
You can wipe away trails with a paper towel moistened in both white vinegar and water, alcohol or watered-down dish soap. For the vinegar spray, use equal parts of water and vinegar, mix in a spray bottle and target ant trails and points of entry to get rid of ants.
You can eliminate ants yourself by laying out ant bait traps, borax or using non-repellent sprays. Nontoxic solutions that are safe for you and pets include pouring boiling water on an ant colony you can access easily. Ants also dislike the smell of black pepper, peppermint oil and citrus fruits.
However, if these methods fail and the ant trails persist, there may be an underlying issue more suitable for a pest control expert. Professional pest control experts pinpoint where the nest is and if there are multiple sites. Their expertise and access to a wider range of chemicals and treatments make them more equipped to deal with stubborn ants.
To keep ants from coming back, Payne recommended applying granular ant bait on a regular basis through the summer months to control colonies outside. Here are a few other preventative measures you can take.
Find and seal any small cracks or tiny openings around your home’s foundation. Caulking, grout, weatherstripping and metal flashing are a few materials used to do this.
Ants are attracted to moisture. Eliminate standing water, repair leaks and keep your gutters clean. Consider using a dehumidifier in areas prone to moisture.
Keep counters clear of food and crumbs and remove any lingering pet food from the floor. Always always keep non-perishable foods in an airtight container. Empty garbage cans regularly. Clean up spills or food residue found in the can immediately.
Once you contain the infestation, take preventive measures so ants don’t return. Pest control visits should be scheduled quarterly, or every three months. If the issue persists or the ants return, Payne recommended hiring a professional to treat your home’s exterior, particularly in the summer months.
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