Want to know what kills ants? Read this post to discover what you can use to kill ants effectively.
What kills ants? This is the question you immediately sought an answer to when you realized you had an ant problem.
Ants can cause problems in your home and in your yard. It can seem at times like there is no escaping them.
The good news is that there are several ways that you can kill ants. There are several different types of ants as well.
Killing ants is the first step in the process but you will also need to prevent them going forward as well. So how do you kill ants?
Quick Navigation
What Kills Fire Ants?
Treating your yard mound by mound can be a battle. That being said, you may want to first treat the whole yard at one time and then return to treat any stubborn mounds that have not gone away.
To treat your whole yard you will broadcast bait for the fire ants all over the yard. You should really do this a few times a yard. Then you can treat any mounds that you get as they occur.
To treat the mound you will use insecticide and drench the mound. Pour enough liquid into the mound to treat the whole thing.
You need to make sure that the inscetiside liquid is able to reach the queen. Once the liquid has been poured you can place the bait around the mound, don’t place it on the top.
When baiting the mound there are plates that you can get to put the bait in that will not only keep the bait dry but it will also make it hard for children to get into the poison.
Some people have even used boiling water to kills off fire ant beds. To do this you just need to pour the hot boiling water into the center of the mound like you would with liquid insecticides.
This should not only kill off the queen but it should kill most of the other ants. If you still see a probably then you can treat again.
Now that you know what kills red ants, you may want to know about other types of ants.
Read more: 15 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Fire Ants
What Kills Carpenter Ants?
For carpenter ants, you should bait the nest.
You can apply a bit of bait and then come back later to see if it looks like the ants have been taking the bait. If they took the bait then you can add some more to the area.
These specific ants will only feed on plant nectars. Due to this, even if they have a nest indoors they will leave the building in order to feed.
If you use a bait system that contains nectar then you will be giving them what they are looking for and they should take the bait and die off before too long.
Spraying insecticide around the perimeter of the foundation of the building, trees, or lawn helps to prevent outdoor ants from being able to enter. Outdoor liquid sprays are extremely effective when it comes to killing carpenter ants and keeping them from being able to make it into the building.
Read more: 20 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants
What Kills Flying Ants?
One great way to kill off flying ants is to put out Diatomaceous Earth. This works to kill the ants by dehydrating them.
You can put a perimeter of this around any sources of food. If the ant walks in the diatomaceous earth hat you applied the small granules are jagged and will pierce the ant and eventually the ant will die from it.
You can use diatomaceous earth that is food grade in order to help make it safer for your pets and kids. Remember the ant will have to make direct contact with this for it to work.
If you are able to track down the colony you are going to find that most of the ants you see in the colony will be wingless, but you need to kill these ants as well to kill the ants with wings.
Once you have found the nest you will be able to choose the insecticide that you believe is best suited.
The insecticide comes in liquid, granules, and gel. Each type will be slightly different when it comes to the applications but the end result, no matter which method you choose, is going to be the destruction of the colony.
Read more: 15 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Flying Ants
What Kills Sugar Ants?
Trapping is one way that you can kill sugar ants. To do this you need to put out a very sticky substance such as honey.
When the ants walk in the sticky substance they are going to get stuck in it. Once the ants are stuck you can kill them off.
Since trapping will only kill the ants that come to the source that you put out you also want to look at baiting these ants. To bait them you need to pick the type of bait that works best for you.
Place the bait around the nest if you can locate it, if not you can place it in an area where you know the ants are finding food. The hope is that they take the bait home with them and kill off the queen and the rest of the colony.
Read more: 25 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Sugar Ants
What Kills Ants Instantly?
There are sprays that you can get to kill ants. These work great for killing the ants that you are able to access.
You don’t want to take a spray and spray the mound with it however. When you spray the mound you will only be killing the ants that are on the top when you spray.
Sprays are best for killing trails of ants or a few ants here and there. You may also want to consider just swatting the ants depending on how many of them are present.
Swatting the ants will keep you from inhaling the harsh chemical spray. The spray should be used when there are many ants that you need to kill quickly.
Aside from harsh chemicals, there are a few natural ways that you can kill ants also.
Read more: Top 5 Products You Should Use to Kill Ants Effectively
What Kills Ants Naturally?
The good news is that there are eco-friendly ways that you can kill ants also.
One thing that you can do is plant one or more ant deterring plants. Things like sage, peppermint, and tansy have been known for helping keep the ants away.
You can put plant them in the yard or just have a small herb garden in the kitchen of your home.
Ants also are thrown off by garlic. The smell of the garlic confused ants since it is so strong and it will throw them off the scent trail.
Essential oil spray mixed with the right things can be a natural ant killer. You need orange oil, clove oil, vinegar, and water. Take this spray and pray around the trail of ants.
The clove is used to throw them off their scent trail since it so so strong smelling. The orange oil is toxic to the ants.
The vinegar will throw them off the trail as well as deter them from wanting to cross that same area another time. So the spray works to get rid of the ant in three different ways.
What Gets Rid Of Ants In The House?
When treating ants inside of the home you need to be careful. This is because your children and pets will be exposed to the same things that you are using the kill the ants.
While it may seem smart to just start spraying the ants that you see this is actually not what you want to do. The ants you see are the worker ants who take the food back to the nest.
In order to kill off the colony of ants, you have to reach the queen. This being said you should set out bait.
The ants will take the bait back just like in the outdoor baiting treatments. This will then slowly eliminate the colony once the bait reaches the queen.
Once you seem to have a handle on the indoor ants you really need to focus on keeping them away. You want to sanitize everything. You can also plant some of the plant deterrents that were mentioned above.
Another thing is to make sure that you are spraying the perimeter of your home. You also need to seal the windows, doors, and any other little creases that the ants could be entering from.
Watching the ants will be the best guide for you to find where they are coming from so that you are able to prevent the problem from occurring again.
Read more: What Do Termites Look Like to The Human Eye
Conclusion
Ants are certainly a bother. They can bite you and some even feed on your food.
You don’t want them in your home, or in your yard for that matter. So taking the proper steps in eradicating them and keeping them from returning is extremely important.
Now that you know what kills ants and how to prevent them going forward you should be able to handle any problems that you face with these types of ants in the future.
Remember that killing ants can sometimes be a slow process, so you need to be patient while the bait does its job.
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