If you have come across this article, it’s most probably you are one of those who have faced the problem of sugar ants. It’s really unpleasant and troublesome, but still not something that can’t be solved, just take your time and thoroughly study the problem and ways of its overcoming.
When it comes to sugar ants, there are two major questions people are interested in: where do the ants come from and what is the best way to get rid of them. In the following article the answers to both of the inquiries will be provided.
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Sugar Ants and the Danger They Present
Sugar ant infestation of your house, garden, bathroom and even a car is a really bothersome prospect. The insects get everywhere and having them can be really annoying to put it mildly.
The ants will penetrate in all your food items, thus making them completely unusable. They can also kill your indoors and garden plants by destroying their flowers and produce. That is more; the tiny creatures are prone to painful bites, which they do more often than not. You’d better avoid having the ant in your hands and in your life in general.
The really unpleasant experience with the insects is the major reason why the question how to get rid of sugar ants becomes really crucial for many people.
What You Need To Know about Sugar Ants?
Sugar ants are considered to be relatively large representatives of the ant family. They feature brown and orange body with a black head; the color of these mysterious creatures can be changed, however, depending on the climate of the area they live. They also may vary somewhat is body shape and size. Ants-soldiers can be easily distinguished from ants-workers by their large and bright bodies that can be reaching up to 15 mm long.
It’s worth to mention, that what we used to call as sugar ants are actually so called pavement or pharaoh ants. As it may be easily guessed, the pests got their name due to their special attraction to all sweet foods. However, these voracious creatures would eat almost everything. There’s no use in debating what the ants like better, sugar or cheese: they will opt for both, and in fact won’t refuse any other fatty food as well, which includes dead animals as well.
These insects live in many parts of the world, but their highest population is reported in the USA and Australia. The ants can be found almost everywhere: in forests and in urban areas. Due to their really diverse diet their habitat is pretty widespread.
They build easily recognizable nests everywhere: in sand, in soil, between the rocks. You will easily spot their home construction if you follow the trail that the insects leave when they set off looking for food. What is very unpleasant for humans, the ants quite often venture indoors to find food and if they spot something worthy their attention in your kitchen or bathroom, you’ll soon notice heavy trails of the pests leading from source of food. If you do see the trails, it’s time to act, do not take your time!
Getting Rid of Sugar Ants: Best Ways of Killing the Insects in Your House
If you failed with your prevention measures and let the tiny intruders into your house, don’t hesitate and act quickly, until they turned your life into hell with their presence. There are several really effective remedies that will let you get rid of unwanted guests in your premises.
The ideal and most effective extermination scheme includes presents a combination of repellents and homemade traps. Remember, if you use sprays or dusts to kill sugar ants, you’ll only make the insects to spread further reaching other areas of your house. Thus, you need to have a plan that will eradicate the ants completely.
Special remedies
Chemical industry nowadays provides a great selection of numerous remedies for killing sugar ants. They are different gels, poisonous chalks, sprays and special traps and other chemical killers. All of them are relatively effective, but each has certain disadvantages, sometimes pretty serious: they are harmful for humans and pets, and ants get used to them in time. If you or any of your family members are allergic to chemicals and you don’t want to put yourself in danger of using poisonous remedies in your house, opt for natural remedies that are almost harmless for humans, but still very effective with ants.
Natural Remedies
There is a great deal of really effective natural remedies that will let you make your unwanted little guests leave your house. But first that you need to do is to spot the food source your tiny visitors are using and eliminate it. Then follow the trail and wipe it away with the help of wet toilet paper. You need to do a thorough cleaning to eliminate all the scent the ants leave as a signal for their followers. Then use one or several of these remedies:
- Cloves. Its strong smell is a perfect deterrent for the insects. You’ll need just to put some of it in the sugar jar and on the counter corners, and most probably the creatures will leave you forever.
- Cinnamon powder. It makes the same magic on the ants as cloves. Place the sticks everywhere in the kitchen and say good bye to sugar ants.
- Black pepper and bay leaves. Use any of it; both are able to make miracles if you need to get rid of little intruders quickly and effectively. Leave some of it next to your doorways, in the cupboards and ants will be gone before long.
- Vinegar. Use it to spray on sugar ants- they don’t tolerate vinegar and will hurry away from your house.
- Borax. The good thing about it is that it’s absolutely harmless for humans bit very toxic for ants. And you’ll easily find it in the laundry section of any big store. The poison acts slowly, so the ants will bring it back to their home and spread among others. Mix some of borax with sugar creating jelly and treat your guests with it.
- Boric acid. Make a mixture of jelly and some dry bread, and then add some boric acid to it. Build small balls out of the mixture and offer them to ants everywhere in the kitchen and other rooms. It’s a hassle-free and top-effective way to get rid of unwanted intrusion.
More methods on how to get rid of ants read the link.
Prevention measures
Now that you know what attracts these tiny intruders, you’ll have to bring in action all prevention measures possible. It’s always better to prevent than to cure. As you’ve already guessed, the first key point for preventing sugar ants’ infestation is to eliminate any source of food for them.
There are some more factors that should be kept in mind if you want to eliminate the danger of facing these creatures in your house:
- Keep your kitchen always clean. It’s really very important that you keep the sink and other kitchen items always ideally clean. Never let any food leftovers stay in the sink overnight and don’t pile your plates there. Keep your eye on the drain as well: no food particles are allowed in it- it’s a sure way to attract unwanted little guests.
- Mop and vacuum your floors regularly. The key thing is to avoid any food particles in your kitchen and other rooms. Mopping is really important and if done on a regular basis (ideally after each meal) will allow you avoid infestation.
- Use airtight containers. Try to store all your food (and sweet items especially) in the inaccessible place. Airtight containers are a perfect way out that will keep the ants away from your food.
- Don’t keep trash for long. Try to get rid of unnecessary items as soon as possible. If you let it stay in your house, it may attract sugar ants with its juice. If you can’t afford throwing away your trash daily, try to keep it in thick bags and use bins with lids.
