About this app
An ant infestation isn't the worst pest problem in the world since most species of ant commonly found in the home do no real damage. The good news is that out of more than 1,000 or so classified species of ants in North America, only a few species are likely to take shelter in homes, and even fewer are likely to sting or cause damage. The vast majority of ant species are garden dwellers that do more good than harm — such as aerating soil or controlling damaging pests such as aphids.
But ants roaming around inside the home are annoying, and they can sometimes spread unwanted bacteria. Varieties commonly known as carpenter ants can cause damage by burrowing through wood structural elements of the home.
Structure of an Ant Colony
Ants are social creatures that generally form colonies in which individuals assume different roles. One or more "queen" ants are the reproducing individuals that remain in a hidden nest; their role is to simply continue to produce more ants and maintain the colony. The other individuals—which can include several million individuals in larger colonies—are known as worker ants. The younger workers typically remain inside the nest, where they serve the needs of the queen and maintain or expand the nest, while older workers roam out from the nest to retrieve food for the colony. It is these older workers that you see when an ant infestation becomes apparent.
An ant infestation is never controlled if all you do is spray these visible ants—the older works who are following established trails to and from a hidden nest somewhere in the walls of your home. Although it sounds strange, the key to eliminating visible ants is to target those you don't see. This is because the queen—the one who lays all the eggs—never leaves the nest. She just stays there, being fed by the worker ants. So if all you do is spray the visible worker ants with pesticides, the queen simply produces more to take their place, and your infestation never ends.
The key, then, is to target the queen ant, and this can be quite tricky since the nests are often deeply hidden behind walls or beneath concrete slabs.
Tips for Dealing with Ants
Here are some tips to help you eliminate and prevent an infestation of ants in your home.
Identify Ant Trails
The key first step in eliminating an ant infestation is to identify the trails used by worker ants to move to and from the nest. Any visible ants moving inside your home are seeking food, and once an ant finds edible material, it carries it back to the nest By doing so, the ant leaves a chemical path, or trail, for its fellow worker ants to follow to collect more food.
This behavior is what makes it possible to combat ants, since you can now fool the worker ants into bringing some form of poisoned food (ant bait) back to the nest.
Use Ant Bait Indoors
Avoid the temptation to simply use pesticides to spray visible ants marching along trails in your home. Pesticide sprays can eliminate a few visible ants, but more will quickly replace them, and you'll never make real progress to eliminating the infestation. Instead, use these worker ants as the ticket into the colony by placing ant bait for them to carry back to the hidden nest.
Ant baits are edible materials, usually sweet, sugary carbohydrates, mixed with substances that are toxic to ants but which have minimal toxicity to animals or humans. Some ant baits are primarily made from boric acid, a natural substance that is entirely non-toxic to humans.
Keep It Clean
Sanitation is critical for the prevention and control of any pest. Like all living creatures, ants need water, food, and shelter for survival. Ants leave the shelter of their colony to find food and water. Don't make it easy for them! Keep foods sealed, floors swept, and all surfaces cleaned.
