Ants have their place in nature, but when hundreds invade a home they cause problems. Some types of ants simply are a nuisance, some types bite, while other types can eat wood and cause damage. There are many causes for ant problems, but there are also solutions.
There are three great ant bait products that can help you to clear up ants inside or outside your home.
What Causes Ant Problems?
After you purchase your ant bait and have eradicated most of the ants from your home you’ll want to examine the reasons why you had ants in the first place.
- 1. Your landscaping is providing a warm and welcome home. Ants love vegetation that is right beside your home. Chances are it’s a warmer region but also contains moisture. Vegetation right beside the structure of your home will also be a bridge to them getting inside.
- 2. Good smells indicate a food source. If you leave food out on the counter it can be an attractant to ants. Or, if you leave unwashed soda cans or bottles near the door that can be an invitation too. Ants can also be attracted to garbage bins or pet food.
- 3. There’s damage in your home. If your home has a cracked foundation or gaps in the siding, ants will find these types of places perfect for their colonies.
3 Best Ant Bait Products
The best way to eradicate ants from the home is through a baited trap. This type of trap contains a chemical that attracts the ants. The ants will enter the trap, eat the sweet food, and then take some of it back to their colonies. These traps are also slow-acting, so there is time for the ant to return to the colony to either share the food, or provide the trail to lead the ants back to your home. The food contains a poison that slowly kills them. Soon, your home will be free of the pests.
There are three recommended baits for your home. Each is not only effective, they’re of minimal cost to your household budget.
1. Terro Ant Killer Liquid Ant Baits, PreFilled
The Terro Ant Killer is a liquid ant bait that comes in a cleverly shaped plastic container. The ants can climb in and out easily. If you should actually knock over a trap, the poison won’t spill out.
Features :
- Convenient and ready to use.
- Fast-acting formula kills common household ants quickly.
- Bait stays in the trap and is spill-proof.
- No need to handle chemicals.
- Use indoors or outdoors.
What Are the Ingredients & How Do They Work?
The TERRO Ant Killer Baits contain the following:
- Sweet liquid bait.
- Borax as the active ingredient.
Borax is harmless to humans in small dosages but when ants consume it, the borax will interfere with their digestive system. This will slowly kill them. It’s important to have a slower-acting bait as the ants will take the food back to the colony and queen to share, rather than dying on the spot. The ant killer will eventually eradicate all the ants in a colony with a bait trap.
It can be more effective to use a bait trap than a spray, as a spray’s effectiveness will quickly wear off, as well as being harmful to breathe in.
How Long Does Terro Ant Bait Take to Work?
Within three or four days you’ll begin to see more ants in your home. This is because the first ant to find the food source is going to leave a pheromone trail from food source to the ant colony. The ant bait will work to kill the ants who visit, and the ants that you don’t see back at the colony.
It should take about two weeks for complete control. Each ant that eats the bait will die within 24 to 48 hours. It’s recommended to place one new bait trap out every three months to get any stragglers, and to avoid any new colonies from moving into your home.
How to Use the Terro Ant Bait?
The Terro Ant Baits are simple to use. Simply use scissors to snip off the orange plastic tip of one of the ant bait containers. Place your container in an upright position, with Terro Logo on top.
Place a trap in a direct route where you have seen ants, such as in the kitchen, or under the sink.
You’ll want to ensure that you wipe up any spills in your kitchen and keep the floor clean. This is so that you’re only providing the one food source to the ants through the ant bait, and they won’t be tempted to head under the stove or to the garbage bin.
2. Advion Ant Gel Insecticide with Plunger
Advion Ant Gel is an insecticide that’s directly applied within cracks and gaps. You can also use it to make your own ant traps out of straws or tubing.
Features :
- Controls sweet-feeder types of ants and other species.
- Will kill all stages in the life cycle.
- Contains DuPont Advion ant gel.
- Gel will last for up to two years.
- Strong attractant in a gel solution.
What Are the Ingredients of Advion Ant Gel Insecticide & How Do They Work?
The Advion Ant Gel contains a special formulation made by DuPont that many consider better than a borax solution.
- Made in gel form.
- DuPont Advion ant gel bait.
- Indoxacarb 0.05%, an oxadizine pesticide.
The Advion Ant Gel works by encouraging the ants to eat it. They will take it back to their colonies through horizontal transfer. The ants in the colony will then eat the bait through bait sharing. The queen will also eat it and die, preventing future ants from being born.
The indoxacarb chemical will also remain active even after it has been ingested twice. Eventually the entire colony will be eradicated, and you’ll no longer see any ants in your home.
How Long Does Advion Ant Gel Insecticide Take to Work?
Even if Advion Ant Gel Insecticide is kept on a surface for an extended period of time, it will still be effective. This will enable more ants to eat the gel over an extended time. It will eventually control and eliminate entire colonies.
Once it’s been placed, it’s fast-acting, so it will actually start killing about an hour after the ant has eaten it. You’ll begin to see the ants decrease in your home after three to five days.
What is the Best Way to Use Advion Ant Gel Insecticide?
Once the package has been opened it should be used within six months. There is a syringe applicator so that you can insert the gel in hard to reach areas where there may be ants. This includes cracks and crevices.
The gel is also 100% clear and colourless so you can discreetly apply it in any location without fear of embarrassment when guests visit your home. The ants will still be attracted to its smell. They’ll eat it and then take it back to the colony where those ants will also share it.
You can also use it in refillable ant traps or make your own from straws or tubes. Ant traps may be more suitable if you have small pets or children in the home, making it harder for them to touch the gel.
You don’t need to use the entire tube as only a small amount will be effective. You can use it indoors or outdoors. It can also be used for residential or commercial buildings, particularly hotels or restaurants where it’s more difficult to control waste.
3. Combat Source Kill Max A2 Ant Killing Gel
Combat Source Kill Max A2 Ant Killing Gel is another effective way to bait and kill ants. It comes in a 27 gram tube and it’s used in a similar way to other ant bait gel products.
Features :
- Easy to use.
- Involves a minimum of mess.
- Gel contains a high water content which will attract more ants.
- Kills within the hour and provides complete ant control in 3 to 5 days.
- Child resistant cap.
What Are the Ingredients & How Do They Work?
The Combat Source Kill Max A2 contains an effective chemical that kills ants within the hour, but still allows time for them to return to their colonies to share the food.
- Fipronil is the active ingredient.
- Slow acting poison.
- 95% kill rate in three days.
Fibronil is inside the baited gel. When it’s placed in cracks or corners where ants have been found, the ants will eat it. Since the bait is slow acting, it will allow time for the ant to return to the colony where it will share the bait. The poison will then be transferred to the other ants, where they’ll eventually die. The poison will also remain active in the feces and carcasses of the ants, so if other ants feed, they’ll ingest the poison and die this way too.
Most of the target ants will not find the poison in the gel to offensive or repulsive. Usually the gel is sweetened with an ingredient to attract the ants. The gel also contains a high percentage of water so if they ants are seeking water, it’s double the effectiveness.
How Long Does Combat Source Kill Max A2 Take to Work?
The Combat Source Kill Max A2 is about 95% effective in killing most of the colony in about three days.
How to Use Combat Source Kill Max A2?
Simply remove the cap and use the syringe applicator to produce a fine stream of the gel. You can apply it in a similar method to how the handyman will apply a long stream of caulking around a bathtub or sink. You may wish to do this in a direct line between floor and baseboard. This will provide a discreet but effective way to get rid of ants. No one will guess what the gel is for.
The syringe applicator will make it simpler for you to get into the hard to reach places that ants like to hide in the home. You can apply the gel within cracks and crevices.
In about three weeks’ time you may wish to reapply some of the gel to the cracks and corners where you have seen ants in the past. This is merely a preventative to get any strays. It will also prevent any future infestations.
There are 27 grams in the tube which should be more than enough to control your ant infestation.
Precautions & Safety Measures for Using Ant Bait
While ant bait is safe to use around people, you should consider a few cautions and safety measures before using it around babies, young children, or pets. The problem with kids or pets is that they get curious, and like to get into things. They can also touch things that lie on the floor, and then put their fingers in their mouths.
Here are a few tips to help you provide safe but effective ant control in your home.
- If you’re using ant bait traps place them in areas that small hands or paws can’t reach them. Consider under the fridge or in that gap between appliance and wall.
- Place your ant traps in a bottom cupboard.
- If you’re using gel, place the gel in a remote region not accessible to pets.
- Squeeze some ant bait gel inside a wide straw or a paper towel tube. Then tape it down to the floor. Even if prying hands get at it, they’ll still be protected from what’s inside.
- Store any unused ant bait products in the top cupboard of your pantry closet, far away from food or heat.
If your home has ants passing through you don’t need to suffer. Even if you only see one ant inside, it’s important to act quickly so they are not inviting their hundreds of friends in too. Purchase one of these three ant baits—better yet, try them all—and soon your home will be clean and pest-free.
