One of the most pestering problems in almost every household today is how to get rid of sugar ants. It only a matter of time when you leave a piece of sweet food unattended at your house and you come back only to see that the sugar ants have taken over all of it.
Before we get to the exact topic of how to kill ants, we need to understand what actually we are dealing with here. Some people might see ants as ants, in the sense that there exists only one kind. However, that is not true.
Ants differ in types and this can be seen as how different kind of ants attack a different kind of products. For example, there are carpenter ants that usually eat up wood. Then there are sugar ants, who pester on sugary sweet foodstuff only. You can easily differentiate them.
Unlike the carpenter ants which are black in color, the sugar ants bear a kind of reddish hint. They are smaller in size than the black ants and are really fast on the sugary foods whenever left open. You can set various traps for dealing with these ants but it is not that easy. Different kind of ants requires different baits via which they can actually be controlled. The same goes for the killing of these ants.
Now that we know about the fact that different kind of ants requires a different dealing strategy, let us look at some of the reasons that could cause these kinds of ants to take over your house or the kitchen.
Reasons That Could Cause Of Ants
1. Lack Of Cleaning
If you are the kind of person who is not that much into the regular cleaning of your kitchen area and the house, you can expect these nasty little creatures to visit you on a daily basis. Leaving kitchen uncleaned can lead to leftover crumbs and food pieces in the kitchen and on the floor, which in turn gives an invitation to the sugar ants.
2. Too Many Door Gaps And Holes In The House
If the corners of your doors and house have a lot of small holes and gaps, chances are that these sugar ants have been residing in them for a long time. Leaving these gaps open can give a home to these sugar ants and increase the probability of them attacking at every given chance. You can use some DIY ant killer solutions to fill these holes and also kill those inside at the same time.
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3. Leaving Food Outside
Some people do not consider sealing their opened food packages. Keeping them wherever in a semi-closed style can give the path to the sugar ants to enter, especially the sweet foods. You need to keep them in an airtight container so as to there is no path left for even the air to enter, god forbid the sugar monsters!
With that being said, you need to keep in mind some precautions and become aware of some really good ant baits and traps that can help you with this problem. Setting up some natural ways to control ants and avoiding some habits, you can know how to get rid of sugar ants in just no time.
So, here are some of the easiest and tried ways on how to kill ants and control them in the future. Read on below to get acquainted.
How To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants?
1. Make Cleaning Your Priority
Alright, first things first. Your mom was always right when she said that you must clean generously. Not just because it looks good or feels good, but to keep away from these little insects and sugar stealing tinies. Make it a rule in your house that a proper cleaning regime is going to run every morning in your house. On extra dirty days, maybe even in the evening too. Take care about the places where you usually have your meal. After the meal, do a quick clean up to remove any food crumbs of sweet foods. You’ll see the sugar ants have started visiting lesser than before.
2. Use Soap Water When Washing The Floor
Whether you are washing the floor with water or mopping it while cleaning, it is advised to use soapy water. The soap water works as a natural ant killer as it washes away all the stuck dirt in the corners which could later have invited the sugar ants back. Also, the scent of the soap keeps away the sugar ants longer. So, make sure to include soap water when cleaning around the house, especially the kitchen.
3. Get Rid Of The Small Gaps And Holes
If you look around your house, you will find a number of holes and cracks and gaps near your doors, in the corners or near the wooded areas of the house. These gaps are the residence of the sugar ants and other ants around your house. If you are looking for a way to control these sugar ants around the house, you need to fill these gaps up with some kind of solution or a seal. Make sure there are no more small holes and gaps inside or outside your house.
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4. Sealing The Food Correctly
There is one thing you should never do with your food items, whether packaged or open. Never leave half closed food packets over the kitchen counter or inside the cabinets. Because it is the case with half-open sugary foods, they tend to attract sugar ants if not sealed or stored properly. On the topic of how to get rid of sugar ants, make sure you go shopping for good air-proof containers. They help to keep your food fresh for longer and go a great job in protecting it from insect and sugar ants attack. Not to mention its addition to neatness and organised food stacked up in your kitchen cabinets. Thus, a win-win for all.
5. Bring In The Vinegar Action
Sometimes, the sugar ants may seem to get out of control and all you can think about is coming up with some instant solution to just stop the nonsense. For such a case, there are some home remedies for ants and their control that you can follow. One of these is the use of vinegar. Take a spray bottle and mix equal proportions of vinegar and water into it. Shake well and become a spray maniac around the house, the corners and every possible ant station. This is a great DIY ant killer that can be easily made at home and used anytime.
6. Boric Acid To The Rescue
If you are looking for an eviller yet super effective kind of an ant killer, boric acid is the answer for you. When you use boric acid for ant control, to them it smells like a sugar and sweet food. But when they come close to it, the game is over. This works up in lesser time and is an instant fix to a lot of sugar ants showing up at once. When sugar ants get nasty, boric acid is the answer to how to get rid of sugar ants. You can also use a Borax ant killer which can be made using borax, sugar and some water to trap the ants in.
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7. Start Splurging On Ant Killer Sprays
Sometimes making the ant killer at home may not be your first interest or even more so, you may not have that kind of time as the ants are taking over your patience more than that sugary piece of item. For such cases, you can invest in some good quality ant killer sprays available in the stores. Not only are they super effective, but they are easy to reach for an emergency fix. You should keep one or two ant sprays handy at your home and bring them out when you really want to teach those little red monsters a lesson.
8. Double Sided Tapes As A Trap
When you are out of ant killer sprays and the products needed for a DIY ant killer, you can take up a double-sided tape or a duct tape for a quick fix. Just stick it along the way your sugar ants usually take, and some of them are bound to stick to it and eventually die. Though this is not a permanent fix to the sugar ant problem, but it can easily hold them off until you get to a more effective way to getting rid of them.
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Frequently Asked Questions About How To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants
1. How to get rid of sugar ants in the house?
The most effective method for that is the ant killer sprays available in the market. However, you can also prepare one at home by mixing vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Or better yet, just use some boric acid and sugar to reel those monsters in and you will get rid of them for good.
2. How do you get rid of sugar ants?
My favorite method for getting rid of sugar ants is using boric acid. First, I place some sugary item in a corner and sprinkle boric acid around it. As soon as the ants reach for it, they get trapped and die in hundreds. Other than that, borax is also a great method which can be made into a form of the paste for effective ant control.
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