How To Control Ants Indoors
If you see a few ants in your home, it’s a safe bet that there are actually many more present. Of the 25 ant types that typically invade homes, house ants are the most common. Theyre usually less than 1/8 of an inch long and are really just a nuisance pest, not causing damage or carrying diseases. To control ants indoors, try these techniques.
How To Identify An Ant Problem
Ant activity spikes in the spring and fall. Changes in weather, including heavy rains or drought, can drive ants indoors looking for more hospitable areas in which to live. They can enter through any small opening in the home, and if you see one, more will soon follow.
Though small individually, an invasion of ants can cause all kinds of household problems. They can contaminate food and spread diseases, and some biting and stinging ants produce allergic reactions in humans and pets. Further, some species of ants can cause structural damage and chew through household wiring.
There can be some identification confusion between ants and termites the two seem similar upon initial encounter, but a closer look can reveal exactly which of the pests you are taxed with.
Ants:
- Have slender waists and bent antennae
- Have longer legs
- In winged specimens, front wings are longer than back wings
Termites:
- Have thick waists and straight antennae
- Have shorter legs
- In winged specimens, both pairs of wings are the same length
Because ants swarm, once you have an infestation, they can be difficult to dislodge. It takes vigilance and a combination of treatments using both home and perimeter insect control, but an ant problem can typically be resolved within a week or two. Follow-up prevention is key to ensure that they do not return.
When In Doubt Call A Professional Ant Exterminator
Of course, the easiest way to get rid of ants in your lawn is to call a professional ant control expert. Depending on the type of ants living in your backyard, the exterminator may use one or several methods of ant extermination, choosing the most effective and least damaging treatment options. By calling an expert, you can minimize damage to your lawn, remove ant mounds in record time, and enjoy your lawn all summer long. Call Antworks today for an ant extermination quote!
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How To Use Diatomaceous Earth For Ants Outdoors
Diatomaceous earth kills ants when it sticks through their exoskeletons. Once the sharp and pointed particles of this substance enter through the ants soft bodies, their cuticles will be cut and their fats and moisture will be absorbed. This will lead to their dehydration, and subsequently, death.
This product can be used in a variety of applications. It can be sprinkled directly on the ant trails and ant nests using salt shakers and flour sifters, or you can mix it with water and other food ingredients to create an insect spray or ant bait. Once you have applied it, wait for at least 24-48 hours and monitor for any alternate ant route. You can also re-apply diatomaceous earth granules to other areas when necessary.
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How To Get Rid Of Ants Outdoors
These creatures can be seen anywhere. They are a nuisance, and once they discover a place with food or shelter their numbers can grow rapidly.
So, how to get rid of ants outdoors? First, you should inspect your outdoor areas for the presence of ant hills and colonies. Then, destroy the ant nests and trails using natural and artificial ant repellents, sprays, baits, and insecticides. Finally, regularly clean and organize your outdoor space.
In this article, well cover how to identify ants type, products to use in deterring their presence, and a few excellent techniques in stopping and preventing their infestation.
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Causes: What Attracts Pavement Ants Into The House
The worker ants will leave their nests to go and search for food that is readily available inside houses. These ants are capable of going through the tiniest of cracks to get in.
This could be through cracks, gaps in the foundation, windows, and doors. During winter, the ants will prefer to nest close to sources of heat. They could as well make use of pipes to access the upper floors of buildings.
The pests have a variety of things they can feed on. This includes dead and live insects, pet food, leftovers among others. These ants are very much attracted by sweet things and are at times referred to as sugar ants.
Whenever there is a shortage of food and water supply in the nest, the worker ants go out to replenish their supply for the colony.
To ease the process, the ants leave a scent behind them. This trail helps other insects to discover the source of food and help in gathering.
Most This means that one should keep the house clean, dispose of garbage, clear spillages, and seal cracks.
This way they have no way through and nothing will attract them. In case of an infestation, employ different methods of control to get rid of them and keep the house clean to avoid a re-infestation.
When Pesky Ants Invade Your House And Garden Repel And Eliminate Them With 10 Simple Home Remedies
As common household pests go, ants can try a homeowners patience. A survey conducted by the National Pest Management Association found that ant infestations are on the rise across the country, making ants Americas number one nuisance bug. Get rid of these foraging insects using eco-friendly remedies made from household items found in your pantry or at the supermarket.
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What Is An Effective Way To Get Ants Out
Ant colonies can extend many feet underground in a labyrinth of tunnels. Generally, all that is visible to you is an ant hill.
Disturbing the colony will make them move. The problem is that they may build another colony close to the one they abandoned. You need to make the whole yard undesirable to effectively remove ants from your yard.
Ants navigate areas by leaving chemical trails to and from food sources and the nest. Eliminate the trails, and you eliminate the ants.
Homeowners destroy ant trails in several ways. These include:
An Ants Trail
- Pouring soapy water on them.
- Spraying the area with a solution of cayenne pepper and water.
- Spraying a solution of lemon water around the area.
- Sprinkling powdered chalk on the trail or drawing chalk lines across it.
These are all remedies that are harmless to the environment, pets, and children.
Amazing Ants
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Chili Pepper And Cayenne Pepper
This next outside-the-box idea is going to allow you to create a type of homemade ant repellent that works quite well.
You can use some chili pepper or some cayenne pepper to keep ants at bay. You just need to sprinkle it at the spots in your lawn where ants seem to be hanging out.
As usual, the best method will be to track down anthills and place the chili pepper or cayenne pepper all around it. You can make it more effective by mixing the cayenne pepper or chili pepper up with water to make a spray.
This can then be sprayed on the anthill and you could even pour it down the anthill if possible to really get rid of the ants.
As you might expect, the problem with this idea is that it could be harmful to pets. If you have dogs that are going to be using the lawn to do their business, then you might not want to pour a bunch of chili pepper water all over the place. It could be quite bad for your dog and you dont want to hurt your canine companion.
Those who dont have pets will be able to more easily make use of this method. Its easy to do and lots of people have cayenne pepper and chili pepper just sitting in the pantry somewhere.
Consider it as a good option for repelling an ant invasion in your yard.
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How To Kill An Outdoor Ant Colony
If you want to eliminate outdoor ant colonies, you may utilize harmless and non-invasive methods such as raking the ant nests open and applying boiling water and vinegar on its center.
Another effective technique is the use of DIY ant baits that can facilitate the slow death of these tiny insects. It is done by mixing three parts of sugar with one part of boric acid and putting it in wax paper or a small container.
Ants will be enticed to go to the food bait to bring bits of the mixture to their colonies. Since boric acid is toxic to ants, these tiny creatures will surely die once they ingest it.
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Are All Ants In Your Yard A Bad Thing
Ants are one of the most common outdoor insects youll encounter. And while they can be a nuisance, not all ants are bad.
Most are not considered to be an issue at all. Instead of causing harm, those beneficial species actually do a lot of good for your yard!
They can aerate the soil to make way for healthy grass. Plus, those bugs will pollinate flowers and fruits, feed on termites, and drive ticks away.
Ants usually offer a good biological boon to a garden. Unfortunately, there are just as many bad species as they are good.
Theres no denying that ants can wreak havoc on your perfectly manicured lawn. Small mounts and ant hills arent a huge problem, but larger ant populations can create massive nests that stretch several feet under the surface.
Quick Tip: Just because most of the tunneling occurs under the ground doesnt mean that the damage is invisible. Not only does it result in massive dirt mounds, but these pests can damage grass root systems. They can also ruin soil quality and cause tons of damage to gardens and fields.
When you spend so much time and money making your sod look pristine, ants can throw a real wrench in the works!
Those tall mounds can make lawn maintenance a hassle as well. Larger colonies create multiple dead zones in the grass. Meanwhile, the raised entrance is a nightmare when mowing.
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Oil Of Lemon Eucalyptus
Despite their similar names, the oil of lemon eucalyptus is different from lemon eucalyptus essential oil. OLE comes from the gum eucalyptus tree, which is native to Australia. It contains a chemical called p- Menthane-3,8-diol , which is an effective insect repellent.
PMD is classified as a biopesticide by the Environmental Protection Agency and is considered safe to use.
You can find OLE at your local hardware and gardening store or online.
How To Kill Ants In The Lawn Without Killing Grass
For a safer and cheaper solution, you can use natural methods or home remedies to get rid of ants from your lawn or garden. The DIY home remedies can help to eradicate the ant colonies without damaging your lawn. In the following section, we have given some effective and easy to do home remedies for getting rid of the ants in your lawn.
Soapy Water
Soapy water is one of the best home remedies to get rid of the ant infestation from your lawn. To prepare a soapy water spray, mix 1.5 tablespoons of oil, half teaspoon of liquid soap in one quart of water.
Pour the solution in a bottle and spray the solution at the entry points of mounds. Do not spray directly on the grass in order to avoid plant loss. The soap water enters the exoskeleton of the ants and suffocates them to death.
Vinegar Solution
To prepare vinegar solution mix equal parts of white vinegar and water. Directly pouring the white vinegar over the mound can help to get rid of the ant colony. It does not damage the plants in your lawn and instantly kills the ants due to its acidic nature.
DIY Ant Baits
You can prepare honey, sugar, or peanut butter baits by mixing boric acid in it until it becomes a paste. Change the bait according to the infested ant species. It may be a slow-acting process but it wont cause any harm to your grass or other plants.
Chilli Powder
Insect Repellent Plants
Diatomaceous Earth
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Controlling Ants In Your Lawn Without Using Chemicals
Controlling any unwanted species in your lawn is all about creating conditions that they dont like. We aerate because moss prefers compacted soils, we scarify because the fungi that cause lawn diseases thrive in the thatch layer.
Ants like dry, well drained soil in undisturbed areas. Its not unusual to find lovely big ant colonies living in meadows. Farmers leave their meadow grass to grow unchecked from March June. You dont know the ants are there until the grass gets cut to make hay.
It stands to reason, that regular aeration and scarification of your lawn will disturb the soil enough to deter ants to a certain extent. But please dont be tempted to irrigate your lawn so often that its too wet for ants to thrive in if its too wet for ants, its probably also too soggy for grass to thrive in.
NEVER pour boiling water onto an ants nest in your lawn youll kill the grass and all of the wonderful soil microbes that help sustain a healthy garden.
Using Store Cupboard Ingredients To Deter Ants
Im reliably informed that ants hate peppermint. So heres a trick using a few ingredients from your store cupboard that will encourage the ants to move on without damaging your lawn.
Take 20 drops of peppermint essence . Dissolve them in vodka and then pour into a spray bottle with a pint or so of water. Give it a good shake and spray on and around the ants nest. You may need to repeat it 2-3 times a day for a couple of days but then, lo and behold, the creatures will up sticks and move away. Easy!
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How To Get Rid Of Ants In Your Lawn
It might seem easy to get rid of ants in your backyard, but be sure youre not also getting rid of your grass at the same time! A lot of ant-killing chemicals can destroy your grass, creating yet another lawn problem. Home remedies for ants can help remove the problem without removing your grass.
Here are 5 ways to get rid of ants in your lawn:
Tip # 0: Using Lemon And Water:
Lemon sap can work as vinegar. By using lemon sap, the ants will be removed from the grasses or plants naturally. The recipe is: squeeze
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Kill The Ants But Not Your Lawn
- Try to avoid chemicals, if you can. Insecticides arent the most effective way to kill entire ant mounds, unless theyre professional grade and properly applied. Chemicals will also kill your grass in a short amount of time.
- Dont use boiling water. Another popular option that will definitely contribute to grass loss.
- Dont use vinegar. Acetic acid can dry out the top layer of your lawn.
- Dont use soap and water during the day. When you water your lawn with any kind of liquid during the day, youre essentially magnifying the suns effects on your grass, causing burns and deterioration. If the suns out, the water should be away!
Now Go Where The Ants Are And Pour The Mixture Into Their Nest
How to get rid of ants in yard without killing grass. Put the rinds in a food processor with the boiling liquid to make a sludge that you can use to water your garden plants. How to get rid of clover in your yard without killing the grass. Killing ants in your lawn with chemicals.
Mix half a teaspoon of liquid dishwasher soap and one quart of water with three tablespoons of cayenne pepper sauce. You can, however, kill the ants without. The first step is to kill the ants.
Some people recommend killing ants by pouring boiling water into their nests, but this can damage your lawn so its not what we recommend. Pull it out by hand. Mix a solution using equal parts vinegar to water.
Most ants eat the larvae of lawn pests that they find amongst the roots of the grass. You need to make the whole yard undesirable to effectively remove ants from your yard. The cayenne sauce has capsicum in it.
Pour this mixture into a spray bottle and use this against the ants. You should apply this method 2/4 times in a month and you get rid. The only thing ive done is dig up the area and use ant spray to kill the blighters off my lawn is pretty bumpy now, with the old nest mounds counting up.
Also, the ant problem is as bad as ever, new nest keep coming up. Use cayenne pepper to get rid of ants from your garden. Here are some methods to get rid of ants in grass naturally.
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