How To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants For Good

How Do Sugar Ants Form Their Colonies

Sugar ants are social insects and live only in colonies. A colony has a sugar ant queen, reproductive male ants, and non-reproductive workers. They find food and bring it to the queen.

One sugar ant colony has up to 350 thousand individuals, among which there are 100-200 adult females except for the sugar ant queen. They can leave the colony and create their own family at any moment. Sugar ants grow quickly: it takes only 38 days for an insect to develop from an egg to an adult reproductive female. But sugar ants do not live long.

Worker ants live about 60 days, male ants live only 20 days, and female ants live up to 10 months.

What Damage And Harm Do Sugar Ants Cause

When it comes to the risk they pose, the sugar ant scores low.

They do not destroy wood like a carpenter ant does, or sting and bite like the fearsome fire ant. But they do pose a risk in terms of the spread of bacteria and illness.

Ants are scavengers and will eat all kinds of questionable things that can carry bacteria. They forage in trash cans, contacting rotten food waste, feces, and even eating carrion . They then wander into your cupboards and sugar tin.

Sugar antscarry and deposit bacteria such as streptococcus, staphylococcus, and dysentery via their feet. So, it is essential to get rid of them sharpish.

As well as them being unhygienic, it is also possible for them to indirectly damage the rest of the house.

You then have the cost of getting rid of the ants and putting right the damage done, which can become expensive if you need to go through walls to get to the problem.

How To Prevent Sugar Ants From Invading Your House

Of course, preventing sugar ants from invading your house is always better than trying to get rid of an enormous colony. Make sure to follow our tips, if you dont want to spend a lot of time and nerves in the future.

Check for Scout Ants Inside or Outside Your House

There is a special type of ants, the ones that wander around trying to find new food sources. You can notice a couple of sugar ants running around your house. The chances are high that those are the scout ants. Get rid of them because otherwise more ants can make their way inside your house.

Always Remove Ant Trails

You can use the home remedies that we have mentioned above . If you are not sure where exactly the ant trails are located, it is always better to spray the entire house.

Keep Your Place Clean

You should feed your family members but certainly not the ants. Make sure to clean up dirty dishes as soon as possible. Vacuum the carpets and mop the floors regularly, wipe the surfaces that have any spills or crumbles.

Use Sealed Containers to Store Food

No one wants to find ants in their food. Thats why you have to make sure that all your products are stored properly. Buy a few airtight containers and put any leftovers in them.

Make Sure That Your House Has No Cracks

Spend some time on finding any areas in your house that the ants can use to enter. Look for cracks around doors and windows. The sealants will degrade over time, so remember to reapply the products regularly.

Read Also: How To Control Urine Sugar

Tiny Black Ants What Are They And How They Enter Your Home

You were cleaning the kitchen and missed some sweet syrup on the kitchen countertop. The next thing you know a cluster of small ants have gathered around the syrup, waiting for their turns to take a dip in the sweet pool. You can say these ants have a sweet spot for sugar and sweet products. It could happen to anyone.

No matter how carefully you clean your rooms, kitchen, and gardens, it does not take time for these sugar-scavengers to smell sugar. The worst part is they never come alone.

One ant smells the food, finds the crevices and other entry points to your house, and leave the scent trail for their nest mates. Now, following these scent trails, the others enter your home and gather around the food.

How To Identify Sugar Ants

The banded sugar ant is from Australia and is not the species referred to as “sugar ant” in the U.S. Instead, its a generic term for several ant species that prefer sweet foods.

Here are some of the most common examples:

• Pavement ants have black bodies and brown legs. They prefer urban environments with little vegetation, making them one of the most prolific pests in the U.S.
• Odorous house ants emit a nasty smell when you step on them. They measure about 1/8 inch long and are primarily dark brown.
• Carpenter ants are notorious for causing widespread damage to homes and other wood structures. They are all black, with large bodies measuring up to 1/2 inch long.
• Ghost ants are protectors of aphids against predators to have a steady supply of honeydew as a food source. These tiny ants also invade kitchens looking for anything sweet to consume.
• Argentine ants are known for attacking beehives to access the sweet honey. Their bodies are about 1/8 inch long and are dark brown. They infest both indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Pharaoh ants possess a cyclical feeding pattern where they eat sugary foods followed by periods of binging on nothing but proteins. They are yellowish-brown and have tiny bodies measuring just under 1/16 of an inch long.
• Acrobat ants are mostly an outdoor nuisance and are about 1/4 inch long. They have reddish-brown bodies and a dark brown to black gaster .

Recommended Reading: Sugar Tablets Side Effects

How To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants In Car

Unfortunately, sugar ants can be found even in your car! As these insects have an extra sensitive sense of smell, they can end up invading your car, if there is a small crumble or some spilled juice. However, even if your car is perfectly clean, a few ants might crawl into your car, in case you have parked over an anthill.

Always clean your car and throw away any garbage. Make sure to use a car vacuum for better results. Look for anthills around the place where you have parked the car. You can either get rid of the anthills or simply move the car to another place.

Ants are able to infiltrate your car through the tires. So, use a special spray to go throughout the wheels and the parts underneath . We have made a special article for ants in cars, so if you want to know more details on how to deal with ants in the cars click on this link.

Syngenta Optigard Ant Bait Gel Box

• Target pests: For indoor and outdoor control of…
• Highly attractive formula promotes ready transfer of the active…
• Powerful, active ingredient knocks out workers, brood and queens
• Approved for use indoors and outdoors, applied in cracks and…
• How does Optigard Ant Bait Gel work? Ants that feed on the gel…

HARRIS Borax Liquid Ant Killer includes 9 bait trays and is able to kill all common household ants . Borax is the active ingredient used in the product. It is a naturally occurring mineral powder that will help you get rid of sugar ants. You can spread all 9 bait trays over a large area .

The bait is sweet and the ants would be happy to bring it back to their colony. The product kills the ants slowly, thats why the workers will have plenty of time to poison the entire colony.

The bait will kill the ant within 48 hours. It might take the product around 2 weeks to fully eliminate a mild infestation. Make sure to remove all food sources. Otherwise, the ants might get distracted from the bait.

You have to be very careful with borax and make sure that your children and pets do not come across this substance. Please do make sure that your cat or dog stays away from the poison.

You May Like: How To Come Sugar Disease

What Are The Sugar Ants

There are more than 10 thousand species of ants. But in the kitchen, you usually meet sugar, or pharaoh, ants.

Sugar ants are small light brown or yellowish insects. They are called sugar because they like sweet food: sugar, honey, jelly, cakes. They were first discovered in the Egyptian pyramids in the 18th century. That is why their second name is pharaoh ants.

Also Read: How to get rid of carpenter ant infestation.

Seal Ant Access Points

Sometimes its really easy to see where ants are accessing your home. If this is the case for you, make sure to grab the caulk gun and seal up those holes. Its going to be a battle for a while, since ants will look for alternative routes, but if you keep at it, youll end up plugging all their access points. Check cracks in the floor, switch plates and trim for ant-sized access points to the inside.

Read Also: When To Take Sugar Tablet

Home Remedies / Natural Products For Sugar Ants

Home remedies are fast becoming a staple of the homeowners arsenal against ant invasions.

Whether its because people are becoming more environmentally friendly, thriftier, or more aware that the chemicals arent good for Fido or the rugrats, we dont know.

But one thing we can be sure of is that many people are saying theyve had good results with some simple homemade recipes and natural ways to get rid of sugar ants.

Home remedies may be good all-rounders for everyone except for the ants and a cheaper alternative to pest control services.

So, look at these commonly used homemade ant killers and give them a go yourself.

Q Why Are Sugar Ants In My House

A: Every nest of ants sends out scouts looking for food and water. These scout ants explore every possible place within several hundred feet of their nest entrance and that always includes homes and buildings that are accessible through cracks and crevices. Older homes, therefore, are a bit more ant friendly than newer constructions. Even then, new construction isnt completely immune to ant invasions. Preventing ants from entering your home is tough, but it can be done. You need to look for and close every possible entry point, sealing them and then spreading TERRO® Ant Killer Plus outdoors, as needed. Keeping the inside of your home clean is also a big help. Avoid leaving food out, clean dirty dishes, empty trash daily and only eat in easy-to-clean areas. Mop, vacuum, and scrub regularly. Basically, you need to do everything you can to make your living space uninteresting to the legions of sugar ants exploring the area.

Don’t Miss: What Is Signs Of High Blood Sugar

What Products To Choose

Terro liquid ant killer has a Borax formula specially designed for all types of ants. It works as bait and must be put in places you see ants most often: ant trails and entry points to cardboards, kitchen working spaces, trash cans, etc. The gel is sweet and very attractive, especially for sugar ants. When you use Terro gel for the first time, the number of ants will seem to be growing. Dont worry: this means the gel works perfectly as an attractor.

The kill itself is slow which is another strong point: the working ants, the ones that find bait, will take it to the nest and feed to the other ones, including the queen. It will take some time for Borax to enter each ant digestive system. Some of the pests will even manage several trips to the bait to ensure the effect. Complete infestation control may take up to two weeks.

Terro Ant Killer is entirely safe to use at the premises. You can put it everywhere you like as it is not dangerous for humans. One box contains a 1OZ bottle of gel and nine cardboard squares for product placement.

Home Remedy Barriers To Keep Ants Away

These are a great way to prevent ant infestations, but they have to be used in the right concentrations, and they must be applied regularly to entry points in order to work.

• Herbs: There are several herbs that ants wont go near, including pepper and bay leaves. Placing pepper in entry points or a bay leaf in a pantry can keep a lot of pests at bay.
• Coffee Grounds: Sprinkle outside only, to avoid coffee stains on your flooring!
• Cucumber Peels: Try placing cucumber peels or slices at entry points, but remember to change them when they dry out!
• Essential Oils: Potent and pungent, essential oils can also help to keep pests away, especially cinnamon or peppermint oil. Placement and concentration of oils are crucial. We suggest adding 20 drops of essential oil per 8 ounces of water. Spray along doorways, windowsills, and any other place where ant activity is present!
• Citrus: Used as fresh juice, dried peels, or oil, citrus is ant-repelling as well.

Recommended Reading: How To Reduce Sugar Level Immediately

How Do They Spread

One reason why ants can be difficult to eradicate is a phenomenon known as budding. Budding, sometimes referred to as fragmenting or fracturing, occurs when the queens in an ant nest detect a threat or foreign invader in their surroundings.

To evade the threat, the queens will each go in a different direction and start a new nest. If youve ever discovered ants in your kitchen, only to find theyve somehow ended up in the laundry room and bathroom too, youve probably been the victim of budding.

If youre trying to get rid of sugar ants, you definitely want to avoid accidentally triggering the budding process, because it could make your ant problems considerably worse!

More Ideas You’ll Love

I have been seeing the nautical home decor theme a lot lately. It seems to be making quite a “splash!” 🙂 Since I like to be “on trend” and I like … Continue Reading

Areas Of Your Home To Focus On

When sugar ants decide to invade your home, the kitchen is not the only room in danger of infestation. While its true that sugar ants are attracted to food items in your kitchen , youll also find them wherever there is dampness or even just a few crumbs left around. Lets take a quick look at some of the areas in your home to investigate when youre trying to get rid of sugar ants.

The first and most obvious area is the kitchen. With cooking and snacking taking place almost constantly, its easy to leave crumbs and food residue around without even knowing it. Sugar ants are master food detectors, and the advance search party sent out by the queen will very quickly discover a treasure trove of food in your kitchen.

Quick Tip: Once a few worker ants start bringing home items from your house, youll soon have a whole colony stealing from your kitchen.

Ants also love it where they can have a steady water supply, so bathrooms are often places where sugar ants like to hang out. Dampness in your bathroom may be enticing sugar ants into your home, so keep your bathroom as dry as possible.

If you dont contain eating to one area of your home then theres a good chance youre dropping bits of food wherever youre munching. This means that the living room, the bedrooms and any other place where you eat are fair game for a sugar ant invasion. In other words, if youre eating in a room, theres always the possibility of finding ants there.

Also Check: How To Control High Sugar Level Immediately

Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants

Sugar ants are of course attracted to all things that are sweet. Therefore, many of the natural ant baits and traps include ingredients like sugar and honey to attract ants. Ingredients toxic to ants are used in the mixture to get rid of them quickly.

There are also ingredients that can be used as natural ant repellants to prevent them from entering your home and food cabinets in your kitchen.

Here are some of the best natural methods to get rid of sugar ants for good.

Do Home Remedies Really Work On Sugar Ants

Its a given fact that man-made pesticides and insecticides are effective. They are, after all, designed to do a specific job and are created scientifically in labs to make sure they do it.

Most homemade remedies, on the other hand, are best guess trial and error ant killers. As such, they can lack the ease, speed, and results of purpose-made ant killers. But with a little research and a systematic approach, you can get good results with them.

They usually fall short when not deployed with the bait method in mind. Many are designed to repel, which will only keep the ants at bay for so long, making them incredibly ineffective. Hardier ant types such as the fire and carpenter will return quickly.

Something to note if you do use a repellant alone is that the queen of a colony can lay hundreds of eggs per day, which then hatch in less than ten days. Thats thousands of ants to contend with every few weeks. So, you really need bait.

Read Also: Can We Control Sugar Without Medicine