Use Baits for Sweet-Loving Ants
Ant invasions begin in the spring and are most intense in May and June. If you have ants in your house, don’t reach for that aerosol container.
For many ant species, baits are the best management tactic because the entire colony is destroyed. This results in a more permanent solution to the ant problem. In addition, many baits have low toxicity to people and pets.
The trick to using baits successfully is to make sure the offending ants find the bait, eat it voraciously and take it back to the nest to the queen and the rest of the colony. If residual insecticide sprays are used, the foraging ants may die before they feed or take the bait back to the nest, counteracting the effectiveness of the bait. Do not use insecticide sprays if you want to use bait for ant control. If the bait is attractive to the ants, the entire colony will probably be destroyed within a few weeks.
Not all ant species can be controlled with baits and some baits work better than others. In general, ants that eat a wide variety of foods will be less affected by baits because the bait will comprise a smaller proportion of their food.
Sweet-loving ants are the easiest to control. In areas where you have seen sweet-loving ants, place bait according to label directions. The best baits have boric acid or hydramenthylnon as their active ingredient. Terro® and Pic II® liquid are two over-the-counter available boric acid-based baits that can be purchased in many hardware or discount stores.
Although several common ant species in Nebraska can be controlled by sweet baits, others, like carpenter ants, are better controlled using other tactics. These ant species are controlled by baits:
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