Getting rid of ants in a house or apartment yourself

Ants appear in houses no less often than cockroaches. And once they appear, they quickly multiply, causing inconvenience. Getting rid of ants in a house or apartment will later be troublesome. To do this, you need to correctly determine their type and select the most effective means of combating them.

Types of ants that can settle in a house or apartment: red ants, carpenter ants, turf ants, black ants, yellow ants, termites. Fighting them is not easy

Where do ants come from in the house?

In a private house, the risk of street ants appearing is higher than in an apartment building, due to the proximity of a natural area. In this case, the main anthill remains on the street, and individual individuals enter the premises through cracks in the floor or cracks in the foundation or walls. You need to know that you will have to fight the insects that are outside. Only after the destruction of their “dwelling” will the entire colony die.

The worst option is when ants settle underground. Removing ants from your home will be problematic. As already mentioned, in order to quickly destroy them, you need to find a nest.

The main reason why ants appear in the house is the presence of food: bread crumbs, sugar, etc. If you clean regularly, exclude the ants from accessing food and seal possible paths into the room, then over time they will disappear on their own.

What causes ants to appear and what do they need?

If the number of uninvited insects is terrifying, then most likely there is a queen nearby, which produces such huge offspring.

People themselves are most often to blame for the invasion of ants, since insects choose new owners not by appearance or even by character, but by the tasty treats with which they can refresh themselves.

The most common reasons include:

• trash can - it is either rarely taken out or does not have a lid. Perhaps both at once;
• open food storage;
• poor cleaning, for example, not all cookie crumbs are removed or drops from sweet tea or jam are not wiped off;

• soaking dirty dishes overnight.

Of course, it happens that neighbors kill ants, so they (insects) quickly ran over to you. But if there was nothing to profit from in the apartment, the ants would not stay for long.

It also happens that the apartment is really in perfect order, and every spot is wiped with almost bleach, and cookies can only be eaten next to a vacuum cleaner in order to immediately remove all the crumbs, but ants still crawl around the house. Where do the ants come from so clean?

Surely, there are fruits, candies or other sweets on the table in the public domain that attract ants so much. They are real sweet tooths - this is what most of the ways to poison them are based on, but more on that later.

Where do ants come from in an apartment?

The main ways insects spread throughout an apartment building are ventilation, garbage chutes and cracks. However, it happens that the starting point is the basement or attic. This is possible if the rooms are damp and warm.

Scout ants exploring new spaces may be attracted by the presence of any available food. Leftover food on the table, shelves, floor and in trash bags. If they find it, then this is a reason to move in. Having appeared in one apartment, they are able to spread throughout the entire apartment building.

The ants found food - a good reason to “move”!

Insects also appear from the outside, for example, after purchasing old furniture. But forest ants accidentally carried on clothes are not scary. They themselves will die after a while.

How dangerous are ants and what harm do they cause to humans?

Some ants bite painfully, but this does not apply to the domestic variety - their tiny jaws are incapable of damaging human skin. But ants brought in from the street or breeding in the garden can cause serious pain and even cause anaphylactic shock.

However, house ants are not at all harmless. They are distributors of pathogenic microbes because they enter the apartment from toilets and clogged rooms. Ants carry food scraps around the house, delivering them to hard-to-reach crevices, where they deteriorate, causing rot and mold to appear.

Ants can cause especially big trouble if one of the family members has allergies - insect waste products are strong allergens.

Ants can bring aphids into garden plots – they are in symbiosis with this insect, licking nutrients from the surface of the aphid’s body. Aphids are a well-known pest of cultivated plants. It sucks juices from leaves, which is why trees and shrubs grow more slowly and produce less fruit. A symptom of the appearance of this pest on plants is curled dry leaves.

Carpenter ants brought from the forest pose a serious threat to dilapidated buildings because they eat wood.

What kind of ants can you find?

There are more than 14,000 species of ants in the world, of which there are about 300 in Russia. Moreover, there are only a few of those who can actually live in a house. The following insects are common in Russia:

• Redheads . They are called pharaoh ants, the most common type of ant. They are the smallest in size, preferring to live in the kitchen and next to food. They should be destroyed quickly: they not only actively reproduce, but also unite in colonies.
• Yellow . Another name for thief ants. A species of house (house) ants, which received their name due to the theft of food from other species. Nests should be looked for in closets and wall voids.
• Redbreasts, woodborers . Their appearance is especially dangerous in a wooden house. Wood is attractive to them; they are quite large and can damage the entire building. They settle in insulation, under baseboards, window sills, etc.
• Turf ants . They can settle in a home, choosing for this purpose cracks in the foundation, voids in the walls, under the floor.
• Black garden ones . You can find them in the house, but rarely. They prefer greenhouses.
• White . It would be more correct to call them termites. Found in the southern regions and the Far East.

If you come across an ant with wings, then it is not a new species, but a male or female (queen) during mating.

The ants that humans see make up only 15% of the population; the rest do not leave the nest. It is necessary to drive them away as soon as possible - they carry fungi, viruses and parasites, and their bite can provoke illness or allergies.

Before choosing a remedy for ants in the house, you need to decide on their type and nest location. The right poison will help you get rid of house ants forever.

Types of ants

Ants do not live separately; they can only exist within a colony. It includes:

• Adult females (queens). They are large in size and never leave the nest; their main mission is to lay eggs. There can be several queens in one nest. They live for about 10 months.
• Worker ants. These are ants whose task is to obtain food and deliver food for the queens, and to care for the laid larvae. They live for about 60 days.

Ways to fight

The first step to getting ants out of your home is cleaning. All food should be bagged out and crumbs removed, especially from the floor. Next, you need to find a nest, because the main task is to destroy the queen, along with which the entire colony will die. It is pointless to kill single individuals located far from the anthill. When the “home” of the pests has been found, all that remains is to choose a means of control. How to get rid of ants at home:

• folk remedies;
• chemical;
• electronic;
• traps.

It is impossible to say which remedy is better - the choice depends on the specific situation. Chemistry is useful if the anthill is in a hard-to-reach place. An electric repeller is installed if the ants can return, for example, if the neighbors do not fight them, and a colony remains in the apartment above.

The trap saves time; you don’t have to look for the nest, and an infected insect that has been in it will poison the queen. Folk remedies used against ants in the house do not require special expenses and are time-tested. However, no method guarantees that pests will disappear forever.

Methods that DO NOT work

Based on the negative reviews that were found on many forums and in the comments, we have compiled a list of folk remedies that in practice did not have any effect.

• Scotch + jam. Some resources suggest making a homemade trap, which would be a rectangle of thick cardboard with double-sided tape glued around the perimeter. Accordingly, you need to place sweet jam in the center of the trap, which should lure the ants. On the way to the treat, the insect should stick to the tape. In fact, either the ants are absolutely not interested in jam and even honey, or they manage to catch a negligible number of individuals;
• Millet. In general, the use of millet as a remedy for ants is based on its similarity to ant eggs. Allegedly, at the sight of grains, the insect should perceive them as eggs of a larger species and leave the territory, and not eat the grain, as many people think. A very small number of users noted a positive effect from its use. Most argue that the ants simply ignored the white grains, or even carried them away from their habitat;

• Tobacco dust. In addition to the fact that this is a harmful substance, which is a waste product from tobacco production and is undesirable to use in an apartment, in practice the composition turned out to be useless;
• Vinegar solution. Apparently, the vinegar solution does not have a sufficiently pungent odor for ants, since many say that the insects continued to follow their paths after treatment, as if nothing had happened.

Chemicals

It is possible to kill insects with chemicals in one application. Six popular forms are sold:

1. sprays;
2. gels;
3. granules;
4. pencils;
5. capsules;
6. powders.

Means for fighting ants
Powders are inexpensive, do not smell, and do not harm people or animals. They are scattered over all surfaces on which insects move: floors, walls, furniture, ventilation, sinks. They usually differ in their mode of action. There are powders that kill ants only on contact, and there are products that start an “epidemic”, for example, Hector powder. As you know, ants regularly exchange food with each other. This exchange involves all individuals in the colony, including larvae and even eggs. It is for this reason that an infected ant, returning home, will cause the death of the entire colony. The more ants eat the bait at the first stage, the more active the further spread will be, so the powder should be sprinkled near the burrows of anthills and on the paths of their movement.

Ant powder Gektor (Hector) - kills the queen and the entire colony

Spray cans are sprayed over the anthill. To use the spray, you must:

• read the instructions;
• purchase gloves and a respirator;
• clear the room of people and pets;
• carry away food and bedding;
• spray the poison at arm's length from the nest, cracks, baseboards.

Gels and pencils work like this: the insect walks along a “path” containing poison for ants and brings it to the colony on its paws. This method allows you to kill all the ants in a month. The “path” is drawn with a dotted line next to the intended habitat. After washing the floor, it is renewed. There will be no smell or harm to the inhabitants of the apartment.

Insecticidal chalk "Mashenka" (Russia) allows you to get rid of not only ants, but also other harmful insects: moths, cockroaches, fleas and flies. An important detail - the components of the drug are periodically updated

Capsules, the most modern product on the market, work in a similar way. They are applied once, after which the pests will disappear for at least six months.

Of the listed drugs, sprays are the most dangerous and difficult to use. There are several reasons not to use them as a home remedy for ants. They are toxic, have a strong smell and, if handled improperly, will harm residents. It is safer and easier to turn to the remaining drugs.

Don't skimp when purchasing. Foreign brands of insecticides have proven themselves well: the German “Globol” and the Korean “Combat”. However, Russian manufacturers also produce decent products: “August”, “Clean House”, “Raptor”, “Muratsid” will also cope with pests, but most likely not in one application.

Ant repellent gels

Gels are sold in special dispensing syringes or tubes. The composition is completely safe for people and animals.

The gels are used as follows: the drug is applied in a dotted line along the ant paths and in all places where insects were most often seen.
The effect of gels is delayed. The ants not only eat the bait with a sweet smell and taste, but also manage to bring it to the nest and feed the queen, and the death of the queen is the key to success in this case. The most popular are:

• "Raptor";
• "Storm";
• "Clean house";
• "Clobol."

Traps

Traps are either sticky or poisonous. This is an effective remedy if chosen correctly.

Sticky tape will help eliminate ants from your home, but the process can take many months. These devices resemble a trap: the insect dies, but the queen remains unharmed and continues to lay eggs.

An ant trap with poison smells pleasant, attracting a lone victim. The individual tramples on the poison and infects all the inhabitants of the anthill, including its queen.

Combat SuperAttack trap against ants. Branded insecticide causes epidemic in insect colonies

The success is due not so much to the device itself as to its location. The place must be passable. Successful options:

• space near the baseboard;
• near the trash can;
• behind the kitchen set;
• in ventilation;
• in the pantry;
• near the garbage chute.

Of course, an ant trail is also suitable. Insects move in a line; you can stop the procession with a trap.

How to make a trap yourself

Making a trap with your own hands is easy. Ant poison is used both purchased and improvised. Below are a few examples, but you can really come up with your own design.

Ant glue trap

Poison trap

A small matchbox trap containing poison is enough to wipe out a small colony if it is in a good location. Procedure:

• Pick a poison. Buy it or make it yourself. Boiled egg yolk mixed with boric acid is suitable - it has a paralytic and suffocating effect.
• Find the foundation. Traditionally, a box is chosen, but a lid or any other small object is appropriate.
• Decide on bait. You need a pleasant aroma of a product that insects like - jam will do.
• Assemble the device: coat the entire base with poison, and add a little bait on top.

Trap with glue

You can also try to remove pests using a glue trap. The ants are lured into it by aromatic food, and since the walls of the trap are covered in glue, the insect dies when it sticks. The glue can be either a special composition or a folk remedy. There are many device options, here is one of them:

• Find a jar. As a standard, they take an ordinary glass jar of any size, but a bottle, including a plastic one, can also replace it. The main thing is smooth walls.
• Use oil. Pour it into a jar and drain off the excess, or simply coat it. The main thing is that the walls become completely slippery.
• Place the bait. Again, jam will do.
• Although there is no glue in the trap, it works like a glue trap: once the victim gets into the jar, he will not be able to get out and will die.

Preventive measures

It is easier to prevent uninvited guests from appearing than to try to get them out. So try to follow simple rules:

• regularly carry out wet cleaning, including using active substances that can repel insects;
• Pack food carefully and do not store it in places accessible to ants;
• make sure that there are no unsealed cracks in the walls and floors;
• remove dog and cat food after animals eat;
• Treat all areas where ants may enter with chalk or gel.

Electronic repellers

An alternative way to drive ants out of your home is with an electronic device. This is a small gadget that produces a sound of a special frequency, inaudible to humans and animals, but painful for insects. They will not die, but will leave the territory, so the repeller is an excellent protection against ants, especially if there is a threat of the colony returning.

Electronic insect repeller

If the gadget is intended for a small area, then several devices are purchased to effectively scare away ants. For example, one device helps get rid of ants in the kitchen, but they move into neighboring rooms. To prevent this from happening, they also need to be installed with the same device.

They operate from mains or batteries. A portable device will be able to expel insects from a much larger area.

Ultrasonic repeller EcoSniper “4 in 1”. Designed to repel: ants, mosquitoes, bedbugs, crawling insects. Safe for pets. Action area - 300 m²

Unfortunately, most of the electronic insect repellent devices offered are completely useless. Some of them were tested by Galileo.

The most common types of small house ants

The following types of uninvited ants most often require removal from apartments:

1. Red or pharaonic. Pests up to 2 mm in length. This species reproduces very quickly: they manage to create a colony with more than 100 thousand individuals in a short time. “Pharaohs” are able to penetrate even the upper floors of high-rise buildings. They mostly live in kitchens. They are attracted to sweets, so the main reason for their appearance is fruits, sugar, cookies, jam and other sweets that are freely available for profit. If you like to drink coffee and treats in bed, they can even live in the bedroom.
2. Woody or red. They prefer high-calorie, fatty foods and are immune to many toxic substances. They mostly settle in wood and damage furniture by making holes in kitchen sets and dining rooms. They can live for a week without food and 3 days without water.
3. Black or garden. Body length is about 5 mm (classified as large). The body is covered with hairs. These seemingly harmless insects are omnivores, but prefer carbohydrates. They settle in warm, humid places: on balconies, in the bathroom, in the toilet, in flower pots, etc.
4. Yellow or thief ants. They form several nests at the same time and reproduce very quickly. Ants of this color live in apartments up to the third floor, under wallpaper, in household appliances and other secluded, damp, warm places.
5. White. These are wood borers, that is, termites. Some individuals are almost transparent, some have wings. They live in warm places and attack wooden furniture. They do not eat human food and it is very difficult to get rid of them.

There are also large red forest species, but they rarely penetrate into residential apartments, so you don’t have to think about how to get rid of small goosebumps.

It’s worth thinking about how to get rid of these small pet ants not only because of aesthetic discomfort. These insects are dangerous in themselves. They are predators by nature and can attack. While adults are not very susceptible to bites, pets and children may experience serious allergic reactions. Insects also pose a risk of infection: on their paws they carry bacteria, germs, and infections, picking them up in trash cans and from neighbors, leading to diseases.

Think about how to get rid of the goosebumps right away, before they have time to create a large colony in the apartment. This may only take a couple of weeks. Females lay eggs, about 10% of worker insects obtain food (foragers), and the rest look after the offspring and resettle to new areas. Therefore, at the first signs of their presence, you should think about how to get rid of ants in your apartment forever.

Folk remedies

People have been trying to get rid of ants since those times when special means did not exist. Our ancestors successfully coped with the products at hand. What helps remove house ants?

Among house ants, the most common ones are red ones, which are found in food cupboards. What harms them is the same thing that attracts them - the smell. They avoid the smell of many aromatic herbs and some foods. So, what folk remedies will help fight ants:

• mint;
• Bay leaf;
• dill;
• rosemary;
• parsley;
• pine and cedar oil;
• garlic;
• cinnamon;
• ground pepper;
• carnation;
• sagebrush;
• citrus zest;
• vinegar.

Folk remedies can be no less effective in fighting ants.
Pests will avoid cabinets and corners with these herbs until the smell disappears. And vinegar gives an additional effect; upon contact, even the essence diluted with water can destroy ants, as it corrodes their “skin” - the chitinous shell.

For example, to get rid of ants in indoor flowers, you can spray with soapy water, set a trap nearby, or plant mint nearby. However, if there are aphids in the pot, it is better to replace the soil.

War with uninvited "guests"

When you see the first scouts darting around the kitchen in search of provisions, immediately begin to think about a military strategy. Do not forget that these pests are capable of multiplying very quickly, and in just a month or two they can occupy your apartment.

Destroying a nest

No matter how much you crush the ants running around the table, or spray poison on them, their ranks will constantly replenish. After all, the queen continues to lay eggs. To get rid of insects, it is necessary to destroy the females. And to do this you need to find a nest of ants in the apartment. Searching for a colony is a very difficult task that does not always give a positive result. But try it anyway. To make it easier to find the nest, consider the following features of anthills.

• Warm place. Most ants like a warm, moist environment. So start looking for a colony in the kitchen or bathroom.
• Hard to reach areas. The nest may be located under tiles, in sockets. And sometimes anthills are located even outside the apartment, for example, between floors, in ceilings. In this case, it is impossible to find the nest.
• Surveillance. To determine the location of a colony, you simply need to follow a line of insects. They will lead you to the nest.

If you have difficulty finding a colony, arm yourself with silicone sealant or polyurethane foam. As soon as the horde of ants disappears into the gap, immediately seal it. This will cut off the insects' path home.

Preparation for processing

Don't despair if you can't find the nest. You can destroy the female without even touching the colony. This is not difficult to do. It is necessary to force the soldiers to take poisonous substances in order to take them to the nest as food. Many folk traps and insecticides are built on this principle. Don't forget to prepare thoroughly for the fight.

• Wash surfaces. Wipe all countertops and tables with a damp cloth, removing crumbs, food debris, sugar, and rinse the floors with vinegar and Domestos to destroy the paved paths and disinfect the apartment from ants.
• Remove food and trash. Hide baked goods and cookies in plastic bags, carefully close the trash can with a lid, or better yet, take it out of the apartment altogether.
• Inspect the plumbing fixtures and baseboards. Fix the faucets, repair the water pipes so that the house does not have dripping water necessary for insects, identify any cracks and seal them with caulk.

Safety regulations

Chemical insecticides and even some folk remedies can be dangerous not only for insects, but also for animals and people. Therefore, before you start killing food ants, be sure to take safety precautions.

• Isolation of residents. To protect children, elderly relatives or pets from possible intoxication while fighting ants, place them with friends or relatives.
• Means of protection. Wear gloves. If the drug has an odor, wear a respirator. In the case of insecticides, try to protect your body, limbs and head as much as possible from getting chemicals on your skin. Take care to protect your eyes as well.
• Disposable tableware. Do not use food plates to prepare solutions or powders, even if we are talking about folk remedies. It is not safe. Buy disposable tableware, which you immediately throw away after baiting insects.

How to make the product yourself

Among folk remedies, there are entire recipes made from available ingredients that can remove ants. There are quite a lot of them and they are all quite effective in killing ants, moreover, they do not require extra costs, and they are safe.

Boric acid together with carbohydrates is often used against ants

Boric acid with sugar or egg. Boric acid is a deadly agent that kills insects in itself. But when mixing just one teaspoon with 100 ml of water, honey and sugar syrup, it will allow you to treat a large area and hard-to-reach areas, and insects will not avoid it and will die.

Yeast. To treat cracks and floors, yeast is diluted with water and stirred until a viscous mass is obtained.

Borax and sugar . The ingredients are mixed 1:1 and the entire room is treated.

Sugar and yeast . In this case, the result will not be a solution, but a dense mass: you need to roll balls of sugar and yeast diluted with water 1:1 and place them near the nest.

How to perform a treatment to kill small insects?

If you plan to use chemicals to remove ants, you should follow the recommendations:

• Treatment is carried out in the apartment only in the absence of residents and pets. The person performing the work must be protected by closed clothing, goggles, a mask, and rubber gloves.
• Things and food are hidden in cabinets and sealed packaging.
• Before using preparations for destruction, carefully study the instructions. Do not exceed recommended doses.
• People prone to allergies are not allowed to carry out work.
• After treatment with the active substance, windows and doors are tightly closed. After about 2-3 hours, the premises are thoroughly ventilated, and general cleaning is performed using soap solutions and soda.

Only after this can other family members and pets be returned to the living space.

Prevention of occurrence

Once you get rid of the ants, the only thing left to do is prevent them from coming back. It is much easier to carry out prevention than to try to eradicate them for a long time, when a whole colony has already settled in the house. Precautionary measures:

1. Purity. You cannot leave food, crumbs, or dirty dishes in the kitchen.
2. Regular wet cleaning.
3. Closed packaging of cereals and sugar.
4. Timely removal of garbage.
5. Clogging the cracks leading to the street.
6. Systematic treatment of doors and ventilation ducts with insecticides.

Pest control

This method has to be resorted to when all other attempts to get rid of pests have failed. This happens when the nest is not found, and they appear again.

Professional pest control of ants

Specialists will carry out disinfestation with special chemicals that are more toxic than household chemicals, which will definitely help destroy the ants. But during disinfestation you will have to leave your apartment or house for several days.

When living in an apartment building, it is better to carry out this procedure simultaneously with your neighbors, since ants can migrate to them and return later again. In addition, the cost of calling exterminators will be cheaper.

Calling an exterminator

The problem is that ants are also getting smarter and adapting to different conditions, and now they can survive even after some industrial poisons. In addition, they hide their nests so well that it can be difficult to reach even with a spray.

If folk recipes and remedies from stores fail to remove parasites, then you will have to call a professional, namely, an exterminator.

You also need to prepare for his arrival:

• carry out general wet cleaning of the premises;
• put all food and utensils in cellophane, film or plastic bags;
• take out pets.

After this, the residents themselves must leave. After the exterminator’s work, it is necessary to thoroughly ventilate the room and once again carry out a general wet cleaning.

Bottom line

So, in order to successfully get rid of ants, you need to determine the place where they come from, their type - this helps to understand where the nest may be and sometimes decide on the choice of means.

The commercially available preparations have a wide spectrum of action and will help get rid of all types of ants: small red ones, as well as large red and black ones. Each situation is individual and it is difficult to say which product will best cope with the task of protecting against ants, be it an apartment or a private house.