How to get rid of ants

I’ve been working on the subject of getting rid of ants for a long time now. In fact, this article was one of my first projects for How to Get Rid of Things, and I have updated it a number of times over the past couple of years. Changes in structure and further research compel me to get you good answers to common problems—ants not being the least of those issues. The most problematic question is: what kind of ants are we trying to get rid of?

There are so many varieties of ants found in North America, it’s almost impossible to know what is what. Some ants (like the Argentine Ant) are more of a problem on the West Coast than they are on the East Coast. Fire ants are a problem only in the south, while the carpenter ant seems to keep both southerners and my people up north quite busy, as well. So, what we’re going to do is approach the subject of getting rid of ants by how common the problem is and how difficult it is to get rid of. Most species of ant I mention in this ant control article will be linked to a page with more detailed information about getting rid of ants of that particular species.

Common Ants & Ant Control
To get rid of Sugar Ants or House Ants, known to the scientific community as Pavement Ants, sweet-based ant baits should do the trick. The pavement ant is perhaps the most common ant to invade houses, apartments, and other places where food can be found. It is mistakenly called both the sugar ant (which is an ant exclusive to the Australian continent) and the house ant (of which there are many). Pavement ants are the little brown ants that make small mounds in the sand near sidewalks, driveways, and the sides of houses. I've had plenty of pavement ant problems, and I prefer Terro brand traps to get rid of sugar ants--ahem!--I mean pavement ants.
To get rid of Pharaoh Ants, another common house ant often called a Sugar Ant, sweet baits, again, should suffice as proper ant control. This ant is particularly obnoxious because of its persistence in getting what it wants, and it will eat just about anything: sugars, proteins, you name it. In some instances, these ants are found in hospitals where sterilization standards are lax. The Pharaoh Ant is often blamed for transferring dangerous bacteria like Staphylococcus and Psuedomonas, according to the Ohio State Extension Office. Sweet baits placed near trails or high ant traffic areas are the most efficient form of control. As I mentioned earlier, Terro makes a quality sweet ant bait.
To get rid of Argentine Ants, found in the south and southwestern states, a combination of protein-based and sweet baits may be effective ant control. These little bastards are destroying America's environmental and ecological balance by killing off native ant species, thereby starving the natural predators of these species. They also form a symbiotic relationship with aphids (a common garden pest), tending to and even transporting aphids in return for the sweet secretions the aphids produce. Argentine ants will eat just about anything they can get their grubby hands on, and they are a particularly social species of ant that "teams up" with other colonies nearby. Broadcast baiting with insecticide granules like Niban seems to be the most effective way to get rid of argentine ant colonies outside, coupled with sweet baits to help control Argentine Ants inside.
If you live in the south and you've been swarmed by stinging red ants, chances are you're trying to figure out how to get rid of Fire Ants. Fire ants, the most aggressive of which is the red imported fire ant, are fast becoming the next "problem" insect, like the Africanized honey bee. The sting of a red imported fire ant causes intense pain, sweating, and sometimes anaphylactic shock. Again, broadcast baiting with Hydramethylnon granules (Amdro, Maxforce, and Siege are reputable brands) is probably the best way to get rid of fire ants; though, it should be noted that most fire ant baiting methods are only temporary, and need to be repeated every 2-4 weeks.
To get rid of winged ants or flying ants, what are usually found to be Carpenter Ants, chemicals like Niban and bendiocarbs are used. People often mistake carpenter ants for termites when the carpenter ant begins to swarm, coming out of cracks in the walls and flooring of a house. Carpenter ants do not, in fact, eat wood. If they have reestablished themselves in a home, it is only because there is an ample food supply (sweets and proteins), burrowing through wood only to expand their nests. To get rid of carpenter ants, locate their nest by listening for rustling noises in walls where you most often see wandering ants. Once the nest is located, drilling holes and applying residual and aerosol insecticides in combination seems to be the most effective way to get rid of carpenter ants.
Ant Baits
Controlling ants that can't be taken care of with the steps outlined in the left sidebar will need to be dealt with using ant baits, also known as ant poisons, ant killers, ant hotels, and a variety of other names. Most pest control professionals refer to ant poison as ant bait, because ants will only eat the poison if they take the bait it's been applied to. There are basically two types of ant bait, and two means of delivering that bait. For sugar ants (pavement ants), or the common house ant, we generally use a sweet-based ant bait (usually a syrup) with a chemical like Borax, or boric acid salt. Boric acid is a naturally occuring mineral mined in California, and is the most common ingredient in ant baits used to control house ants like the pharaoh ant, the pavement ant, the odorous house ant, and others. Terro products are a good example of boric acid-based ant control.

The second kind of bait is a protein-based granule made from Niban or Hydramethylnon granules. These granular ant baits are usually used for ants that are a problem outdoors rather than indoors. Fire ants, argentine ants, and sometimes carpenter ants are dealt with via protein-based ant bait granules. They are usually spread with a device similar to that used to spread fertilizers on lawns. Once the ant bait is set, it is up to nature and good luck that the ants in question find the bait and bring it home. You can usually tell that an outside ant bait is working if you can see what are called "ant superhighways" leading to and from a densely-baited area.