It’s crucial to comprehend a little bit about ants before we can effectively kill them. First off, sugar ants are a multi-queened species that can have colonies that number in the hundreds of thousands. A broad range of ant species that favor sweet foods are collectively referred to as “sugar ants.” They are also call it as odorous house ants or piss ants. It’s difficult to get rid of sugar ants from your house. But with the right direction, you can swiftly take control of them.
Nesting Locations of Sugar Ants
Nesting locations are quite difficult to categorize. When choosing where to build their nests, stinky house ants frequently show no preference. But some typical nesting locations in and near structures include:
- Wall gaps
- Household appliances
- Near leaking taps
- Inadequate insulation
- In old termite and carpenter ant nests
- Under the pile of firewood
- Across loose soil
Last but not least, it is crucial to comprehend the “budding” phenomenon. When the several queens in a nest notice something strange or harmful in their surroundings, this is call it as budding, sometimes known as fragmenting or fracturing, and it causes the queens to spread. Each queen will set up a fresh nest and travel in a separate direction.
Many of us unknowingly have first-hand experience with budding. Your ant problem will spread throughout the building and multiply tremendously if budding takes place.
Types of Sugar Ants
The Australian species known as the “banded sugar ant” is not the species that Americans refer to as “sugar ants.” Rather, it serves as a collective term for a number of ant species that favor sweet meals.
Here are a few of the most typical instances:
- Pavement ants
Pavement ants have brown legs and black bodies. They are one of the most common pests in the United States because they prefer metropolitan areas with little vegetation.
- Odorous House ants
When you step on odorous house ants, a foul odor is released. They are mostly dark brown and roughly 1/8 inch long.
- Carpenter ants
Homes and other wooden structures have a history of suffering extensive damage at the hands of carpenter ants. They have enormous, all-black bodies that can reach a length of half an inch.
- Ghost ants
Ghost ants defend aphids from predators so they can continue to collect honeydew as a food source. These little ants also enter households in search of tasty foods.
- Argentine ants
Argentine ants are notorious for breaking into beehives to get at delicious honey. Their dark brown bodies measure around 1/8 inch long. Both indoor and outdoor areas are infested by them.
- Pharaoh ants
Pharaoh ants have a cyclical feeding behavior in which they consume sweet foods for short periods of time before bingeing on just proteins. They have small bodies that are just around 1/16 of an inch in length and a yellowish-brown color.
- Acrobat ants
Most often a nuisance in the outdoors, acrobat ants are only around 1/4 inch long. They have dark brown to black gaster and reddish-brown bodies (abdomen).
How to get rid of Sugar ants
It’s difficult to get rid of sugar ants from your house. But with the right direction, you can swiftly take control of them. Our in-house pest control specialists offer a step-by-step manual for getting rid of these undesirable pests in the part that follows.
Inspection
Look everywhere in your house, not just the spots where you’ve noticed sugar ants if you want to get rid of the problem.
These typical areas where ants nest are the first to be examined:
- Kitchen Sinks
- Pantries
- Washing machines
- Bathrooms
Looking for food ants may direct you back to their nesting place because they are normally looking for food and water.
Identification
Finding the location of a sugar ant nest is more important than knowing the precise ant species. But often, ant trails will take you there—or at the very least, to the locations where they enter your house.
Take them out
Ant traces are easy to remove. Before reaching for the ant-killing spray, try some easy DIY home treatments. The good news is that using them doesn’t cost anything. Start by adding water, white vinegar, and baking soda to a 32-ounce spray bottle. Without leaving a chemical odor, this mixture will quickly eliminate sugar ants.
Use essential oils in place of vinegar and baking soda for a more pleasant aroma. The finest oils for fighting ants are peppermint and tea tree, both of which are generally safe for counters.
Sprays that repel ants work more quickly against larger infestations. These are effective insecticides that you may also use to treat bed bugs. It is therefore advisable to carefully read the label instructions before using them.
Use baits to destroy the ant colony.
The issue with eliminating the ants you can see on the surface alone is that they only make up a small portion of the colony as a whole. Use ant baits instead, which combine attractant lures with the borax-based killing capability, as they are preferable.
Throughout your house, you can set up bait stations that imitate ant traps, such as:
- Kitchens and dining areas
- Storage boxes
- Laundry rooms and pantries
- Basements
Sugar ants respond best to liquid ant baits, whereas protein feeders respond well to solid formulations.
Fill the Gaps
Once you have got the ants under control, seal up any gaps where they can enter. It’s a rather easy procedure that mostly entails caulking these spots with silicone caulk, and it usually takes care of your ant problem on its own.
How to get rid of Sugar Ants nests
If you see sugar ant nests outside your house, take action right away to get rid of them to keep them from getting inside. A sugar ant nest looks like a miniature volcano: it is a small mound with a hole in the top. Use these recommendations to get rid of one of these nests:
For five to ten minutes, flood the nest with flowing water from a garden hose, or cover it with boiling water. To eliminate the ant colony, pour a cup of bleach down the nest hole. Sprinkle baking soda all around the nest and into the hole.
Sugar ant removal techniques using natural means
Try the following natural home cures for sugar ant infestations if you wish to avoid using harsh chemicals:
- The sugar ant trail can be eliminated by using a vinegar solution
Pour the liquid into a spray bottle after combining one part vinegar with one part water. Acetic acid, a component of vinegar, eliminates the aroma of an ant path and serves as a deterrent for these pests. Spray around baseboards and all potential entrance paths and trails after determining the ants’ point of entry to stop them from moving along these lines. After being sprayed, wipe up the dead ants with a paper towel and throw them away. Spray in the morning or late afternoon when ants are most busy to get the most out of this natural cure.
- Place leftover coffee grounds throughout your home
Since ants are burned by the acidity and scent of coffee. Around pet bowls and other areas where you want to deter ants, scatter old coffee grounds. Coffee grounds can also be scattered about the outside of your house to keep ants out.
- Set whole cloves or bay leaves out
The substances that give these plants their potent aroma are highly effective in keeping sugar ants away. To keep ants away, scatter whole cloves along baseboards and put bay leaves under countertops.
- Garlic
Similar to bay leaves and cloves, garlic has a potent aroma that confuses ants and alters their course of travel. Hang garlic in your pantry. Garlic cloves can also hang from the door knobs and shelves of your pantry by strings.
- Prepare a Homemade repellent for insects
Add a few drops of lavender or peppermint essential oil to one part water, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle. To prevent ants from appearing on your kitchen island and pantry shelves, spray the solution on those surfaces.
- Homemade Ant trap
Build a handmade ant trap by placing honey or corn syrup on a plate made of plastic. Ants will be drawn to the bait and become impaled by the sticky material. Throw away the dish and take the rubbish out of your house once the ants have started dying.
- Use commercial organic products
Organic ant and roach killers that effectively kill sugar ants include Orange Guard and Eco SMART Organic Ant & Roach Killer. The Eco SMART Organic Ant & Roach Killer is an organic, non-toxic liquid manufactured with a plant extract that kills ants and discourages their re-entry, while Orange Guard is an all-natural spray that includes orange peel that can be extracted to kill ants.
- Scatter food-grade diatomaceous earth around your house
The crushed leftovers of marine phytoplankton are used to create diatomaceous earth, a fine white powder. Diatomaceous earth used in food preparation poses no danger to people or animals, although it is lethal to insects. So, Diatomaceous earth kills ants from the inside out by entering their digestive tracts. Spread the powder along the ant tracks, then remove it after a month.
Summary
The term “sugar ant” simply refers to a broad range of insects that can quickly ruin your life. It makes sense to be knowledgeable about these pesky animals for this reason. We hope that we have done that here.
Getting rid of ants in your home can be difficult, especially if there are many of them. Therefore, if you run into trouble, it is wise to contact a pest control company or exterminator.
Whether you have sugar ants, brown ants, or black ants, it doesn’t matter. You can deal with them along the way with the assistance of an experienced specialist.
Also read: Best Brown Sugar Substitutes
