Three types of ants can live in a private house. By chance, red forest or garden blacks can get into it. More often, residents of private houses suffer from woodworms or house ants, which are also called ship ants, pharaoh ants. These insects are up to 3 mm in size, yellow or light brown, and if you see one or two pests, the fight against ants should be started immediately. Why? This will also be discussed in our article.
Why are ants dangerous in the house?
If there is at least some benefit from ants on a personal plot (they loosen the earth, saturate it with useful substances and fight other pests), then in a private house they are nothing but trouble.
What is the harm from ants in a private house:
- eat and spoil food, pet food;
- can destroy wooden surfaces, furniture;
- can settle inside household appliances, damage its parts, wiring;
- carry pathogens of infectious diseases, lay eggs in food, house plants;
- woodworm ants, if there are a lot of them in a private house, can even destroy wooden walls, beams, ceilings, turning wood or wood boards into dust.
That is why when ants appear in the house, you need to immediately start the fight, without waiting until the population becomes too large and dangerous.
How to get rid of ants in the house
House ants live in heated rooms because warmth is a necessary condition for them. There is a very ancient method of removing insects from a private house – this is freezing. This method is harmless to people, destructive to pests, but difficult to perform. It is necessary to completely freeze the house, that is, in winter, leave it without heating, open all doors and windows wide open. This is possible only in houses without steam or water heating. Taking into account modern conditions, the presence of furniture and equipment in houses that cannot be frozen, it is unlikely that it will be possible to remove ants in this way. You will have to use folk remedies or chemicals.
How to prepare for fighting ants
In a private home, preparation should be comprehensive. It is important to remove all insects. To do this, you need to find the anthill in which the uterus is located. If in an apartment building ants can come from neighbours, then in a private house they live with you. An anthill can be in the walls, under the floor, on a clothes shelf with rarely used things – anywhere.
How to find an anthill:
- follow the ants along their paths – they carry particles of food into the nest;
- on the dust – it remains on the ant paths;
- for damage on wooden walls, floors, ceilings – they may be next to the anthill.
Before using anti-ants, you need to prepare:
- remove all food supplies, especially strong-smelling, sweet, attracting ants;
- carry out general cleaning, remove the blockages of things in which pests may be hiding;
- at the time of processing from home, it is advisable to remove children and pets for this time;
- when using chemicals, instructions and safety recommendations must be strictly followed.
What are folk remedies for ants in a private house?
These insects do not like strong odours, so you should use the following substances:
- chopped grass in a sachet or bunches of herbs – oregano, mint, lemon balm, wormwood, tansy, lavender; they need to be laid out throughout the house, including in cabinets;
- lemon, garlic, mustard, pepper, bay leaf, coffee can be put on ant trails and at the entrance to the nest, replaced as it weathers;
- you can spray the entrance to the nest with table vinegar, wash the floors and walls, furniture with supplies; you can also pour vinegar into an anthill – it not only repels the smell but also destroys the chitin of insects;
- layout rags soaked in kerosene in places where pests pass;
- wash floors and walls with a saturated solution of tar soap;
- mix any essential oil with vegetable as a base and pour into an anthill, and when washing the floor and walls, add essential oils to the water;
- Potted geraniums or spreading citrus peels can be placed next to the supply areas – they effectively repel insects.
All of these methods are aimed more at scaring off ants, rather than destroying them. It does not make sense to use mechanical traps like bottles or cans filled with sticky and viscous liquid. Of course, the ants will crawl into them and not be able to get out, but this way you can only destroy a small number of pests, and not the entire colony. In private homes, such methods are ineffective, because an anthill is hidden behind the walls, which will supply more and more pests every day.
Boric acid
To get rid of ants completely, you can use such an effective and harmless folk remedy as boric acid. You need to make baits by mixing two tablespoons of jam or honey with a third teaspoon of boric acid and five tablespoons of water. This sweet and sticky treat should be laid out in flat containers near the anthill or in places where ants congregate.
Boric acid can also be added to a mashed boiled egg or minced meat, brewer’s yeast – all these products are attractive to ants. Roll them into balls and spread them around the house.
Boric acid harms insects, paralyzes the nervous system and leads to their death. It is important not to greatly increase the concentration of boric acid so that the insects do not die immediately, but take the bait to the lair and treat the uterus to it.
Ants are highly organized insects. At the head of the hierarchy is the uterus or queen. She not only constantly reproduces offspring but also organizes the life of the entire colony. If the queen dies, all the other ants are left without guidance and disperse in search of another queen. The uterus itself does not get food for itself, it is fed by worker ants. The ideal option to get rid of the ants is to make them leave on their own, and this can happen if the uterus is killed, and for this, the worker ants must bring the poison to it and feed it.
Insecticides
To finally get rid of ants in homes, it is worth using more effective professional insect control products. You can invite a special service: professional exterminators will select the means and methods of processing at home. But you can also manage on your own. Chemicals come in a variety of forms so you can find the one that suits you best.
Gels
They are very convenient to use. The gel is squeezed out in places of accumulation of insects, they drag it on their paws into the anthill, where the entire population becomes infected. The final extermination of the colony occurs in about 30 days or earlier. Gels in syringes are convenient – they are safe to use for humans (the syringe release form excludes a person from touching the drug). We recommend using Medilis Anti-Cockroach or Medilis Antimuravey gels based on cypermethrin.
Powders and granules
They act in the same way as gels, but are less convenient, as they are carried by a draft, and the insects themselves carry them along the floor and walls. This can be dangerous for residents. In addition, they can simply enter the respiratory tract, which is even more dangerous. If an anthill or the entrance to the nest is found, you can pour the powder there.
Aerosols
Less effective, as they do not have a long-term effect. Aerosols can be sprayed on individual insects, their trails or an anthill, but the active substance quickly disappears.
Liquid insecticides
These are products that are usually sold in concentrated form and require dilution in water following the instructions. You can use concentrated products based on cypermethrin, fenthion, for example, Medilis-Super, Medilis-Zipper, Medilis-Neo. They are diluted in water and used for surface treatment. When ants appear in the house, complex processing of the entire structure may be required, including the outside, in technical and utility rooms. It is for these purposes that such funds are needed.
Prevention
Preventing ants from infesting your home is easier than getting rid of them. What you need to do to prevent the appearance of ants:
- regularly clean, especially in the kitchen and pantry;
- do not leave free food, especially sweets;
- prevent the appearance of blockages from things, newspapers, boxes;
- plant strong-smelling flowers at home, for example, geraniums (if there is no intolerance to smells);
- you can hang dry bouquets of tansy, lavender, mint;
- arrange sachets with lavender in cabinets;
- regularly wash the back walls of cabinets, floors, walls with a weak solution of ammonia, vinegar;
- wash the floors with the addition of essential oils to the water or with a special floor cleaner.
When at least one or two ants appear, you immediately need to start a fight so as not to endanger the house itself and all household members.
