Ants are a typical annoyance for homeowners, eating any leftover food or waste and leaving long trails. They tend to take shelter in mounds around springtime and slowly move their way into residential and business properties as they attempt to find humid places. They are a nuisance for people living around them as they have few limits on where they crawl, and they can even damage property if large enough.

If you’re in a rush: Effective DIY ant control follows a three-step protocol: First, identify the ant and figure out if they are seeking sugar or protein. Bait the ants, utilizing traps, liquid baits, or other ant control options based on their needs. Finally, exclude ants by sealing entry points around your home. If you can’t control it, call pest control like Green Pest Management.

While this article discusses tips for doing ant control from home, as we will discuss, there is a point where calling ant control may be a necessary thing to do. While ants typically do not present a danger to the residents of a home, it’s important to note that larger ant infestations disrupt living spaces, can crawl near people and pets while they sleep, and damage property. As pest control experts, the last thing we like to deal with are ant infestations that make people’s homes and businesses untenable.

Why Most Do-It-Yourself Ant Control Fails

As pest control experts in over 4 states, we deal with ant infestations at customer homes and businesses regularly. Many people end up purchasing products that result in short-term relief rather than long-term ant removal, leading to larger infestations as time goes on. When you use Raid or another commercial ant spray, ant colonies don’t just get up and walk away.

We see many people relying on Raid and other ant-killing spray chemicals as a first-line defense against ants in their homes. While it kills ant trails immediately, this is a band-aid fix to a much larger problem. Take a look at where ants came from. If you can identify the location of the hole in your wall or floor, there is likely a sprawling colony close to your home. When ants die, they emit a smell that alerts the rest of the colony that they need to reproduce faster. This makes ants more likely to start coming into your home to find food.

When trying to remove ants, our goal is to focus on destroying the source. This is harder than it looks because ant colonies are massive, typically employing 10,000-50,000 ants in a large one.

Identifying Ants in Your Home

Odorous House Ants: At Green Pest Management, we handle odorous house ants the most. These ants are small (around a centimeter long), like sweet foods, and typically nest outside under bushes and marshes. These ants will have multiple colonies in a small area and communicate with one another to coordinate. When killed, they emit a sweet smell.

Carpenter Ants: Carpenter ants can be around half an inch long and are known for their large pincers. They tend to live around damp wood and foam, creating small holes to live inside. They are not like termites, meaning they won’t eat your wood.

Pavement Ants: Also known as sugar ants, these ants are small and nimble. They tend to congregate around sidewalks and concrete, building colonies of up to 10,000. If you’ve ever seen large quantities of ants around the cracks of a sidewalk, these are likely the culprits. Colonies will go out of their way to fight others for territory, leading to thousands of ants in areas where we walk.

Pharaoh Ant: These tiny ants (around 1/16 inches each) are known for being more colorful, showing yellow and red on them. They tend to seek protein and fatty foods rather than the sweet foods of odorous ants. More humid buildings, such as hospitals or heated rooms, tend to experience the worst of these pests.

The 2-Minute “Choice Test” (Don’t Waste Money on the Wrong Bait)

Once you’ve identified the ant on your property, we recommend looking into finding the right bait. Purchasing baits can feel overwhelming due to the high number of options on the market, but we can best find what you might need based on facts about what the ants are doing.

To start, you need to consider what ants are eating. If they are eating sugary or sweet foods, they are trying to feed worker ants. If they are seeking protein, they are trying to feed larvae. If you use bait with the wrong type of food, they won’t bite, and you will still have an ant problem!

How to Test Ant Food Needs: Drop a small amount of honey or maple syrup and peanut butter on a piece of wax paper (or a cotton ball). Whichever one they swarm will explain what they are seeking.

The Observation: Wait 30 minutes after applying. See which one has more ants surrounding it.

If the ants pick sugar: Use a Borax-based liquid bait (such as Terro). Ants seeking sugar are focused on expansion and moving workers around. They crave carbohydrates and need this fuel to travel distances that take them to your home. Ants will take the sugary food out of the bait and take it back to their colony, poisoning the queen and others who attempt to eat it.

If the ants pick protein: Use a granular or paste bait containing Abamectin or Fipronil (such as Advance 375A if available). When the Queen is laying eggs or larvae are developing, the colony shifts its focus to protein and fatty foods. They need essential building blocks for growth. Ants will ignore sugar baits during times when they want protein. Our customers commonly ask us why ants don’t respond to baits they put up, and this is typically why.

Step-by-Step Ant Removal Guide

There are three stages to removing ants, mapping ant locations, placing baits, and closing ant gaps.

Phase 1: Mapping Pheromone Trails

In this stage, you want to map ant trails. Ants create trails based on smell. Usually, a scout ant will make its way out first, with other workers following the smell created. Follow the trail back to the start and mark it with a piece of tape so you don’t forget it. The most popular spots to find them are in crevices, holes between walls and floors, and bathroom taps.

Phase 2: Strategic Bait Placement

Place bait stations directly adjacent to trails, not on top of them! Don’t disrupt the ant’s trail, as tempting as it may be to do so, as they may avoid it altogether if it doesn’t seem natural. Let the ants eat the bait. You will see more ants before you see fewer of them. We call this the “Trojan Horse” phase.

Phase 3: Structural Exclusion

Once the activity stops in around 7 to 10 days, seal the gaps where the ants entered from. We recommend using silicone caulk, expandable foam, or plastic covers to seal these gaps. For much larger gaps, consider finding home repair services.

Natural and Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Many of our customers want eco-friendly solutions for ant removal, which is understandable given how many brands of ant control products are poisonous to ants and the environment. Here are some suggestions from experts about what to use instead.

• Diatomaceous Earth (food grade): Food-grade diatomaceous earth dehydrates the exoskeletons of ants, killing them quickly
• Essential Oil Barriers: Peppermint or tea tree oil can be used as a temporary deterrent for non-infested areas. Many “pet safe” ant sprays use peppermint oil mixes as it deters ant trails.
• Vinegar solutions: Using a 50/50 water-vinegar mix can help blind pheromone trails and redirect ants away from major areas in your home

Preventing Ants Before They Come

Many of our customers ask us for the simplest ways to prevent ants from moving into their homes. There are a few very easy ways to do this that we recommend to all our clients:

• Keep a clean home: If your home is covered in litter, boxes, and other unnecessary items, you are asking for pests to take shelter. Clean homes give ants less space to hide in and make it easy to find ant entrances.
• Don’t leave food out: Ants mainly come into homes for food. Leaving food out of any kind can attract them to your home, and they tend to scout locations out multiple times after finding food once.
• Regularly sweep and mop your floors: Food waste can get into corners, doormats, and carpets easily. These are the easiest ways for ants to get in, as they will target small chunks of food hidden that you wouldn’t have been able to find otherwise.
• Check your property for ant mounds and ant trails: Ant mounds typically show up around spring, around stray dirt and gardening fixtures. Trails can be easily seen on concrete.

When DIY Isn’t Enough: Danger Signs

There comes a point in an infestation where managing it by yourself may not be effective, even dangerous. Here are some things to watch out for:

• Sawdust piles (frass): If you see this near wood areas of your home, it could mean one of two things. Carpenter ants could be destroying your home’s structure, which could lead to severe damage later on. It could also mean that your home also has termites in addition to ants, which is a severe problem that needs professional handling quickly and effectively.
• Multiple Colonies: If you have ants in every room, a “super-colony” is likely in or around your home that requires professional service. We do not recommend handling these cases by yourself, as we have heard horror stories from customers waking up with ants in their bed and getting into fridges. If you can’t manage them, call professional pest control for help.
• Too much to handle: If you can’t get baits to work and the ant colonies seem to be expanding, calling professional ant control is likely your best way to handle it. Most pest control companies offer free quotes and advice before you get serviced, so you have security in knowing your ant problem can be dealt with effectively.

Green Pest Management operates in New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. If you live in these areas, do not hesitate to give us a call here. We have lines open 24/7 and want to help you get to the bottom of your ant control problem.

Frequently Asked Questions: Expert Answers for Common Ant Queries

Why do ants keep coming back after I clean with bleach?

Bleach kills ants but doesn’t fully remove pheromone trails, meaning it’s not effective in stopping them. Use enzymatic cleaners or vinegar to erase their marks, or rely on baits based on their food preferences to stop them. Bleach can also be a risk for your home, so keep that in mind as well.

How long does DIY baiting take to work?

It varies. Some colonies can be handled in a week; others will require constant maneuvering over a few months to handle. It honestly depends on colony size, distance to the queen, and how many other colonies are nearby.

Is DIY ant bait safe around pets?

Most ant bait is not recommended around dogs, even if they say it is safe. We suggest placing them in tamper-resistant areas (such as behind furniture or televisions) or in rooms where pets are not allowed.

What are the signs I may be having an ant infestation?

If you see ant trails or single ants (known as scout ants) crawling around, you are likely in the process of an infestation or very early into one. Ants have likely found some food they want to eat and are living close enough that they could investigate. Find the food source and throw it away outside (in a trash can), before assessing whether baits or pest control are the right next option.

How do I permanently get rid of ants?

While difficult, this is absolutely possible. Use Borax-based bait to get ants to bring it back to their colonies, poisoning the queen and limiting their ability to reproduce. Eliminate food and water sources in your home (leftover food), and consider calling a quality pest control service.