Sugar ants are often tricky to get rid of; however, there are plenty of safe ways of eliminating and preventing them from reentering your home. Although the ants aren’t dangerous to you or your family, they are annoying and challenging to eliminate.
Here is what you should know about getting rid of sugar ants using natural remedies and chemical solutions. You will also learn some prevention methods that will help keep the ants away.
What Are Sugar Ants?
A sugar ant, also known as a banded sugar ant, is a small black ant native to Australia. These types of ants are primarily attracted to sweets, sugary foods, and scraps. However, they also love eating plant pollen, fats, and proteins, which they get from eating other insects. When the ants find a food source, they will move the food back to their nest for the rest of the colony.
Why Are Sugar Ants in My House?
Plants that secrete nectar often attract sugar ants outdoor, and they may bring them close enough to your home to discover a reliable source of food. Although sugar ants are not harmful, they can be a nuisance when they find a reliable food source in your house.
Sugar ants can nibble through cardboard, paper, or very thin plastic containers when they want to feed. Their presence may attract other pests, including centipedes and spiders, into your home. In addition, sugar ants often invade sweets and fruits when they get to your home.
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If you notice an infestation, it would be best to check your pantry, food containers, and kitchen. The ants are also attracted to stains, spills, and other food traces. It might be challenging to locate a sugar ant nest because the pests have nocturnal behavior; however, you can easily recognize them when they build their nests in soil. The nests are often surrounded by large dirt hills that surround the colonies’ entrances.
Will Sugar Ants Go Away on Their Own?
The tiny ants in the house are generally going somewhere or coming from somewhere. It would help if you took your time and followed the train in both directions. When you do this, you are most likely to find their food source, which might be a dirty spoon or a juice spill.
If you clean up the spill or wash the dirty spoon, the ants will go away. Sealing their entry points might be useless because they can get in from any point, such as crevices or cracks.
How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants Without Chemicals
There are several ways of eliminating ants and their colonies from your home without using chemicals. First, however, be sure to find out if your state laws require you to call an exterminator or whether you can get rid of the ants yourself.
The natural ways of eliminating ants are preferable because they won’t add toxins or chemicals to the environment.
How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants Naturally
If you are looking for natural ways of killing sugar ants, these natural home remedies may come in handy:
How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants With Vinegar
What You Need
- 1 part vinegar
- 1 part water
- A spray bottle
White vinegar repels sugar ants and kills them. In addition, it contains acetic acid, which removes the scent of an ant trail and acts as a deterrent against pests. When you find the ants’ entry point, spray the mixture along all possible entrance paths, trails, and baseboards to prevent the ants from traveling along the routes.
Use a paper towel to wipe up the dead ants and discard them once you’ve finished spraying them. If you want to maximize the power of the solution, it’s best to spray in the morning or late afternoon when the pests are most active.
How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants With Baking Soda
Baking soda alone will not attract ants; therefore, you need to mix it with powdered sugar to ensure it works. When the ants consume baking powder, it will react with their digestive chemicals and produce carbon dioxide, which dries their bodies, hence eliminating them.
Baking soda is natural and is perfect for human consumption. If you have young children at home, you don’t have to worry about them touching it because it’s not toxic.
What You Need
- Two parts baking soda
- Two parts powdered sugar
- A lid from a jar
Procedure
- Mix the two parts baking soda and two parts powdered sugar.
- Pour the mixture into the lid.
- Place the lid close to where you’ve seen the ants.
- If you don’t have a lid, you can sprinkle the mixture directly onto the window sill, counter, or floor.
- You can add some water to turn the mixture into a paste and place the paste at the base of the crack of a wall to prevent ants from getting in.
Get Rid of Sugar Ants Using Chalk
An ant will not cross over a chalk line because chalk will disrupt their pheromone trails and communicate with other colony members. In addition, drawing a chalk line between the ants’ food source and their entrance will stop them from accessing food. If you opt for this method, you should pour or redraw the chalk line regularly.
How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants With Borax
Borax is quite lethal in eradicating sugar ants from your home. It is a naturally occurring mineral used to make homemade laundry soap and comes in many forms, including tablet, paste, powder, liquid, and spray.
When ants ingest borax, it causes mayhem in their digestive systems and gradually kills them. However, ants aren’t attracted to borax alone because it’s odorless. So if you want to create an excellent bait, you should combine borax with things that ants like to eat.
You can use borax in the following ways:
- Mix confectioner’s sugar with borax, and then sprinkle the mixture around your yard, lawn, near ant trails, or mounds.
- Warm some honey, mix it with borax powder, and then drizzle the mixture in places where ants are most likely to find it.
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Commercial Products to Help You Get Rid of Sugar Ants
If you don’t want to get rid of sugar ants naturally, you can opt for commercial products to help you with your problem. Here are some popular products that may come in handy:
Terro T300 Liquid Ant Baits
The Terro T300 liquid ant bait is a popular option among many homeowners because it’s widely available, effective, and simple to use. The active ingredient is borax, which is a relatively safe compound.
Terro uses a clear bait station, which is easy to monitor. It has many excellent positive reviews and excellent user feedback.
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Raid Ant & Roach Killer
The raid ant and roach killer is an effective way of eradicating sugar ants. All you have to do is direct the can at the pests, press the button, and watch it eliminate the ants.
Sugar ants can be a nuisance; however, before eliminating them, you should decide whether it’s best to call an exterminator or do it yourself. If you decide to eradicate them yourself, choose a natural or chemical option that will cause the least harm to the environment, your children, and your pets.