How to make a trap against house ants in an apartment with your own hands?

Ants are not only the most industrious insects, but also real pests if their families and colonies settle in a human home or on agricultural land. Some types of ants are active carriers of bacterial and viral infections, as well as some types of helminthiasis, which are dangerous not only for domestic animals and livestock, but also for humans. In an apartment, ants spoil food (mainly sugar, meat and cereals) and release substances that are food for other insects, such as aphids or bedbugs. If you have ants in your apartment, you need to start fighting them immediately, since ant families have very high adaptability and it is very difficult to completely eliminate them. At the initial stage, you can cope with the problem with the help of special chemicals, but if there are too many ants, the intervention of special sanitary services will be required.

Ant repellent in an apartment: which one is better?

How to destroy the uterus

How to quickly get rid of ants in the house? Naturally, it is necessary to first destroy the uterus. She lays eggs every day, and older individuals care for and feed her. In some cases, if the queen dies, the colony can find a replacement for her, but often the colony simply disintegrates, therefore, rather than killing one ant at a time, it is better to kill This is a blow to the very heart of the colony.

Nobody says that it will be very simple, because it is located in the most protected and secluded place. First, you will need to find a place where the entire colony is hiding, then open the nest and, using a special spray, simply treat the entire anthill. This should be enough for the entire colony to die within a few hours, along with its queen. The remaining ants will also not survive and will soon die out.

Lures and traps

To find out how to remove red ants from your apartment, you need to carefully read the instructions that are indicated on the traps and baits. They can be of different types:

adhesive;
with poisoned bait;
electric type.

Important! Poisonous baits are considered the most effective means.

Velcro and electric traps

In traps based on the sticky principle, everything is as simple as possible. They are installed in places of accumulation or, most often, at the intersection of paths along which insects run. No skills or knowledge are required to install them. Such stickers are not highly effective, so they are often installed as a preventive measure.

Electric versions of traps are powered from the electrical network. Modern devices are as economical as possible and completely silent. All insects that fall into such a trap receive an electrical discharge, which is enough for them to die. As soon as the trap is completely filled with dead ants, it is enough to clean it and then you can reconnect it to the electrical network.

Preparing the premises

Using an aquafumigator is not difficult at all. To have an effective effect, it is enough to follow the instructions. Place all toys securely in a bag and food items in the refrigerator. Dishes should be hidden, while bedding and clothing can be left behind. Open the cabinets wide to provide access to the product.

If you have an aquarium at home, it must be protected by sealing it with film or tape. Fish are sensitive to insecticide, so if they inhale poisoned air they will die. Amphibians, reptiles, and four-legged animals must be removed from the apartment.

Before treating the room, close the windows tightly and seal the hood with masking tape.

This is important so that insects do not escape by running away to neighbors. Steam begins to be released immediately after the connection of water and the active substance

At first there is a thin stream, then the amount of toxic steam increases. Within a few minutes, the room is covered in fog with a strong unpleasant odor.

Important!

If you have smoke detectors installed, they must be turned off, since they are triggered by the steam that appears from the fumigator.

One fumigator is enough to fumigate an area of 30-40 sq.m., but experts recommend placing one container in each room. Another one should be placed between the kitchen, bathroom and toilet: in case of severe infection, it is better to “play it safe”.

People's secrets

Traditional methods of combating these small insects are very popular, and for good reason. The fact is that they are harmless to people, at most they can cause aesthetic or olfactory discomfort. And all the necessary means at hand can be found at home.

Folk control measures are used even in cases where there is a pet at home, but it is still better to monitor its behavior. Even allergy sufferers will be able to find a way to protect their home that suits them, without suffering or taking medications.

Repellent

The most humane way is to simply scare away the ants with the smells they fear. In this case, the insects will simply leave, but will not die.

It’s worth thinking about your neighbors - will they be happy if a crowd of redheads moves in with them? In addition, neighbors can also drive away insects with odors on their own, so the ants will return to you. In any case, if you feel sorry for insects, it is better to use odorous products.

Usage essential oils. Ants do not like strong aromas, so if you add 10 drops of lavender essential oil and the same amount of mint to a glass of water, and pour two tablespoons of alcohol or vodka into it, they will not be very pleased. Next, lubricate the ant route with the resulting solution, or pour it into a sprinkler and sprinkle. At the same time, you can soak cotton wool or paper napkins with it and put it in cabinets.
Another aroma that ants cannot stand is citrus. All you need to do is save the lemon or orange zest and dry it. Different drying methods are discussed in this article.
There is an even simpler way - just lubricate vegetable oil or glycerin surfaces on which insects walk. Probably no one likes oiled surfaces, including ants, so they will leave. And if you use clove oil, you will also get aromatherapy that is unpleasant for insects.
If you continue to put pressure on the sore subject of redheads - the sense of smell, then you can also use odorous plants like mint, wormwood, elderberry, lavender, tansy and pine needles. Dried twigs are placed in cabinets and in the path of insects. Also used for similar purposes tomato tops and tobacco.
Vinegar has an aroma that not all people can tolerate, so the ants will definitely carry their paws away. It can be used to lubricate the main points of the route or the insect shelter itself, or you can mix it with water 1:1 and spray the solution.
Another odorous repeller will serve garlic. Again, many people cannot stand this aroma of health, and insects even more so. There are two options: you can simply cut the head into pieces and spread it out, or grate it and mix it with vegetable oil. The resulting mixture is poured into bottle caps and placed in the required places. Insects will run away from such a scent.
Ammonia. In this case, there is a risk that not only ants will leave the apartment, but also people, since the aroma of ammonia is too specific. To fight ants, you need to dilute ammonia with water in a ratio of 1:10 and wipe the necessary surfaces, or better yet, all of them. The advantage is that after 20 minutes a person will no longer feel the aroma, but the ants will feel it for a long time.
Salt. It would seem, what’s wrong with salt? But the ants avoid even this, so you can scatter a little “randomly” in places where they accumulate. If mixed with soda or pepper, the product will become even more effective.
If you don’t create a new scent, you can simply wash off the old one. Ordinary soapy water can help with this; it needs to go along the route of the pests and wash off their “pheromones.” Ants don't like soap, so they will leave their camp. To achieve this effect for sure, you can add a few drops of pine essential oil to the solution, and sprinkle soap crumbs on the areas where ants are active.
Black pepper also has a repulsive property for ants, so it is enough to spread ground pepper or dry pods on insect paths. Other repellent spices that will help exterminate ants include: cinnamon, mustard or cloves. The idea is the same - place it along the ant paths.
In the matter of intimidation, the usual eggshell. The main thing is not to wash or crush it.
Another unexpected product that ants try to avoid is millet . It is not clear why, but the main thing is that this method of struggle works. Dry grain must be sprinkled in insect habitats - that’s all. This is definitely a safe way to exterminate ants.

Bullying

If you want to get rid of uninvited guests forever and not be afraid of their return, then it is better to poison them. The whole principle of baiting is based on hiding the poison behind a sweet aroma, which insects are so greedy for.

Since ordinary ants take their findings to the queen, she, and therefore the entire colony, will be poisoned. Moreover, almost all the ingredients used are safe for people, which is good news.

Boric acid can work as a poison in the bait that worker ants take to their queen. So that they do not suspect anything, boric acid is dripped into honey or boiled yolk.
Another interesting recipe for pest bait: you need to take a small amount of warm water and dilute yeast , then add a little jam. The workers will again take the delicacy to their queen, and the entire colony will be killed.
If you want to catch ants, you can make a trap. This requires a jar and a very sweet syrup inside, which will act as glue . Ants have a terrible sweet tooth, so they will happily climb into a jar, but will not be able to get out of this “house”.
Soda is one of the most useful things an experienced housewife can use. It can be used to wash towels, wash a kettle, and remove ants. At the same time, it is completely harmless to humans. But it’s impossible to force ants to eat pure soda, so we use a trick and mix it with powdered sugar. But you need to be prepared for a difficult sight - the ants will experience severe pain from poisoning, and convulsions may even begin.
Borax is similar in action to boric acid. A paste is made from it in a 1:1 ratio to sugar and a small addition of water, which is used to lubricate cardboard. The ants mistake the poison for a delicacy because of its sweet aroma and bring it to the “queen” for testing. As a result, the entire colony becomes infected and dies.

There is an opinion that you can get rid of ants using regular semolina . A similar experiment can be seen on video.

Ants and semolina. My experiment.

Is it possible to use the Express System as a prophylactic agent?

The Raptor express system is indeed, to a certain extent, suitable for the preventive protection of premises from cockroaches and ants. However, it is important to understand that despite the high effectiveness of such protection, in some cases it will not be absolute.

The fact is that sometimes the rate of penetration of cockroaches from neighboring rooms can be even higher than the rate of their destruction by gel and traps. And if neighbors suddenly start poisoning cockroaches with aerosols, then there may be a massive “relocation” of insects from outside.

Therefore, for absolutely reliable protection of the apartment, preventive measures should always imply an integrated approach: it is necessary not only to use long-acting destructive agents, but also to find and eliminate all the cracks and holes through which insects enter the apartment. Only in this case can you be sure that new insects will not enter the room, and those already present here will definitely die, being destroyed by the Raptor Express System.

If cockroaches were accidentally brought into the room, for example, when moving, with household appliances or furniture, the Express System will help prevent the spread of insects throughout the apartment and their reproduction here.

To summarize, it is worth noting that the Raptor Express System can indeed be considered as an effective means of exterminating cockroaches in the house. Its effect is somewhat extended over time, but it definitely works - it methodically destroys even populations of cockroaches resistant to standard insecticides until they are completely exterminated.

Homemade ant baits

You can make ant traps in your apartment with your own hands. It's very easy to make lures from a matchbox. It must be placed near the baseboard or other area where there may be pest nests. A little honey should be placed inside the device. The ants will smell its scent, crawl into the bait, and then stick to the sweet amber. The next day, you need to throw away the box, replacing it with another trap with fresh honey. Such manipulations should be carried out until all insects are exterminated.

You can make another bait to catch ants in the house. To do this, you need to take a plastic lid and pour boric acid powder into it so that it completely covers the bottom. Add 2-3 drops of liquid honey or sugar syrup to the center of the trap. When insects get inside the lid, they will also stick and stay there. Quite often, devices are made from a 0.5 liter jar. You need to take such a container, pour sunflower oil into it, wrap the outside with white paper and place a wooden stick inside in the form of a ladder. In the center of the trap you need to place a bait that emits a pleasant aroma. Insects will get inside and will not be able to get out.

The simplest traps for domestic ants are made from double-sided tape or sticky tape. It is necessary to paste them over baseboards, floors or other surfaces on which pests can crawl. To catch insects, special balls are often prepared; they are hidden behind cabinets, sofas and in other hard-to-reach places. You need to take boric acid, sugar, flour, boiled yolk and water. A homogeneous mixture should be prepared from these components, rolled into small balls and placed where there is the largest concentration of insects. From time to time, such baits need to be replaced with new ones, throwing out those on which a lot of ants have gathered.

You can also make traps using a different recipe. You need to take 1 tbsp. l. water, 2 tsp. glycerin, 20 g honey, 10 g boric acid, 30 g sugar. All ingredients need to be mixed, rolled into balls from the resulting mass and placed in areas where pests are most concentrated. There is another very simple recipe for making similar ant traps. To do this, take 2-3 tsp. minced meat and 0.5 tbsp. l. Boers. Baits must be made according to the same principle. You can use flour or sweet foods as a basis to create these traps.

To exterminate pests, mint, shag, bay leaf, wormwood, cloves and garlic are often used. You need to take 1 or several components, grind them and treat insect areas with such substances. Sometimes they make their own ant traps using essential oils. You need to take ¼ cup of boiling water and add 12-15 drops of pine needle, lavender, lemon or sea buckthorn extract. The resulting mixture must be poured into plates and placed near the cracks in baseboards, on window sills and other places where pests may accumulate.

Another type of trap is prepared from boric acid and washing powder. You need to take 30 g of each ingredient, mix them, pour them into plastic lids and place the bait where the largest concentration of insects is. In the same way, you can make traps from honey, which is placed in small containers, and placed in those places where pests have been noticed.

If you prepare your own bait for catching ants, you can quickly and effectively remove such insects from your apartment.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=h8S1BYFts9I

The principle of operation of the gel and Raptor traps

The main effect of the gel and baits in the traps of the Raptor Express System is achieved precisely when they are eaten by insects. In this case, the active substances enter the digestive tract of the cockroach (or ant) and are quickly absorbed into the hemolymph. From the moment of ingestion of the product until the death of the insect, it takes from several tens of minutes to several hours - depending on how much insecticide the pest ate and what specific product it came into contact with - the gel, or the bait in the trap (they contain different insecticides).

To a lesser extent, the poisoning effect occurs when the insect simply runs over the gel or bait in the trap. In this case, particles of the product adhere to the paws and abdomen, and its active substances gradually pass through the chitinous covers and also penetrate into the hemolymph (the so-called contact poisoning effect is realized). However, in such a situation, the death of an adult cockroach usually requires several “runs” through the product and more time, since the diffusion of insecticides through the chitinous cuticle occurs slowly and to a lesser extent than through the intestinal wall.

Both the gel and Raptor traps use special attractants that effectively attract cockroaches and stimulate them to eat the product. Even a very small portion of the product eaten is enough to poison the pest. Therefore, by the way, when using the system in an apartment, it is advisable to create conditions that provoke cockroaches to eat the gel and bait in traps (for example, put food and food waste out of reach).

On a note
In fact, the kit can effectively work against a wide variety of insects, at various stages of their development, freely moving around the room and feeding on organic debris. In addition to cockroaches, these can also be, for example, house (pharaoh) and garden ants, silverfish, larvae of carpet beetles, and grinder beetles.

Increased system efficiency is also ensured by the following factors:

Traps are perceived by insects as convenient shelters. Cockroaches willingly hide in them, even when well-fed - there are small openings for entrances, a complicated structure of tunnels inside the structure, due to which such a “house” seems quite safe for the insect;
As noted above, the baits placed in the traps and the gel contain different active ingredients. This guarantees effectiveness even against those cockroaches that have developed resistance to any of the insecticides in the system - in any case, the pest will sooner or later come across a product whose active ingredient will poison it (the likelihood of simultaneous resistance to two insecticides of different chemical nature very small, and by three – practically excluded );
Traps can be placed where it is undesirable to apply gel, and vice versa - gel can be spread where it is problematic to place a trap due to its size. This allows you to place the products almost anywhere where not only cockroaches, but even much smaller ants can come into contact with them;
Baits and gel remain attractive to cockroaches for a long time.

It is equally important that the Raptor Express System works autonomously, and after installing traps and applying gel, it does not require virtually any additional effort to destroy cockroaches. Moreover, the largest number of insects eat gel and bait when people are sleeping or are not at home at all.

On a note
The price for a separate set of traps for Raptor cockroaches (for 4 pieces) is approximately 350 rubles, separately for the gel - about 200 rubles. Together, as an Express system, the set costs about 400 rubles. If there are a large number of cockroaches in the room, it is advisable to combine both means to achieve the greatest effect.

The set can also be used for preventive purposes - to reliably protect the premises from the proliferation of new cockroaches that periodically penetrate into the apartment from neighbors. Individuals penetrating into an apartment from outside will first of all find baits, eat them and be poisoned. As a result, massive infection of the apartment will not occur.

Review
“We suddenly had a problem with cockroaches. We had never seen them, but when the child was born, we bought scales for him, weighed him for two weeks, and one day I rearranged the scales and saw a whole brood under them. I’m terribly afraid of them, my husband crushed some of them, but many fled. After that, I actually developed a phobia; I’m afraid to sit on the couch and go into the kitchen. I turn on the light, and they run away! I went to the store to look for a remedy, a customer there recommended Raptor traps to me, she said that they helped her. I bought it and opened it at home. These are small ones with Velcro on the bottom; they can be glued to walls and furniture. I pasted two in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and one under the windowsill in the bedroom. That's how long we have them in the apartment, we don't see so many cockroaches. Before this, you could always find 2-3 pieces in the kitchen. But now I don’t see it; I haven’t seen it for several weeks. In general, traps work..."
See also our experiments on cockroaches:
We catch cockroaches and test various means on them - see the results...
An effect that is rare in terms of lethality: testing the Raid aerosol on cockroaches
We test the Mashenka chalk on cockroaches and see what comes out of it
Let's see if regular garden Karbofos is effective against cockroaches
Testing the effect of Raptor aerosol on cockroaches
We are testing experimentally how quickly “Raid against cockroaches and ants” works
We are testing the effect of Phenaxin powder on cockroaches - an experiment with an unexpected result...
Article: Where do cockroaches usually hide in an apartment and can they crawl from the sewer?
Inna, from messages on the forum

It is also useful to read: Electrical means for fighting cockroaches

And one more thing: Raptor aerosol poisons all cockroaches not very quickly, but effectively - see the results of our experiment...

Types of traps

The main problem in the fight against these insects is that they arrange their homes in the form of diffuse nests. This means that one colony can be located in several places. And only working individuals leave the nests, providing the entire colony with food. And by destroying them you will not achieve anything; your goal is the queen who lays eggs and restores the population. Based on this, “delayed” action devices are being developed, that is, not killing the individual immediately, but designed for the worker ant to take the poisoned bait and deliver everything to the nest. Based on all this, we can conclude that such traps as: glue, the method of which is designed for the insect to stick and die, electric, in which the insect dies from a discharge, and highly poisonous ones, which are designed for the quick death of the insect, are not suitable for us. We need devices with “delayed” action baits, they can be in the form of granules, powders, gel, etc.

Insecticides in the Express System and their effect on insects

The Raptor Express System uses 3 insecticides of different nature.

The bait in the trap contains fipronil and emamectin benzoate. Fipronil is an insecticide from the group of phenylpyrazoles, the action of which is based on blocking gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the nerve tissues of insects. When exposed to an insecticide, a poisoned cockroach quickly develops paralysis, which gradually intensifies and ultimately leads to the death of the insect.

The photo below shows an opened trap with bait inside:

Tests show that the death of 50% of insects occurs 8 hours after fipronil enters their digestive tract. The rest die over the next 5-6 hours.

On a note
Fipronil also has a contact poisoning effect, that is, it can infect an insect, even if it does not eat the bait, but simply comes into contact with it. Moreover, due to the insufficient prevalence of phenylpyrazoles in household products, resistance of cockroaches to it is extremely rare.

Emamectin benzoate is an insecticide from a completely different group (avermectin group). In the body of insects, it inactivates certain receptors and leads to complete relaxation of the intestinal muscles. As a result, food quickly clogs the pest’s intestines, it stops feeding and dies within the next 3-4 days.

The active ingredient of Raptor gel is lambda-cyhalothrin, a highly effective insecticide from the pyrethroid group. It is known for its high damaging ability against almost any invertebrates (and even some vertebrates), which is why it is used in aerosols mainly only by professional exterminators. As part of the gel, lambda-cyhalothrin is safe for people and pets, but quickly kills any insects that eat it (within a few hours).

On a note
The gel has a milky white color and a pleasant sweetish smell. The photo below shows what it looks like when squeezed out of the tube:

What is important is that all insecticides in the Express System components belong to different chemical classes. This guarantees protection against cross-resistance, when insects resistant to one product of a particular group are not poisoned by other insecticides of the same class. Even if the cockroaches in the apartment have resistance, for example, to lambda-cyhalothrin, fipronil and avermectin will kill them. And as noted above, simultaneous resistance to three insecticides of different classes is practically impossible - no such resistant populations are known today.

Both the bait inside the traps and the gel attract insects due to the food attractants they contain. Attracted by the smell, cockroaches and ants find the “delicacy” and eat it. In addition, all the ants that are looking for food in the apartment are foragers, whose task is to find food and deliver it to the nest. If they find a drop of gel or bait in the trap, they bite off pieces of it and take it back to the nest to feed the queen and the ants tending the brood. By feeding on these baits, the ants in the nest will also die.

This is interesting
There is an opinion that insects poisoned by gel or bait in a trap are able to “infect” their relatives by contacting them in shelters. It is worth noting here that this option for transferring the insecticide into the cockroach population will provide a very minor contribution to the overall effect of the product. Another thing is the ant population. Ants are characterized by trophallaxis - the exchange of food by regurgitation. Therefore, ants that have eaten an insecticide can actually cause serious damage to their nest by returning to it.

Where can you find the queen and nest of house ants in an apartment?

Any insects that settle in the apartment bring inconvenience and discomfort. It is not uncommon for ants to appear in a house and rush around in crowds in certain places in the room. In essence, they are completely harmless, but they can cause disgust and fear that insects will get into food, on a child, or under clothes. Therefore, the ants are eliminated and this is done by destroying the ant nest.

IMPORTANT: Ants live in one big family, a clan, where the main role belongs to the queen, the largest insect (up to 5 mm), which gives birth to new generations. “Ordinary ants” work for the queen all their lives, arranging the nest and bringing food. By removing the queen, you will get rid of all insects.

House ants are distinguished by the fact that they can have several queens in one nest. The queen lives up to 12-15 years, and therefore randomly “swatting” insects will not help you get rid of them if you still do not find a nest. But the ant colony will carefully hide its nest, so you will have to work hard.

Where the nest might be hiding:

Ant's nest in the house

Residual effect of gel and traps

An important advantage of the Raptor Express System is that its components retain the ability to destroy insects for a long time.

It is also useful to read: Powders for killing cockroaches: a review of effective means

And one more thing: Cockroaches in an apartment are not just disgusting, but also dangerous to health. And they are dangerous not only because of the infections they carry...

For example, the gel retains its consistency for 3-4 weeks, then begins to dry out, but even after complete drying, cockroaches with their gnawing jaws and ants can easily eat the dried gel and get poisoned.

The bait in traps dries even longer, it has less contact with moving air currents and is not covered with dust. In most cases, cockroaches eat it faster than it can dry out.

At the same time, the insecticides themselves in the gel and baits in traps do not lose their damaging ability over time. The main factors leading to their loss of activity - direct sunlight and water washout - are practically eliminated in the apartment.

Consequently, even if after a month or two some cockroach that “accidentally” ran into the apartment from the neighbors finds a dried drop of gel and feasts on it, it will die. This means that the Express System can be used not only to destroy existing insects in the room, but also to effectively protect the apartment from the penetration of new pests.

On a note
The maximum period for maintaining the effectiveness of the Express System components is not specified. However, based on general considerations, it can reach several years for both gel and bait in traps. But their attractiveness will decrease as they dry out (due to a decrease in the concentration of the exhaled attractant).

How to deal with ants in the house using passive methods

If it is not possible to use chemicals, they resort to other means of killing insects.

Barriers and traps

If children or animals live in the room, it is worth using barriers and traps that are safe for people and pets. When an ant falls into an electrical trap, it is electrocuted.

Ant trap

Poisoned bait is hidden inside a mechanical trap; insects transfer it to the nest, which is a more effective way to combat parasites. Some “houses” are equipped with an adhesive layer; individual ants stick to its surface.

How to drive ants out of your home with ultrasonic repellers

In cases where chemicals have not “won” or there is no way to use them inside the house, you can try using ultrasonic repellers that produce ultrasonic waves within a radius of 200 m. This puts the insects in a hopeless position, and they leave the anthill. They are the ones who will help remove black ants from the house.

The repeller is easy to use

There’s just one interesting nuance - when you stop using the device, the ants can come back again. And the ultrasonic waves emitted by the repeller have an effect on some weather-sensitive people and small children.

Dial Security

Gel and traps for cockroaches and ants do not pose a danger to people and pets, do not emit harmful substances into the air and can be used in any residential premises, including children's rooms and kitchens.

On a note
Interestingly, the manufacturer prudently included Bitrex in the gel, an extremely bitter synthetic substance (one of the most bitter in the world in general). Insects do not feel its bitter taste and calmly eat the gel, but people and pets will not be able to swallow such a delicacy due to its strong bitterness. So even if a cat or dog accidentally discovers drops of the gel, they will not be able to lick it off.

The gel does not damage the surfaces on which it is applied. Even after being on a painted or laminated surface for a long time, you can simply wipe it off with a damp cloth - and there will be no traces left in its place.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Easy to use
Efficiency of the method
Long lasting results
Safety for humans

Flaws:

Complete destruction of insects may take a long time, it all depends on the size of the colony.

The effect of the traps is confirmed by positive reviews. You can buy them or make them yourself. But you should not expect a quick result, if you know the location of the anthill, use liquid insecticides or aerosols, they will give you