Ants are one of the most common insects on our planet. And sometimes they can sneak into your living or working spaces. What to do when ants have infested your entire apartment or office, and products and traps from the store do not help? Is there an effective trap that you can make yourself? Let's look at this issue.
How to make it yourself?
If it is not possible to spend money on fighting ants, it is quite possible to build your own version of the design.
It can be done in different ways. Common trap options: Borax and boric acid
Boric acid/borax. These are substances similar in structure and properties, which are offered in powder form. Prepare a mixture of products. This could be a boiled egg or potato. Add 10 g of powder to a small amount of product (1 yolk or potato). If necessary, the dosage of components is increased. The egg may be raw. Having received a homogeneous mass, the product is left in plastic lids or matchboxes along the route of the ants.
Boric acid and sugar syrup
Boric acid is poured into a flattened container (saucer). A little sweet product is dripped in the center: sugar syrup, honey, jam. By the time the pest gets to the bait, it will be completely stained with poison.
Sweet bait
Prepare a liquid based on a sweet product: honey, sugar syrup, jam. The made syrup is poured into a shallow container. Ants, trying to taste the sweetness, will drown in the trap.
Using tape
If you are wondering how to make a trap, you should consider adhesive devices. The cardboard is covered with double-sided tape. Such sites should be located in several places where insects are often found. The cardboard is constantly being changed. To attract ants, a little sweet product is left in the center. It will not be possible to destroy the queen in this way, so an insecticide is additionally used in different forms.
Thus, against crawling insects (ants) they use purchased devices and homemade ant traps.
The principle of operation is based on the dissemination of an odor attractive to ants. As a result, insects crawl inside and carry the poisoned bait to the nest, where it reaches the queen. When making traps yourself, insecticide is also added.
DIY making
Any unnecessary small box will serve as a frame. It could be a matchbox lid. Bait is placed on it, which can be prepared at home.
After you find a lid, you need to pour boric acid powder on it so that it covers every centimeter. Drop bait - sugar syrup or honey - into the very center. Before eating the bait, the ant will have to travel a long distance, and along the way it will definitely get dirty with poison.
You can make bait from an ordinary jar. In any apartment there will always be unnecessary food containers. After you find a suitable jar, you need to apply a little sunflower oil to the inner wall around the entire circumference. The outside needs to be wrapped in paper and a stick ladder placed. Place bait with a persistent odor in the very center. Having reached the jar, the insects will fall into it, but they will no longer be able to get out.
And also to kill insects at home, you can cover the baseboards with double-sided tape or secure adhesive tape in the most likely habitats of ants. This will not help destroy the ant colony, but will reduce their number.
Where do ants come from in an apartment?
Insects move into private houses and apartments from garbage dumps, stairwells, basements, and garbage chutes. Nimble pests are looking for warmth and food. In a person’s home there is both. The number of red and black ants in an apartment increases with the onset of cold weather: colonizers are actively looking for a place to winter, moving closer to food, warmth, and optimal conditions for reproduction.
Insects are attracted to rooms with high humidity: it is no coincidence that ants in apartments often make nests under the bathroom and in the kitchen. The female and egg-laying eggs are often located under the floor covering, and workers bring food to the nest through a hole or crack in the baseboards. The ant trail is clearly visible; it is easy to understand where the pests are carrying food.
Factors that provoke the appearance of ants in the house:
- crumbs on the floor and table, drops of syrup on jars, the habit of leaving jam in containers without a lid;
- food waste accumulated in the trash can;
- access to water, excess humidity in the premises;
- cracks in baseboards, floors, cracked window frames;
- grilles on air vents with large cells.
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.
Restricting access to trees and beds
If you don’t have a goal to get rid of ants, but just need to protect trees and beds from them, create barriers:
- Water ditch made of car tires. Cut the rubber in half, put it on a small tree or bush, and fill it with water. You can dig a small ditch and place the tire there. If you have a large tree, cut the splint vertically, place it on the plant, fill the cut with sealant, and then fill it with water.
- Another folk method, similar to the previous one, is clay ditches. They are made in the ground, covered with clay, and then filled with water.
- Create a "skirt" or fence with sharp edges. Use aluminum foil or a plastic bottle for this.
- Tree trunks can be wrapped with adhesive tape (double-sided tape) and secured with a rope. The ants become stuck and cannot move further around the plant.
- A similar method is winding with roofing felt. The top of the material is coated with glue. Insects stick and cannot move further.
- Sheepskin will help save currant and raspberry bushes. The inside should be lubricated with carbolic acid, and then the plants should be wrapped with the wool facing outwards.
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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”.
How to use traps correctly
To achieve maximum effect from any type of trap, you should follow a few simple rules:
- Correct choice of trap location. One correctly installed trap will be much more effective than several chaotically placed ones. As a rule, these are ant trails, corners, joints between the floor and the wall, balconies, storage rooms, ventilation, space under cabinets and refrigerators.
- Traps should be checked periodically and updated or emptied. This will significantly increase their effectiveness.
- Regular wet cleaning will speed up getting rid of insects, as they do not like clean rooms.
- Do not leave leftover food in the open.
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
Poisonous baits
Why are they better
If your goal is to destroy a nest of ants, and not individual individuals in the apartment, which you will have to fight constantly, then at home you can do this with the help of ant traps. Once inside, attracted by the appetizing smell, the insects become soiled in the toxic substance. But they do not die immediately, but after some time, poisoning the entire nest.
When fighting insects in an apartment on your own, at home, it is better to use these products, even if they are a little more expensive than those described above. With the help of these ant traps you will destroy the queen, and without her the anthill will die. To destroy a nest, you do not need to know where it is located.
Buy a trap
If you trust manufacturers and, instead of making an ant trap with your own hands, prefer to buy it in a store, you will be pleased with your choice, because there are many varieties of them. Even though we call them poisonous, they are not that dangerous. For a person to show signs of poisoning, he must eat 1 tsp. this product, but there is no such amount of toxic substance in the trap packaging.
- "Combat". Popular ant trap. Its active ingredient is Hydromethylnon, which leads to infection of the entire colony. It does not work immediately, but when the worker ants manage to transfer it to their brothers, and they feed the queen and other members of the colony. This will kill all the insects.
- "Clean house". It doesn't work as quickly, but it's odorless. A plastic container will prevent children or animals from reaching the poison.
- "Raptor". Helps against both ants and cockroaches. They guarantee the destruction of the entire population within 6 months. Pleasant to use, because They give off the aroma of apricot and vanilla.
- "Taracid." The active ingredient is boric acid and herbs (hemlock, larkspur), so the product is safe for people and animals. This poison kills both the ant itself and up to 50 insects in its nest.
"Combat" is one of the most effective drugs against ants
There are also traps from other companies, which you can choose at your nearest store and use at home.
If you don't want to spend money on an ant trap, make your own. You will need a matchbox or other closed container. Place poisonous bait in it and make a move for the ants. What bait should I use? Boric acid. Mix 2 tsp. spoons of minced meat with 1 tsp. this remedy. To prevent a cat or dog from eating it, hide the mixture in a box and place it where insects run. Or choose another recipe with boric acid.
Ants on an apple tree: harm or benefit?
Ants are the orderlies of the forest; they play an important role and bring many benefits. But their appearance in garden plots often becomes a big problem, regardless of the site they have chosen.
Ants on an apple tree can cause the death of young, immature trees, and their active activity can completely deprive the harvest.
Ants on an apple tree: benefits from red ants and harm from black ants:
If even the slightest presence of these insects is detected, you must act immediately. In this case, the age of the plant does not matter. The active activity of ants can destroy the crop, and the entire apple tree after some time.
Ants are the harbingers of aphids, which quickly colonize affected trees. The insects themselves do not harm the trunk of the apple tree and leaves, but they destroy young buds and apples. They suck the juices from the apple tree and fruits, and eat the remains of aphids. Therefore, their task is to attract a large number of aphids, stock up on their larvae for the winter, and drag them onto the plant again so that the aphids can reproduce.
As soon as a large-scale colonization of ants on a tree has been noticed, you can expect an invasion of aphids within a couple or three weeks, and this will already destroy the entire crop.
Features and types of pests
Several types of ants penetrate into a person’s home:
- Pharaonic (red and small). Pests settle in heated buildings, closer to humans. Humidity, freely available food, secluded places to build a nest - these factors attract insects. This type of ant does not survive in open spaces: the reason is tropical origin;
- turf. Body color is almost black. Insects choose nesting sites at the joints between paving slabs and cracks in asphalt. Pests often live in panel houses (also at the junction of slabs) and raid homes in search of food.
- ant thief. These small insects often steal food from larger relatives. The nests are located near the habitat of other insect species, most often pharaoh ants. Brown or red pests love the smell of rotting wood and live in cabinets, drawers and tables.
Types of insects
There are more than 8,000 species of black ants. Their population is constantly growing, forming new varieties, with some changes in color, behavioral characteristics, and preferred habitats.
Commonly encountered types include:
- black garden ants. They build anthills on the soil, feed on rotten wood, rotten fruit, and fallen leaves;
- Camponotus (carpenter ants) are characterized by a bright red or black-red color, up to 1.2 cm long. Protecting themselves from the enemy, they emit a specific smell. They feed on insects, carrion, and sweet rotten fruits;
- small black ants up to 3 mm in size that live in houses emit an odorous liquid when they are crushed. From food they prefer sweets, honeydew, weak dying insects;
- turf insects are black-brown or black in color. They feed on sweets, fatty foods, and insects. Active at night. They live under tree roots, paving slabs, in turf, and fight among themselves in colonies;
- fast or crazy populations are characterized by chaotic, erratic movements, often going off the route. They are yellow or black in color.
Ways to get rid of aphids
Often the invasion of hordes of ants is accompanied by the appearance of aphids, which often cause more harm to plants. You can fight them in the following ways:
- decoction of pine or spruce cones;
- infusion of dandelion roots;
- vinegar essence;
- garlic.
Pine or spruce needles
Pine or spruce decoction works well to repel aphids. To prepare it, you need to pour two kilograms of the component with eight liters of water. All ingredients must be mixed and placed away from direct sunlight for a week. The liquid must be stirred periodically.
After infusing the product, it is diluted with water in proportions of 1 part of the substance to 10 parts of water. The mixture can be sprayed daily on the soil and bushes. To completely get rid of insects, you need to spray the plants twice a day for three days. After some time, you can repeat preventive measures.
Dandelion root infusion
Dandelion roots can also be used to easily kill insects. To do this, you need to pour three hundred grams of plant roots along with 400 grams of leaves with ten liters of water at room temperature. After three hours, the tincture will be ready. It can be used to spray peonies against different types of ants.
Vinegar essence
Vinegar is another remedy that is effectively used to control ants. To do this, a liter of vinegar is mixed with two glasses of vegetable oil. The mixture is mixed well and poured into the holes that serve as entrances for the ants. Then the insects' home is covered with film for three days. During this time, all pests will die.
Garlic
Garlic can be used to control pests. You can take a garlic clove and cut it in half. Then rub the plant well along the trunk. A piece of cloth soaked in kerosene left near the plant will have similar properties. It will also repel insects. The only disadvantage of using the second option is that many people do not like the smell of kerosene.
Professional services for removing ants from your home
Gardeners and residents of private houses are wondering how to remove ants from the premises and from the site
If black ants appear in the house, this can become a very serious problem for all its inhabitants, and it is very important to eliminate the problem in a timely manner
If all available methods do not give a positive result, then you should seek help from professionals who have great capabilities to eliminate these harmful insects.
This method is very good because it allows you to get rid of insects very quickly, especially if you have the additional opportunity to leave the house or apartment for literally a few days, so as not to be exposed to toxic substances at all.
Specialists will completely treat every area in the house with special substances, which is guaranteed to bring the most positive result. Insects die almost instantly from very strong poison.
However, when carrying out such treatment in an apartment, there is a high probability that the insects will return again after a while if they live with neighbors. That is why, when using this method, it is best to fight insects through joint efforts.
Traps as a way to fight ants
One of the most popular methods of getting rid of ants is traps. This method has proven itself to be the safest and at the same time the most effective. They can be either purchased in a store or made independently. Also positive qualities include the long-lasting effect of traps, ease of use (do not require special knowledge and skills) and low cost of this means of combating ants.
Types of ant traps
The most popular are three types of traps that can be found on the open market:
Adhesive ones are the simplest and cheapest. The principle of operation is that ants come to the bait and stick forever. The main disadvantage of this type of trap is that it is not possible to get the ants and the queen from the anthill. Thus, getting rid of ants will be temporary.
The most common brands of this type are:
“Trap” is the most budget-friendly option for a trap; the mass is applied in places where insects accumulate. It is effective both in the fight against ants and other insects and even small rodents.
Argus is a more expensive option, suitable for insect and rodent control, and is a set of self-adhesive strips that need to be placed in areas where pests are active.
Poisonous - means of combating delayed expiration. The powerful insecticides included in the product affect the nervous system of ants, paralyze them, which leads to rapid death. The first results can usually be seen after 2-3 days, and after two weeks the ants disappear completely. Due to the fact that insects carry poison into the anthill on their bodies, the affected area increases significantly and the colony is destroyed entirely, along with the queen.
The most popular brands of poisonous houses:
- Raptor - this trap can be seen in commercials and is considered one of the most effective. You can often find such traps in combination with special gels and sprays. Safe for pets.
- Raid - thanks to advertising, it is no less popular than Raptor. Actively fights not only ants, but also other insects in the house. The trap is designed for the victim to eat the bait.
How to use traps correctly
To achieve maximum effect from any type of trap, you should follow a few simple rules:
- Correct choice of trap location. One correctly installed trap will be much more effective than several chaotically placed ones. As a rule, these are ant trails, corners, joints between the floor and the wall, balconies, storage rooms, ventilation, space under cabinets and refrigerators.
- Traps should be checked periodically and updated or emptied. This will significantly increase their effectiveness.
- Regular wet cleaning will speed up getting rid of insects, as they do not like clean rooms.
- Do not leave leftover food in the open.
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 can help kill 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.
Ant traps on trees
Traps for ants that have taken a fancy to fruit trees are so-called trapping belts. They can be made from various materials: fabric, sheepskin, tape, foil, cling film, paper. The selected material is wrapped or tied around the trunk, after which a substance is applied to it, which helps kill insects and at the same time prevents them from penetrating the tree crown. Place traps at a height of 20–50 cm from the ground surface.
The most popular types of fishing belts among gardeners are:
Duct tape. Usually you purchase a ready-made tape designed for catching flies. It can be replaced with ordinary stationery tape. Glue or a viscous gel, which is applied to it with an additional layer, will help to enhance the effect of the tape. A trap with glue designed to kill mice. It does not lose viscosity for a long time. You can build a trap from cling film. It is wrapped around the trunk, tied in the center with a cloth smeared with “mouse” glue.
Sweet traps. The same cling film or tape can be covered with honey
It will attract the attention of the ants. But their paws will get stuck in it
Honey can be replaced with old jam mixed with brown or boric acid. Then the trap will be poisonous. Even if it doesn’t stop one of the ants, he will die from the poison.
Gate trap. This trap is somewhat more difficult to make with your own hands than the previous ones. To make it, you will need a strip of rubber that can be wrapped around the barrel, fastening the ends and turning the bottom of the rubber up. To prevent the rubber from unfolding, it is secured from below with tape. The resulting rubber trough is filled with vegetable oil. The ants, trying to overcome the obstacle, drown in the gutter.
Tire trap. A groove is made around the tree, a car tire cut in half is placed in it and filled with water.
Ant traps on trees allow you to protect plants from ants and aphids, which they tirelessly care for; their use helps reduce the insect population, but does not allow you to get rid of them completely, since trapping belts do not harm the queen ant.
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.
Poisonous baits
I have been pierced by the BYDEN OCOLEN AKTO for TOX, kto, I have been hung out, however, I have been hungry for the KVAPEPENT COMPENITY CPEDTSTS, ONE ON THE ON kuvet.
These types of toxic baits are the most effective, since the composition of the bait simultaneously includes special ingredients that attract insects and toxic substances will deal with them quickly. Among the popular options are the following:
- Lethal force;
- Paptop;
- Combat.
Toxic traps are the most effective types of traps for controlling insects. Efficiency is achieved due to the fact that insects that fall into the trap do not immediately die, but manage to transfer part of the bait to the nest, where the rest of the insects are poisoned. onii.
Who is scared of ant repellers?
When choosing an effective means of fighting ants, we pay attention not to what can be used to kill, but to what can be used to drive them away. Ant repellers from this series
And yet, according to reviews, the ant repeller does not pose any danger to insects. Its effect is temporary and extends to a limited area, beyond which the ants can do whatever they want.
In addition, the ultrasonic ant repeller creates uncomfortable conditions for pets, which begin to get nervous and cause a lot of trouble for their owners. The nest of ants and their queen remain out of reach for the device.
Content
Every gardener and gardener has in his or her arsenal proven “folk remedies” for fighting ants and other insect pests. This unique knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, remaining relevant to this day.
READ MORE: “How to get rid of ants on your property - THREE main methods” |
The most popular ant traps
The market offers all sorts of types, but we will highlight the most popular:
Combat Superattak - a Korean manufacturer assures that its device will help destroy insects in 4 - 6 weeks. Active substance Hydromethylnonone. Sold in packs of 1 piece and 4 pieces.
Raptor traps are for cockroaches and are quite effective against ants; gels and sprays are also sold.
Raid - effective against cockroaches, not used against ants. The action of the bait is based on eating it, and the impact specifically on the individual that has eaten the bait.
Dohlox is the active substance Fipronil, the concentration of which is 0.045%. Pack of 6 pcs.
GLOBOL - active ingredient D-phenothrin with a concentration of 0.1%. Copes with the task quite well.
A little boy lost in the forest was raised by ants. The boy grew up and was no different from other people. Only his butt was sour, but no one knew about it.
Features of application
Sweet syrup or honey is an excellent bait for ants.
All ant traps are divided into several types:
- Adhesive: the cheapest, the price often does not exceed 50 rubles. It is a box with sticky walls and floor. An ant that comes inside sticks and remains inside forever. Such a trap is good for preventing the appearance of parasites (an incoming scout ant will die and will not be able to lead the colony), but it does not cope well with insects that have already settled, since the queen remains safe;
- Poisonous: more effective. Hidden inside is a poison with an attractive smell that can be eaten, or a powder that settles on the pest’s paws. In the first case, the ant takes “food” to the anthill and shows the way to the others, in the second, it brings particles of powder on its paws and upon contact infects the others. Depending on the type of poison, the ants' nervous system is gradually disrupted, breathing problems begin, or paralysis occurs. The colony dies within 1–2 weeks;
- Electronic: an ant crawling inside is exposed to a strong current discharge, which kills it. The price of such a trap is the highest (more than a thousand rubles), and its effectiveness is questionable: only simple insects die, the queen is still safe.
Chemicals
It is possible to kill insects with chemicals in one application. Five popular forms are sold:
- sprays;
- gels;
- pencils;
- capsules;
- powders.
Ant control products
The powders are inexpensive, do not smell, and do not harm people or animals. They are scattered over all surfaces on which insects move: floors, walls, furniture, ventilation, sinks.
Spray cans are sprayed over the anthill. To use the spray, you must:
- read the instructions;
- purchase gloves and a respirator;
- clear the room of people and pets;
- carry away food and bedding;
- spray the poison at arm's length from the nest, cracks, baseboards.
Gels and pencils work like this: the insect walks along a “path” containing poison for ants and brings it to the colony on its paws. This method allows you to kill all the ants in a month. The “path” is drawn with a dotted line next to the intended habitat. After washing the floor, it is renewed. There will be no smell or harm to the inhabitants of the apartment.
Insecticidal chalk "Mashenka" (Russia) allows you to get rid of not only ants, but also other harmful insects: moths, cockroaches, fleas and flies. An important detail - the components of the drug are periodically updated
Capsules, the most modern product on the market, work in a similar way. They are applied once, after which the pests will disappear for at least six months.
Of the listed drugs, sprays are the most dangerous and difficult to use. There are several reasons not to use them as a home remedy for ants. They are toxic, have a strong smell and, if handled improperly, will harm residents. It is safer and easier to turn to the remaining drugs.
Don't skimp when purchasing. Foreign brands of insecticides have proven themselves well: the German “Globol” and the Korean “Combat”. However, Russian manufacturers also produce decent products: “Clean House”, “Raptor”, “Muracid” will also cope with pests, but, most likely, not in one application.
Popular brands
You can find a wide variety of insect killers on the market, from practically useless to professional. They differ in composition, manufacturer, effectiveness and cost.
The most popular brands are:
- "Raptor" is a manufacturer that has proven itself in the fight against pests and offers a wide range of products for getting rid of ants. The traps use long-acting poison, so the ant has time to bring the bait to the queen. Often traps come complete with sprays and gels.
- “Clean House” - the poison has no odor, but has a longer effect than analogues (up to 2 months). The traps stick well even vertically; their body is made of plastic and is completely closed to people. The product is usually used to kill cockroaches, but it also works just as well against ants.
- Combat Superattack - a Korean company offers 4 traps in one package, they can be used both at home and on the street. The company promises to completely rid the premises of insects in 3 months, although customers note that a colony lasts a month. The advantages of Kombat traps include complete safety: thanks to the closed box, it is impossible to get the poison.
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Adviсe
To achieve effectiveness, you need to follow certain rules that will help you use bait effectively:
There should be no leftover food in the kitchen, only poison traps. Thorough and regular cleaning of the apartment. Before use, carefully read the safety precautions in the instructions. Follow them strictly in the future. Chemical poisons tend to accumulate in the human body, so an overdose of drugs should not be allowed.. It is necessary to remove ants not only because they spoil food and furniture
They can attract larger and not always harmless to humans predatory insects into the house - for example, scolopendra
It is necessary to remove ants not only because they spoil food and furniture. They can attract larger and not always harmless to humans predatory insects into the house - for example, scolopendra.
Prevention of ants
Ant colonies can consist of a huge number of individuals and therefore fighting these insects takes a lot of time and effort. It is much wiser to prevent pests from appearing on the site or in the house. To do this, just follow a few important rules:
- Maintain cleanliness inside the premises and regularly remove crumbs or other food debris from kitchen surfaces;
- do not leave construction waste, rotten wood or old stumps on the garden plot;
- regularly treat garden and indoor plants and prevent the spread of aphids;
- annually dig up the soil on the site.
Efficiency of use
The main secret of success is a good location. A trap for resourceful ants can cause mass death, or it can quietly lie unnoticed. Places need to be thought through. To do this, you just need to watch the insects. Where and where they crawl most often.
- Insects move in colonies and along designated and well-studied paths. A trap placed for ants in the immediate vicinity will not go unnoticed.
- Skirting boards and joints between walls and floors. In these places there are cracks and small holes that allow insects to hide.
- Hard-to-reach places behind kitchen furniture. They are rarely cleaned, garbage and dust accumulate there, there is no bright sunlight, and there is something to profit from.
- Storage rooms and loggias with insulation.
- Ventilation shafts, pipelines.
- Window sills.
Where to set traps in the house
The ants need to create the most convenient conditions for falling into the trap. Therefore, you need to place homemade houses and jars in certain places:
- near the exit from the holes to the apartment;
- the paths they walk on;
- under kitchen furniture;
- near cracks in floors on insulated loggias;
- wall plinths bordering the garbage chute;
- around the trash can;
- hoods;
- ventilation shafts.
When scouts find food, they mark the path to it with a certain smell. The ants walk only along it, lining up in a line. It is optimal to place the trap at the beginning of this living path, where the exit from the nest is.
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How the trap works
A trap is one of the methods for exterminating domestic ants, which is presented in the form of a specific container. They are made from mini boxes with small holes into which insects can easily fit. And inside this structure there is a bait with an added step-by-step insecticide.
The operating principle of these devices resembles granules in action - so called. domino principle. Worker ants enter the box through holes, take the bait with poison and bring it to the habitat of all the individuals. The poison is given to the larvae, which, while processing the food, pass it on to the uterus. The death of the queen leads to the death of the entire family.