Indoor or house ants very often become quite a big problem for homeowners. These insects are most often found in the home suddenly, and the reason for their appearance in the apartment becomes a mystery to many.
To understand why house ants are dangerous and why they appear, you should consider some of the biological features of these household pests. Only by knowing what red house ants eat and where do they come from in the house can you choose the best option for dealing with them.
In spring you may also see carnivorous anthills. Carpenter ants produce large number queens and males in late summer. They emerge from the nests the following spring for their mating flights. After mating, queens search for suitable sites to start new nests. As soon as they land, their wings break and each queen tries to build a new nest.
House ants - causes of appearance
When carpenter ants nest indoors, mating swarms can become trapped inside. Finding a large number of winged ants indoors is a sure sign of an internal nest and can give an approximate location of the colony.
General information
Ants belong to the category of social insects with a clearly organized social system and division labor responsibilities. House ants are no exception. They organize their life activities in accordance with a certain pattern.
The presence of one to several winged queens does not automatically mean that a nest is present in the room. Most likely, the queens were just sleeping and entered the house, looking for nesting sites. Sky queens found indoors are new farms that have recently shed their wings but are still looking for nesting sites. They are not a sign of an internal nest.
In almost all cases, carpenter ants seen indoors during winter in the upper Midwest indicate the presence of an indoor nest. The only exception occurs with ants driven indoors through firewood. Workers carrying firewood cannot start nests in houses and do not damage wooden structures in buildings.
Experts' opinion
You should not think that house ants will disappear from your living space on their own, or hope that all insects will be destroyed after a single application of an insecticide. To prevent domestic red ants from leaving your home and not returning there, you should use simple tips specialists:
Workers may activate in winter if the nest receives sufficient heat from sunlight, moderate outside temperatures or from internal heat. It is unclear whether only a few workers become dormant or the entire nest becomes active. When ants are active in winter, they will feed at night, looking for moisture. The homeowner usually enters the room early in the morning, turns on the light, and sees the ants running for cover. Common places to view them are cabinets, sinks, dishwashers, rolled towels, bathtubs, sink and toilet areas or other places where moisture is abundant.
- use long-acting means to combat crawling insects;
- apply drugs in areas where the movement of ants is most intense;
- regularly update the applied toxic substances that have toxic activity against household ants;
- If there are a large number of pests, use the most powerful chemicals that contain insecticides.
When choosing a remedy against house ants, you should not forget about the reviews of homeowners who have already encountered an infestation of pests and successfully dealt with the problem. Preparations in the form of gels received the greatest number of positive ratings "Clean House" And "Dohloks."
On a bright sunny day, ants can be seen randomly in different areas of the house. It is also possible that a carpenter's nest nest will exist in the home during the winter but not be seen. If a nest exists in an area that does not receive enough internal heat or sunlight, such as a north-facing exterior wall, the ants will remain dormant until spring.
An important method of preventing carpenter ant problems indoors is to eliminate the high humidity conditions that attract them. Also replace any moisture-damaged wood. Be careful to prevent moisture from getting into wood or lumber that is stored in the garage or near the house and, if possible, elevate that wood to allow air circulation.
How to get rid of house ants (video)
Many experts advise resorting to the use of strong chemicals only in exceptional cases. If the number of domestic ants is small, it is advisable to give preference to a non-toxic mixture of honey, boric acid and sweetened water, as well as garlic juice, which is used to coat all the paths of movement of these household insects.
Store firewood as far away from buildings as possible. Remove tree and shrub stumps and roots. Trim branches that overhang the house so that those branches do not touch the house, including the roof and eaves. Also trim branches that touch electrical lines or other wires that are connected to the house; carpenter ants can move from the branches into the lines and use them as a path into buildings.
Migration of insects due to cold weather or disinfestation
Figures Branches touching a building may allow carpenter ants to gain easy access to it. To eliminate carpenters that nest indoors, you need to find and destroy their nest. The nest can be located by carefully observing the worker ants, especially between sunset and midnight during the spring and summer months when carpenter ants are most active. To monitor the ants without hitting them, use a flashlight with a red film over the lens; ants cannot see red light.
Killing ants is a labor-intensive process. There is no magic remedy that can rid your apartment of these insects in one go. In order for the pest control process to produce results, the problem must be approached comprehensively. In addition to using an arsenal of ant repellents, you need to take preventative measures to protect your home from a second invasion.
You can also cover part of the flashlight with your hand so that the light is more indirect and not as bright. You can increase your chances of following workers into your nest by providing food that is attractive to carpenter ants. Place food in areas where you find workers.
Many foods are attractive to carpenter ants, including honey or other sweet foods. During the spring, carpenter ants are especially attracted to protein sources such as tuna packed in water. Set up small pieces of tuna to encourage the ants to return to their nest. It is easier to monitor ants when they are carrying food. With patience and persistence, you can follow the ants back to their nest. If you place fish pieces in many areas, food closer to the nest or trails will be found sooner.
Types and characteristics of domestic ants
Ants are social insects. They create large colonies that can contain millions of individuals. Each colony has a queen, which lays eggs, and worker ants, whose job is to provide food for the queen and larvae. Worker ants often have to travel long distances in search of food and water. When they find a food source, they mark a trail for other ants to follow.
Other signs indicating an active nest include small piles of coarse sawdust or wood shavings or consistent internal observations of large numbers of worker ants, i.e. 20 or more. In addition, a large number of winged ants indoors is evidence of an internal nest; Carpenter ants swarm from late winter until spring.
Figure Look at the rough sawdust for carpenter ants. This picture shows sawdust from a serious infestation, this is not a typical occurrence. Pay attention to areas where persistent moisture is or has been a problem; firewood stored in an attached garage, near a foundation, along an exterior wall, or in a basement; areas around plumbing or ventilation inlets; and trees with branches hanging over the house. These are possible entry points and sources for carpenter ant nests.
About 12 thousand species of ants have been studied on the planet. But Raids on apartments and houses are carried out by only a few types:
- in the apartment (Pharaohs) - the most common type of household pest. IN wildlife they prefer temperate climates. In our country they are found only in residential premises. These are small insects that are yellow in color, sometimes with a reddish-orange tint.
- House thief ants– settle in houses less often than redheads. Their colonies are not as numerous as those of pharaoh ants. IN apartment building prefer the first floors.
- Red (fire) ants– random guests in apartments. They are extremely rare in our country. The bites of these insects are very dangerous to humans. They can cause anaphylactic shock, even death.
Usually the inhabitants of the apartment are red ants. To form a new colony, the queen looks for a secluded corner and lays the first eggs there. The food for the larvae is the secretion of the salivary glands. The first worker ants take care of the queen and larvae. And the queen just continues to lay eggs.
Sound detection can be helpful when locating a nest. An active colony may make a dry, rustling sound that becomes louder if the colony is disturbed. This sound, which is considered a form of communication, is made with the mandibles and is not associated with tree training. When trying to detect carpenter ants, touch the suspicious area and then press your ear against the surface to hear the sound. Pest control professionals may use a stethoscope, similar to what a doctor would use, to locate the nest.
They can also use a moisture meter to find areas that are prone to flesh ants. If one nest is found, watch for additional nests. More than one nest may be present in a structure. The best method Controlling carpenter ants involves locating and destroying the nest, replacing damaged or decayed wood, and, if they exist, eliminating moisture problems. Removing a carpenter ant nest can be a challenging and challenging task. The resident can independently control carpenter ants.
As the colony grows, new females and males appear in it. Young females can lay eggs in the same nest as older ones or create new colonies.
The lifespan of working individuals ranges from several weeks to several months. The female can live for about a year. This is greatly influenced by diet and air temperature. Ants feel comfortable at a humidity of 50-80% and a temperature of +30 o C.
However, in most cases, control should be carried out by an experienced pest control professional. They have the experience, equipment and a wider range of products to manage the carpenter's problem more effectively. Householders can still play a critical role in control programs by providing detailed information to the pest control professional, such as when, where and how many mutae have been noticed.
Internal treatment with dust or aerosol insecticides
Nests are often hidden in walls, ceilings, floors, attics or hollow doors. Sometimes it is necessary to have a professional pest control applicator drill small holes and apply insecticidal dust to the nest area. It is best to determine the location of the nest as specifically as possible. Controls should not be applied randomly through the home. For insects, there are no insects that are labeled for this type of application.
Dusts are powders that are scattered in places where insects often appear. Their disadvantage is that they work much slower than liquid products and aerosols.
Effective dusts:
- Fencasin;
- Clean house;
- Pyrethrum.
Folk remedies and recipes
If the ant colonies are small, you can try to get rid of them without using chemicals. There are several available and effective folk ways from insects.
Ways to enter the house
If the nest is exposed, you can use a liquid or aerosol ready-to-use insecticide. These products contain active ingredients such as bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, or permethrin. Caution: Use all insecticides according to label directions. Spray the insecticide directly onto as much of the nest as possible. The more a colony is exposed, the better your chance of destroying it. It is necessary to anticipate the colony of carpenter ants and prepare the product at the beginning of construction.
Proven recipes:
- Take a hard-boiled yolk. Add honey or sugar to it. Add 20 g of boric acid to this mixture. Make small balls and place them around the apartment. You can dilute 1 teaspoon of boric acid in a glass of water and add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Coat ant paths with this mixture. Borax can be used instead.
- Prepare a viscous paste from yeast and water. Add some sugar. A means to treat insect routes.
- Sprinkle cornmeal along paths and in crevices. It takes a long time to digest in the stomach of insects and swells. This leads to damage to the ants' digestive system and further death.
Find out about the reasons for the appearance of potato on the site and about methods of combating the crop pest.
Once the nest is exposed, that part of the colony will try to move to defend itself. Sprays on surfaces where ants move or congregate, such as along baseboards or in holes or cracks in walls and floors, can reduce the frequency and number of ants you see. Additionally, only a relatively small percentage of the colony's population is not going to feed at any given time.
Be aware of the potential for more than one nest in a building, but only use nests that you know exist. Do not treat areas of the building unless additional nests are found. After treating a carpenter's nest, try to locate and eliminate the parent nest outdoors and continue to monitor for evidence of an active nest until next spring. If no evidence is found, then further insecticide applications are not necessary.
Various odors that ants cannot tolerate can be used as deterrents:
- garlic;
- cinnamon;
- turmeric;
- laurel;
- camphor;
- essential oils cloves, citruses, lavender;
- mint.
In a house with many apartments, fighting ants alone is very difficult and often ineffective. Therefore, it is advisable to connect all neighbors to the process.
Recommendations for minimizing the likelihood of insect infestation
If a nest cannot be established, decoys can be an effective alternative. Baits work by combining an attractive food source with a slow-acting toxic toxin. The delayed toxicant is critical because it allows the ants to feed typically for days or even weeks. During this time, the ants consume or carry the bait and return to the nest to share the bait with the rest of the colony. In a process known as trophallaxis, an ant feeds the contents of its stomach to another ant.
Calling a special team
This is the fastest and most effective measure for exterminating ants in an apartment. Services carry out a total cleanup of housing using special preparations. The work is carried out in several stages:
This sharing of food allows the bait to spread throughout the colony before the toxicant takes effect. There are several baits available to non-professionals to control paired ants. Most retail products are liquid or granular preparations containing abamectin, boric acid, fipronil or propoxur. Caution: Use all insecticides according to label directions. Lures vary greatly in effectiveness. Carpenter ants have complex food preferences and can choose their diet, so some sugar-based baits will not be attractive long enough for the ants to be successful.
- Thorough inspection of the area to detect nests.
- Treating the house with a suitable agent for each specific case (steam, low temperatures, poisons, biological agents).
- Control inspection of the territory.
Destruction is considered successful if ants have not reappeared within 3 months after the procedure. The disadvantage of this method is its high cost.
Prevention of insects
It is easier to prevent ants from appearing in your apartment than to fight an insect infestation. Following certain rules will help prevent problems:
- Do not leave leftover food on the table.
- Keep the floor clean and do not allow crumbs to lie on it.
- Do not overfill the trash can or store dishes in the sink.
- Wash the floor with ammonia from time to time. Can be added to floor cleaning water laundry soap, essential oils with a repellent odor.
- Hide and package food so that it is inaccessible to ants.
If ants appear in your apartment, you need to act quickly and effectively. It is advisable to join forces with other residents of the house in order to get rid of pests for a long time. If all the means that you used yourself did not bring the desired result, you need to contact a specialist.
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