Pest-control companies the nation over often struggle with helping their customers take care of Ants. In national surveys, Ants consistently rank number one as the most challenging pest to deal with in residential homes.
When Mike and I first started Barrier, this certainly was true for us as well! We tried many different products, ranging from sprays to baits, with most all of them ending in frustration.
But then, a breakthrough was achieved! It all started when we began to study and observe Ant nutrition.
Ants are omnivores. Their diets are (perhaps not coincidentally) as varied as human diets are. Ants need carbohydrates, protein, and fats to survive. Given a choice, Ants will tend to go after carbohydrates first, not unlike many of our human friends! Carbohydrates, particularly simple sugars, are an quick and easy energy source. Ants also tend to go after more liquid food items, as they are more easily digested.
Putting this nutritional information together with what we knew about Ant biology and social behavior, we came up with a plan! What’s more is that our baiting program worked!
We even made a YouTube video about it:
How to take care of Ants
We determined that honey was a readily available liquid carbohydrate source that most people had in their homes. We would ask individuals to place in areas that they’ve seen Ants, a drop or two of honey in order to induce foraging behavior in the colony. Once actively foraging, we would then substitute the honey with a bait material that the foraging Ants with then take back to the Queen and young so the entire colony could be destroyed.
We’ve had great success with this program, and it has continued till today. Over the years we’ve learned a few more interesting things:
Just like you or I, Ants are not always in the mood for honey or sugar or carbohydrates. Ants need protein or fats as well. We’ve observed that sometimes (though rarely) Ants will completely ignore honey or sugar, to go after food items that contain proteins and fats.
In circumstances where ants are not being attracted to actively forage for honey, we recommend placing peanut butter down as a substitute for honey. Peanut butter is an excellent source for fats and proteins. It works:
You can see in the photo that the Ants are completely ignoring the honey, and are loving the peanut butter. In this instance, we would mix the bait in the peanut butter so the foraging workers take the bait material back to the Queen.
We are the experts on Ants the Boise area. If you have any problems or questions or concerns about Ants, give us a call. We will put our experience to work for you!
