Different species of ants have different food preferences. Some like to eat sugary products and some prefer the grease or the protein products. You can trap ants if you can follow their food habits.
Different kinds of ant traps are available in the market and in this section, we will guide to buy the best ant trap for your ant problem.
Why you should choose this?
Borax being the major ingredient, the product comes with inbuilt bait stations. The sugar-based bait is attractive to ants and all you need to do is to place the bait stations in and around your house wherever you suspect or see trails of ants. Worker ants get attracted to the bait, carry some of it to the colony and ultimately kill the ants in it.
The only drawback of this product is since it is a sugar-based bait it may not attract ants who feed on proteins. For eliminating ants who feed on proteins you may have to opt for Advanced 375a Granular Ant Bait, a protein-based ant bait but does not come with inbuilt bait stations.
For this product, specifically for using them indoors you will have to buy separate bait stations. It is always advisable to try using both a sweet product (jellies) and a protein product (peanut butter) to see which type of ants you have in and around your household. Once you recognize that, go for the best product.
Ant traps are the best way to eliminate ant colonies. There are other ways to control, keep away or kill these insects too. In this article, we will guide you about the different ant traps, the outdoor traps and the indoor traps, homemade traps, how to use an ant trap properly and finally put in front of you our assessed best ant traps and our recommended best product. Our list includes:
An ant trap is not a traditional ant killing tool that has been applied for ages. Instead, they have been developed a few years back monitoring the behaviors ants. Ant traps contain baits that attract ants towards them as ants see them as a rich food source. But the ‘food’ here is mixed with poison which kills the ants.
The bait is either sweet or protein-based, depending on the type of ants you wish to target. Baits have slow poisoning effects. Worker ants eat a part of the poisonous bait and carry a part to the colony to feed the rest of the ant population.
The majority of ants die consuming the bait in the colony. The worker ants die while commuting to and fro. Bait traps kill more ants as they have a slow poisoning effect comparing to sprays and gels that kill on contact.
Yes. There are specific indoor ant traps and there are specific outdoor ant traps. Some traps work both indoors and outdoors.
Most of the traps are built-in with entry and exit points so that ants can enter and leave the traps easily. The traps consist of bait boxes, commonly made of plastic that can be placed both indoors and outdoors. Although some products are designed for external use only, particularly the water-resistant and tamper-resistant ones.
Several ant traps are available in the market in numerous shapes and sizes. The only common factor in them is the bait has to be placed inside the traps in plastic containers. Indoor traps are generally placed on the ground near the trails of ants while placing the outdoor traps, they are not generally placed on grounds.
Instead, they are hanged with proper tools from trees and bird feeders. For using traps in gardens they are stuck to poles or posts near the plants for upright support. There are specific outdoor traps like the granular baits which don’t need bait stations at all to be attached to them.
Just sprinkle the grains where you suspect the ant infestation is serious. For even distribution of granular baits, you can use broadcast spreaders which are normally used to spread seeds in the fields. A normal distribution of baits increases the volume of the effectiveness of the product.
Homemade ant traps are numerous and most of them have borax (sodium tetraborate) as the main ingredient. It has been used as a cleaning agent for ages. Homemade ant traps are not container-based traps like the commercial ones.
Borax (sodium borate) or salt of boric acid (hydrogen borate), being a powdered mineral and whitish in color can easily mix with sugar-contained products (honeydew, jellies, etc.)or protein-contained products (peanut butter) readily available at your home which attract ants easily.
So, if you want to make your own DIY ant traps, as suggested earlier first keep a sugar product and a protein product near the suspected ant-infested areas or trails, watch and realize to whom the ants get attracted to and then add borax to the product and wait for results.
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The choice of the ant trap depends on the kind of ants that are infiltrating your house. Thief ants, fire ants or carpenter ants will go for a protein-based trap as they prefer a protein diet. On the other hand, odorous house ants, big black ants will go for a sugar-based trap as they feed on sugary stuff.
But firstly, you should have knowledge of whether you have a sugar-ant problem or a protein-ant problem and secondly if you wish to place the bait outside your house, make sure that the trap is weather-resistant as airstream and rainwater may decline the influence of the trap.
All specifications will be written on the product which you buy (whether the trap is a sugar-trap or a protein-trap, whether it is an indoor-trap or an outdoor-trap).
Certain facts you should consider while using ant traps. In a nutshell, they are:
Description
TERRO is a leading name in the pesticide business and they have been manufacturing pest control products for ages. This pack contains 6 pre-installed bait stations. All you need to do is to open the pack, take out the stations and place them where you suspect ants populate in search of food.
Cut a piece of hardboard and place it on the station keeping one part of it touching the platform on which the bait is placed. By doing so ants ramp up to the stations easily. The design of the product is unique and is patented by the manufacturer. The company promises that the liquid bait does not dry up.
Borax being the major ingredients of the sugar-based mixture is a strong attractant to the worker ants. The product attracts various species of ants that prefer sugar diets. Some kind of ants prefer a protein diet, for them, this trap may not be that successful.
For them, the Advance 375a is a better product (listed below). It is always advisable to buy both the products at a time and apply on ants to see what kind of ants are infiltrating your house.
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Description
Our suggestion will be to use Advance 375a granular baits with refillable ant stations for indoor ants that prefer a protein-based diet. If you have an outdoor problem, you can ignore the bait stations and simply sprinkle the granular baits outside your house.
But for indoor use, it is advisable to use a bait station while laying the trap, because children and pets may mistake the granular baits as food and may ingest them. Bait stations build a barrier between pets and children and the traps.
As mentioned earlier, it is advisable to use Advance 375a granular baits along with TERRO liquid ant baits (the former is a protein-based bait and the latter is a sugar-based bait) simultaneously to trap the ants. Watch carefully on which product they are getting more attracted to and you will get to know the type of ants that have infiltrated your house.
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Description
Since 1924, Kness has been the leader in the pest control industry. These bait stations are meant to be used for outdoor ants. The green-colored bait stations are made from polypropylene and hence durable, water-resistant and tamper-proof. The product looks like a small cylindrical container placed on a pointed stick.
You just insert the stick-like structure in the ground. There is a cap on the container that you need to open and pour the liquid and the granular baits and close it again. The product mixes well with outdoor color vibes.
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Description
Since 1977 Enforcer has been manufacturing pest control products and in that year only they introduced their first product. The main ingredient being Abamectin, the bait attracts both sugar-based ants and grease-based ants (capable of killing various species of ants).
The containers are translucent and one can actually see how much bait is used and how much is left for further use. The containers have child-protection features and hence safe for indoor use. The product is also used outdoors. They are fast-acting baits and kill ants within 24 hours of application.
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Description
The quickest way to define this product could be – ‘a perfect feeding spot for ants with a lethal dose of poison’. The oblong-shaped container comes with a small pool on top with baits filled in it.
The ants travel towards it to feed and they also carry the bait to their colonies. Just place the bait wherever you feel where there is a high population of ants.
You just can’t predict what ants can do, where they can go and what are they really attracted to. We can come to conclusions by studying their behavior but that too can differ in different situations. To get rid of ants totally in and around your house you should experiment with different ant removal products.
Ant traps are the most recommended products for this procedure. But just applying any ant traps available in the market is not an easy solution. The trap that not only kills ants but eliminates a whole ant colony should be the perfect product.
We recommend TERRO Liquid Ant Baits as that perfect product. Although it is a liquid sweet bait and has its disadvantages but the overall effectiveness out rules the drawbacks. The main reasons behind that are:
Terro liquid ant baits are sugar-based liquid baits and will attract only the sugar ants. If you have doubts about whether your house is infiltrated by sugar ants or protein ants, it is always a better option to use Advance 375a Granules with bait stations simultaneously with them to get the best result.
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