Unfortunately, the proximity of humans and insects is not always useful and beneficial. For example, ants can cause quite a lot of harm both in the house itself and in the garden. Because of this, the owners of cottages, other private residential buildings, dachas, vegetable gardens and so on are regularly fighting with them. In garden stores, there are many different products that differ from each other in their chemical composition, mode of action, cost, and other parameters.
Unfortunately, not every person is able to easily navigate the presented assortment and give preference to the most suitable substance. With our article, we will try to fill such a gap: for this, we have collected in our review of the best ant remedies only the most popular formulations that will help to cope with these pests in the shortest possible time. Moreover, we decided to give some tips for choosing the right product, depending on the habitat and the number of such pests. Let's start with this.
Types of ants and their features
In total, there are several species of ants that can penetrate into a dwelling and settle there for a long time:
- Small redheads (pharaohs or domestic). Their size is very small - less than 3 mm, because of this, the population can be detected only when it has already grown enough, which complicates the fight against it. Insects have a characteristic red color, but they should not be confused with forest individuals of the same color. Domestic ants were brought to Russia from hot Asian countries, so they live only in warm rooms. Often, pests climb even 2-3 floors in search of food and shelter from the cold.
- Black or turf ants. They are distinguished by a black body color, a small size - about 5 mm. Such insects generally do not attack a person's dwelling, personal plots are a favorite place for their settlement.
- Carpenter ants (they are called red because of their color). They are very large compared to other species - up to 25 mm. Usually woodworms settle in old stumps and tree trunks, but the harsh cold makes them go in search of food, which can be wooden buildings, including private houses.
- Forest red ants. These individuals reach 7-14 mm in size. They crawl into houses not so often, because their habitat is woodland. However, insects can be found in personal plots, in greenhouses.
- Termites, or white ants, can settle in the homes of residents of the south, for example, the Black Sea coast, the Far East.
Bites of all types of ants are accompanied by the injection of ant venom, which, penetrating into the bloodstream, can cause serious allergies.
Why are house ants dangerous?
Pharaohs feed on human and animal food, love meat and dairy products, bread and sugar. The person is not bitten, but they can get into the nose or ear. Only red ants accidentally caught from the street inflict stinging bites. They do not live with a person.
The main dangers of domestic animals:
- carry harmful microorganisms, bacteria, worm eggs on the paws;
- promote the reproduction of fungus and pathogens in their nests, as they carry food particles there;
- breed dirt outside the nests;
- spoil the food left in the room.
Small domesticated ants can often be found teeming with food. An unpleasant sight, disgusting. The house becomes not a cozy place for a comfortable life and relaxation, but a battlefield with intruders.
It will not be possible to drive out an ant colony in one day. We'll have to fight for living space. Red and brown small ants are removed using special means and folk methods.
Reasons for appearing in the apartment
Insects often appear in apartment buildings. Especially often there you can find small red domestic ants looking for a warm place with abundant food.
Ants do not go out in large colonies for exploration; first, several individuals examine an apartment or house for food. If scout insects return with food, the population is moved to a new place of residence.
Do not be afraid to bring pests on clothes, because in order for ants to settle in an apartment, the uterus must also live indoors. On the street, you can accidentally pick up only working individuals, the queen-queen never leaves the nest without special need.
Reasons and ways by which ants enter the apartment:
- We left our neighbors. If pest control has recently been carried out in a neighboring apartment, then the ants that managed to avoid bullying are likely to run over to you.
- Through a garbage chute or from a landfill. Mountains of waste - a source of food, good protection from bad weather, enemies. Ants can get into an apartment through a garbage chute, from a landfill, if the home is nearby.
- From the basements. Often, these insects settle in the lower floors of apartment buildings, because there are almost all conditions for life, except food. It is for her that ants go to apartments and often stay to live.
- From catering establishments. If sanitary and hygienic rules are not followed, catering becomes an excellent habitat for insects.
- An additional condition for the appearance of ants is disorder, irregular cleaning.
Small insects can penetrate into a living space through almost any gap: in floors, ceilings, windows, through ventilation, pipes.
How to get rid of ants quickly?
Getting rid of domestic ants is a complex process that includes a number of steps. To remove them completely from an apartment building, it is worth starting the fight collectively, all the neighbors at once, otherwise the pests will most likely simply settle in the apartment nearby, and all efforts will be wasted.
When a population is found, it is necessary to immediately begin to act, because individuals reproduce very quickly, with an increase in the colony, it will be difficult to take them out of the house or apartment. It is better to carry out the destruction of pests in several stages.
Find the nest
If you find several individuals, you should not immediately crush them, it is better to follow the movement and establish where the nest is. After its detection, it will be much easier to fight the population, because it is more effective to influence the pest colony than to individual individuals.
The most "popular" places for ant nests in an apartment are:
- Space between wall and wallpaper, between floor and floor covering.
- Gaps between floorboards.
- Underfloors, attics, mezzanines and other dark hard-to-reach places with good heating, high humidity.
- Space under the refrigerator, bath, vents, pipes, electrical wiring channels.
- Sometimes ants can even settle between floors. In this case, it will be extremely difficult to withdraw them.
Attention! If pests have been living indoors for a long time, there may be several nests, and they can be located in different parts of the house or apartment.
Destroy the uterus
Ants have a fairly developed community, which has a clear hierarchy. At the head of the colony is the uterus - the largest female in the population, which gives birth to new individuals. She does not participate in the construction of a dwelling, does not protect it, does not seek food. All the rest - workers or foragers - protect it and feed it, which ensures reproduction.
Finding the uterus is not difficult, because it has several characteristics that significantly distinguish it from other individuals:
- Larger size. As a rule, the queen of the nest is 2-4 times larger than the worker ants.
- Rounded, thick belly, usually black with a thin white stripe, intended for laying eggs.
- Massiveness, low mobility.
- Developed thoracic region. While in foragers it does not exceed the size of the head, in the queen it is several times larger. The body is so arranged because females have wings from birth, which they gnaw off after the appearance of their own colony.
- The life span of the uterus is 10-15 years, during all this time it lays eggs. In total, there are about half a million of them.
- There can be several females in one colony, which ensures a rapid increase in the population size. There are about 200 individuals laying eggs.
Special remedies for ants
It is most effective to poison ants using professional tools. They contain poisons that kill most of the insects within a few weeks.
There are precautions to be taken when working with chemicals:
- Do not neglect protection: rubber gloves, thick masks, and in some cases - respirators.
- During the processing of the room, you must not eat, drink, smoke, touch your face or skin with your gloved hands.
- After the procedure, it is necessary to ventilate the room for 2-3 hours.
- At the first symptoms of poisoning (dizziness, nausea, allergic reactions), you should go out into the fresh air, take off the clothes in which the disinfestation was carried out, wash your hands, face with soap, and rinse your mouth.
- In severe cases, you need to immediately call an ambulance.
Attention! Special products are quite toxic, so they are not suitable for use in homes where there are small children and people suffering from allergies, asthma.
Sprays
Ant spray is an effective remedy, especially if you need to get rid of a small population. They are not as toxic as gels, they act quickly and for sure. The main disadvantage of dichlorvos is that it is very difficult to bring out a large colony of ants with its help, since it requires a direct hit of the poison on the individual.
Before processing the main habitats, it is necessary to remove all residents, pets from the room, wear thick rubber gloves and a mask. The product should be sprayed at arm's length so that as few particles as possible get into the respiratory system.
The best aerosols to help remove pests are:
- Raptor Combat;
- Varan;
- Dr. Klaus;
- Argus;
- Raid.
Before use, you should carefully read the instructions, because if used incorrectly, sprays can seriously harm the residents of the apartment.
Gels
Gels are considered the most effective remedy against ants in an apartment, since they are able to remove not only foragers, but also the queen-queen. They act as follows: the insect runs along the path of the gel, part of which remains on its paws, it eats some of it. Worker ants carry the drug into the nest, causing the other individuals and the queen to die. Thus, the population can be removed in 1-1.5 months, and there will be no re-invasion, as is the case with aerosols.
The most effective gels are:
- Raptor;
- Global;
- Argus;
- Adamast;
- Combat;
- Storm;
- Clean house.
The selected gel should be applied with dotted lines around the perimeter of the room, it is especially necessary to process crevices, paths of ants, nests. Periodically, it is worth inspecting the gel tracks, re-applying the poison to the areas where they have worn off. Two weeks after the procedure, it is necessary to carry out a wet cleaning, then process the apartment again.
The gels are very toxic, so they should not be used in apartments with small children. It is worth limiting the stay of pets in treated rooms - they may accidentally eat the drug, which will lead to poisoning.
Dust
Dust is a powder or crayon product. Its main advantage is its low price, which does not make the insecticide less effective. Moreover, the dusts are not so poisonous. In Russia, you can find crayons and powders of both domestic and foreign origin, all of which are tested for quality and safety.
Several dust-based products that help get ants out of the apartment:
- Masha;
- Tornado;
- Pyrethrum;
- Clean house.
Despite the fact that the dust is quite safe for humans, small children, animals can accidentally eat it and get poisoned. Therefore, it is worth placing powders and crayons in hard-to-reach places.
Scarers
With the advent of modern technology, insect control has become easier. Recently, scarers are gaining popularity, which are absolutely safe for humans. But pets will suffer, as they, like insects, are sensitive to such devices.
Scare devices act on the nervous system using ultrasonic, magnetic or ionic vibrations, which helps to remove the entire population of ants rather quickly.
Among the scarers are such brands as:
- EcoSniper;
- EMR;
- WeiTech;
- Hawk.
Unfortunately, the efficiency of such devices is not so high, but their waves can penetrate into places inaccessible to other methods.
Place the repeller in a room where pests have been seen. It is better to buy several devices at once in each room, since the radius of action of one repeller cannot cover the entire area of an apartment or house.
Traps
Traps work the same way as gels. In their center is food, which lures the ants with its smell. Trying to get to the "goodies", they get into the poison and become its carrier. Then the ants infest the nest, and in 4-6 weeks the population can be completely removed.
It is better to place such traps near trash bins, near habitats. For a small room, 1-2 traps are enough, but it is advisable to place several of these throughout the apartment.
Insecticidal aerosols
If you're looking for the best ant repellent, try a spray. Its effectiveness and instantaneous action are explained by the fact that an ant caught in a spray cloud simply will not be able to avoid poisoning. Poisons will penetrate into his body along with the air and lead to quick death.
For all their effectiveness, aerosol insecticides do not pose a danger to human health. Most of them are completely safe. However, when using an aerosol, standard safety precautions should be taken - wearing a respirator and rubber gloves. You will find many different products in stores. Here are just a few of them.
Crawling Insect Raptor
Spray "Raptor" can be safely called the most famous. Its main active ingredients are deltamethrin, cypermethrin and piperonyl butoxide. The aerosol has a pleasant mint aroma and does not leave behind the creepy smell characteristic of many insecticides.
Feedback
Tatiana: “I have been looking for a good remedy for red ants for a long time. I stopped at the Raptor spray - they were very much praised. It turned out not in vain! One can was more than enough for the whole house. It is very convenient to use, the result is quick, does not smell, leaves no traces either. "
Get spray concentrate
"Get" is a powerful microencapsulated insecticide against ants in the apartment. The principle of its action is somewhat different from the standards familiar to everyone - microcapsules dissolve in a liquid, then all the necessary surfaces are wiped with this active liquid. An insect that has run over such a surface will collect particles of poison on its legs. Penetrating through the integuments of the body, they will cause inevitable death. 100 sq. m. of the infected area, one capsule of the concentrate leaves.
Concentrated preparation "Get" will quickly and effectively relieve you not only of ants, but also of all other harmful insects
Important! To obtain the maximum effect, surfaces treated with Get gel must not be washed for several days.
Feedback
Miroslava: “I used Get aerosol - the most powerful tool. Sprayed the entire floor - after half an hour it was strewn with dead insects. I am very pleased, especially since they have not appeared since that day. "
Combat
Another very good product of the famous Korean is produced in two versions - with a mint and lemon aroma, thanks to which its use becomes even more comfortable.
Feedback
Yuri: “In the store, we spent a long time deciding which ant spray was trustworthy. We stopped at Kombat, although they had not heard anything about him before. The kitchen was processed twice, taking a week's break. In principle, one time was quite enough, but for prevention, they decided to carry out a second treatment. Believe it or not, the ants ran away to their neighbors. We also advised them this spray. "
Clean house
Has instant action - insects die right before our eyes! Aerosol "Clean House" is used not only against ants, but also against cockroaches, wasps and moths. For processing a room of 25-30 sq. m. you will need a small spray can (600 ml).
Feedback:
Nina: “I didn’t believe that this aerosol had an instant effect, but it turned out to be so. The ants scattered in all directions, but most simply died. If anyone needs a quick and reliable remedy, then this is only a Clean House. "
Folk remedies
Traditional methods have long been used to combat ants. Their advantage is that they do not cause allergies, are not poisonous, and therefore do not harm the residents of the house. However, in terms of effectiveness, they are somewhat inferior to professional drugs.
Boric acid
The most effective folk remedy that helps to remove domestic ants is boric acid. For insects, it is a deadly poison, and it is also somewhat toxic to humans. Therefore, it is best to keep children and pets away from the product.
There are several ways to prepare boric acid poison to get all the ants out:
1 way
- Mix acid with sugar in a 1: 3 ratio.
- Dilute the mixture with 2 tbsp. l. very hot water.
- After cooling, the product must be applied to a cardboard box or an old unnecessary plate.
Sugar will bait pests, and boric acid will act as a poison. Traps work the same way.
2 way
- It is necessary to mix water, honey, sugar (1: 1: 1).
- To stir thoroughly.
- Next, you need to add 2 tsp. glycerin, half tsp. boric acid.
- Stir the mixture well again until smooth.
- Roll up small balls, wearing protective gloves.
- Spread the resulting poison in places where ants are often.
In both cases, instead of honey and sugar, you can take jam; pieces of minced meat and bread attract insects well.
Soda
Soda can be found in almost any kitchen and is used not only for baking and cleaning, but also as a remedy for ants. The substance helps well to remove them from the apartment, since the stomachs of insects contain acid, which reacts with soda, and the individual dies.
Mode of application:
- Mix soda, water, sugar in a 1: 1: 1 ratio.
- Apply the resulting mixture to the nest and those areas where ants are most often seen.
- Treat surfaces every 2-3 days to increase efficiency.
Ammonia
This folk method, like boric acid, is somewhat toxic, so when processing it is worth wearing protective rubber gloves and a thick mask.
The ammonia irritates the ants' sensitive sense of smell, so they hurriedly leave the room.
To remove insects, it is necessary to dilute 100 ml of ammonia in 1 liter of water, treat surfaces throughout the house with this solution. The procedure should be repeated every 3-4 days for 2 weeks.
A person ceases to feel ammonia in 1-2 hours after processing the room, but the smell will not give rest to ants for a long time.
Salt + pepper
Salt and pepper can be used separately, but a mixture of them is most effective.
To remove ants, both ingredients must be taken in equal quantities, mixed, sprinkled on ant paths, in the nest.
Seasonings irritate the sense of smell of pests, corrode the chitinous layer.
Soap
This is the easiest way to remove a population of ants, remove traces of their presence, as well as pheromones that attract other individuals.
Both liquid and solid soap will work. In the latter case, you need to make a concentrated soap solution of ½ a bar in water.
It is necessary to rub all surfaces in the house with the chosen tool, especially crevices, corners, baseboards.
Yeast
Yeast is another effective remedy for house ants. They must be diluted in a glass of water so that a sticky thick mass is obtained. Then spread it out in those places where pests are most often: along ant paths, in a nest.
Yeast swells in the stomach, disrupts digestion, and leads to death.
Vinegar
Vinegar works on the same principle as ammonia: it irritates ants' sense of smell. In addition, the acid eats away at the chitin that covers their bodies.
The tool must be applied to a cloth, wipe all surfaces in the apartment with it. Undiluted vinegar can be poured over the nest, this will help to remove the insect colony more effectively.
Where to start fighting insects?
Control measures must be started immediately after the appearance of several copies in the apartment. These can be the so-called scout ants. They explore a new territory, if the conditions for their life are favorable, soon the whole colony will appear in the apartment.
- It is necessary to conduct a detailed inspection of the whole house. Look into all hard-to-reach places, cracks in the walls, under the baseboards, in the spaces behind furniture, pantry, etc. Carry out a general cleaning. The main goal of these activities is to find the nest where the uterus lives and destroy it.
- If it was not possible to find it, it is necessary to try to poison the workers who are walking around the apartment. The fact is that females are not able to get their own food. Working insects feed them. Placing pickled food for them, you can destroy the female and her offspring.
- All food, especially sweets, baked goods, must be placed in tightly closed containers.
For poisoning ants, you can use chemicals in which the concentration of the substance is not more than 2%, or boric acid. Otherwise, the workers will die before they reach the womb. This will not give results, as the female will regularly produce offspring.
All drugs for fighting chambers, cockroaches, etc. are powerless in relation to ants. To exterminate them, you need to purchase special-purpose insecticides.
If possible, pest control should be done with neighbors.
