Blog 4 Do-It-Yourself Home Improvements

The topic of getting rid of ants is a interesting one to cover.  The reason is that there is a large variety in the species of ants, each of them are different in their own way.  How to exterminate ants changes with the species you are dealing with.  It’s no longer a question of “how” but “what kind” – that is, what kind of ant are you being invaded by?

Due to the huge variety, it is extremely difficult to figure out what you’re dealing with.  The problem can be broken down by region.  Some ants are more prevalent in some places rather than other.  For example, carpenter ants seem to make themselves at home all across North America. The best way to approach this is to break down treatment methods by the type of ants you may encounter.  You will have to decide what type of ant you may have.  The most common species will be covered here and tell-tale signs that will tip you off.

Pavement Ants

This is probably the most prevalent household ant faced by people today.  This is the little dark colored ant that builds small sand hills in the side of house near the foundation or in driveways.  To get rid of ant hills in the garden is the most commonly cited problems people face with ants. The bait used should be sweet, like boric acid which is a natural substance.  Because these ants are so common, there are many treatment chemicals you can find at your local home and garden center.  Just make sure it says it treats pavement ants, and you’ll be fine. 

Sometimes you may find yourself up against winged ants.  These are usually male pavement ants that are preparing to mate.  You may see this crawling out of cracks in the walls of your home. To handle this, you will need to drill holes and apply an aerosol insecticide.  Unless you are extremely comfortable, this may be better left to the professionals.  If you allow this ant colony to continue to grow, it could result in serious damage to the frame of your home.

Pharaoh Ants

The pharaoh ant is another common house ant you may come up against.  This species of ant is a very small yellow brown ant.  It is a particularly difficult ant to get rid of because it is a very resilient species.  Like the pavement ant, you should use a sweet bait such as borax.  The same stuff used to eliminate pavement ants can be used on pharaoh ants.

Fire Ants

The fire ant, or red ant, is most prevalent in the Southern states.  These ants are particularly evil because they are very protective of their territory and will swarm anything that threatens their environment.  There is two phases to getting rid of fire ants invading. The first phase involves “broadcasting” a bait insecticide in and around the affected areas.  This will wipe out the majority of the ants, but not all of them.  The broadcast insecticide needs to be followed up by phase two: drenching.  This involves applying a non-toxic organic liquid insecticide, by drenching the ant hills.  Do not be stingy with the insecticides.

These are the most probable ants you will face during your quest to make your home and yard ant free.  There are hundreds of species you might encounter, but the treatment techniques will be similar.  The most important part of getting rid of ants, is determining what species of ant you’re dealing with.  Give the treatment technique a chance to work.  If it doesn’t work, try a different remedy – you may have misidentified the species of ant you’re dealing with.