How to get rid of household ants in the apartment

The presence of ants in the house or in the apartment gives every person trouble. Some owners do not pay attention to a single representative. But then it is worth starting the search for an effective way of dealing with insects. They multiply quickly, so you can not hesitate to get rid of them.

The reasons for the appearance of ants in the apartment

If you find a forest ant in an apartment, then there is no cause for concern. He himself will quickly leave the premises, as he will not be able to survive in it. But his redhead friend is the cause of your immediate actions. Do not let you into deception that he is just one. This is the so-called scout. He studies the territory and, if he finds food and water, then he brings the whole family here.

An excellent condition for living and breeding of ants in an apartment is free access to water and food. The remains of food on the tables, scattered crumbs and drops of water in the sink contribute to the active growth of the number of ant people. Favorite delicacy for these insects are sweets, meat and any protein food. They will also find a poorly washed sweet spot that can feed them for a long time. Also the ant people are not indifferent to meat dishes.

Insects nest in hard-to-reach places that cannot be identified by appearance. Their dwelling can be cracks in the plaster, free space behind the plinth or tile, under the parquet flooring. Between the floors, ants settle closer to heat sources. A cluttered balcony or pantry is great for a permanent insect habitat.

The main reasons for the appearance and reproduction of insects in an apartment or house can be:

1. The constant availability of freely available food (open containers, sugar bowls, bread, etc.).
2. Poorly washed surface tops.
3. A sharp cooling (ants are heat-loving insects and, if the cold came unexpectedly, they are looking for warm places to hide).
4. Settlement in your home "neighbor" ants. If the neighbors began an active fight against the invasion of insects, the ant colony settles in the nearest territory.

Therefore, all measures for the destruction of unsolicited "guests" should be carried out from the moment the scout was found and until the apartment was completely vacated.

How dangerous are home ants

Like any insect, ants are undesirable in residential areas. In search of food, they survey many places. Interfloor overlappings, garbage chutes and rubbish bins are no exception. Their legs are a cluster of peddlers of dangerous diseases. An ant bite can cause an allergic reaction. They are especially dangerous for young children. In addition to harm to human health, they cause material damage - damage to things, furniture, food, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of ants immediately, since they themselves will never leave the warm, prikormlennaya dwelling.

Ways to get rid of home ants

Immediately get ready for a long fight with ants. Firstly, their numbers are very large and they multiply rapidly.Secondly, it is very rarely immediately able to find a colony with the queen. Thirdly, not all means can immediately help. There are several effective ways to destroy domestic ants:

Summon Pest Control Team
This method is expensive, but it does not present any trouble for you. Employees of the brigade themselves will find places of accumulation of ants, will process the premises and will give recommendations on how to conduct self-prevention.

Insecticidal chemistry
The drug market offers a wide selection of gels, aerosols, liquids, crayons, etc. When buying a chemical agent for the destruction or scaring of ants, always pay attention to the date of manufacture, period and conditions of storage.

Important! If you buy the drug on the street in the winter, the temperature drops do not positively affect the action of the active ingredients. Therefore, to expect the effect of such a tool is not necessary.

It is necessary to buy chemicals for the destruction of insects in special stores where storage conditions are not violated.

Aerosol application
The use of aerosols will help to instantly get rid of a large number of insects, provided all colonies are detected.If the queen survives, then in a few days the new tenants of the ant family will pay a visit again.

Important! Sprays are very toxic. Therefore, before using them, you need to cover all things, food, aquarium, flowers. Work only in a cotton-gauze bandage or respirator. The room should not be children, pets and other people without protection.

Good results show aerosols of brands “Raid”, “Raptor”, “Combat”, “Off”. Also, ants die from any aerosols from bedbugs.

Chemical gels
Chemical gels are used to keep insects out. They can be used as a preventive procedure. Gels show good results. Their use does not require the search for ant colonies. It is enough to put drops of gel around the perimeter of the premises in the detected places of their clusters. Working individuals bring a drop of money in the colony as food. Using them, the ants are dying.

The duration of action of drugs is designed to ensure that the insects drop the gel in time to bring them to their habitat and die there. To completely free your home from the ants will take about two months.Therefore, you need to stock up on the gel, patience and be sure to follow the recommendations on the maintenance of the premises. Effective gels are recognized brands "Fas", "Raptor", "Globol".

Chemical powders and pencils
Chemical powders and pencils are less effective than gels. Their use is rational as a preventative measure and in combination with a stronger drug. They kill only those insects that have had direct contact with particles of powder, chalk or pencil.

Use traps
If there are children and / or animals in the house, the bait should be placed in containers so that only ants can reach them. Effective results were shown by the use of the Raptor, Kombat, Thunder and Thunder - 2 traps. They contain special microgranules that destroy insects in places of their accumulations.

Electric traps, as well as sticky ones, act locally. They only scare away and destroy the working ants that scurry about in your housing in search of food. In case of their death, the anthill will send the following to the meal.

Folk methods of getting rid of ants

Most of the preparations prepared on their own, based on folk recipes, contain boric acid. But there are options without the use of such strong substances. In almost every home you can find ingredients that will scare away ants as well. Practice shows several effective formulations:

1. Boric acid, sugar and water are mixed in equal proportions to the state of batter. Then balls are formed and laid out on the permanent paths of insects. Sugar acts as a bait. As a result, the entire colony dies during the week.
2. Boil three medium potatoes and three chicken eggs. Mix yolks with mashed potatoes, add one teaspoon of sugar and one packet of boric acid. We form balls and act according to the previous scheme - we lay them out in places where insects walk. Balls change every week and a half.
3. You can use balls of minced meat as bait (2 tablespoons mixed with 1/2 tsp of boric acid). But this method is not suitable for homes where there are pets.
4. As an analogue of chemical aerosols that kill only by direct contact, you can use a soap solution.Fill the spray with water, add any soap and sprinkle on the insects, on their paved paths, etc. The soap solution destroys the smell, by which the ants find their paths and other representatives of the colony. You can enhance the effect if you add a few drops of aromatic oil. Well helps tea tree oil, mint, eucalyptus or other with a pungent smell.
5. To repel ants from food, use laurel leaves. Put them in containers with flour, paprika, sugar. These products are a delicacy for insects, but the smell of bay leaves will prevent them from approaching them. They also do not tolerate the smell of garlic, lavender, mint, camphor and cloves.
6. Use lures that kill ants and are completely safe for residents. Cornmeal, uncooked semolina, black ground coffee spread on the route of the working insects. These foods are not digested by their stomachs, and the ants die.
7. If you have a private house, use coffee grounds by falling asleep around the building. To destroy insects inside, add some sugar to the coffee residues.
8. To destroy the larvae, you need to remove their power sources.Put as a bait sugar, diluted with yeast. The breadwinners will bring the sugar to the colony, but the process of fermenting the yeast will make it unsuitable for nutrition.

The perimeter of the room can be protected with barriers. Thus, you can drive into the trap of working ants and destroy them. To create barriers you can use the following tools:

• crushed activated carbon;
• coarse salt;
• scattered ground pepper (cayenne, chili, black);
• baby powder;
• line of pencil or silicone gel;
• condiments - cinnamon or turmeric;
• citrus oil - orange, tangerine, lemon, etc.

Preventing ants in the apartment

In order to prevent the appearance of even a scout in your home, observe the following recommendations:

1. Maintain cleanliness in rooms where there is food (kitchen, dining, etc.).
2. Thoroughly flush kitchen surfaces and sinks. After washing, dry them with a clean sponge. We recommend to wipe kitchen furniture (cabinets, countertops, tables) with water and vinegar. It neutralizes odors and cleans surfaces from impurities that are difficult to see.
3. Do not leave food in open containers. Use tight-fitting containers for food storage.
4. Make sure that the bin is not filled and tightly closed.
5. Clean the kitchen floor every day. Use a cleaning disinfectant for this. Pay special attention to the plinth and possible gaps.
6. Use chemical pencils or gels to scare away unwanted insects.
7. Track the place of ants entering the room. It is necessary to tightly close all possible routes of penetration of these insects. To do this, use putty, glue, silicone sealant, etc. Scotch tape or other adhesive tape is undesirable for these purposes, as the sticky surface suffers when exposed to temperature and the entrance for the extra occupants becomes free again.

Such uncomplicated precautions should also be observed during insect control. Stick to them for at least a week or until insects disappear from your home. If you live in an apartment, then the fight against the colonial people should be carried out together. The result of single measures for their deliverance will be the resettlement of ants to neighboring territories.Then follows the reverse process. You also need to warn neighbors in the case of call pest workers.

Cleanliness in the apartments and the implementation of preventive measures are the main obstacles. From them, ants and other insects will bypass your dwelling.

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