How to use a ant trail to solve your ant invasion

​Some homeowners associate springtime with the rebirth, renewal and regrowth of a colorful season. Then the other homeowner’s associate springtime with the rebirth, renewal and regrowth of  ant issues from years past.

Trying to discourage ants from entering your kitchen is tremendously frustrating. It doesn't matter how spotless the kitchen surfaces are or how tight food storage containers are. You can stop with the cayenne pepper, baking soda, or a cotton ball with peppermint oil that shows up on facebook; it will never solve your ant problem long term.

Pharaoh Ants are a common invading pest in your kitchen. The ants you see are just a small percentage of what’s actually going on around your home. Pharaoh ants are a successful species of ants, instead of creating one colony they can create a dozen or more colonies just on your property which is called “budding”. An individual colony can contain 2,500 workers with 200 queens producing hundreds of eggs in her lifetime. From egg to maturity takes about 35 days for an ant to start invading your home. So that is a whole lot of ants and very little cayenne pepper to defend your home.

Nest can be located anywhere inside or outside your home. Here are a handful of locations I have found nests in, starting with the outside. Light fixtures, pine straw, gutters, bird feeder, water hose and flower pots. Inside locations are extremely tricky. Door trim, curtain rods, in-between two sheets of paper and jacket pockets. Looking through every item you own is not time well spent.

Here is a strategy I use to help eliminate or control a client’s major ant issue.

Interior Treatment1. Start with a tube of sweet based ant bait, also known as honeydew and locate all ant trails. Place a few drops along the ant trail. Wait 15 to 30 minutes, giving plenty of time for the ants to find the bait, good bait the feeding ants will release a pheromone to attract more ants into the location.

2. Inspect the places where the bait was placed, you should see a definite direction of which way that ants are coming from. This technique will tell you the general direction of the colony.

3. Place a drop of bait closer to a wall or location they are traveling from a keep it well baited. This keeps them closer to a nesting area and has higher chance of sharing the bait with the rest of the colony.

4. Make sure you keep the bait out even if you don’t see any ants in the kitchen. You still have to wait for a new hatching of ants to emerge and try to reclaim your kitchen once again.

Do not wage war with a spray can, quick kill sprays only kill a small percentage of your ant issue. Sure it works as a repellant and keeps the ants away for a week; you’re just allowing the ants to regain their army. Quick kill sprays will also work against you; ants will start a budding process in you home if the quick kill separates the active ant trails. Don’t become like one of my clients and end up with ants in your purse.
Ants are great at a couple of things, reproducing and gathering food. Bait is a great supplement for their food supply; at least you are supplying something they are forging for at that moment. Baiting tremendously reduces the amount of pesticides you use inside your home, whether it is natural or a chemical. Less Pesticides, Less Environmental Impact and Less Ants.

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