DIY ant trap for home and garden

Ants are one of the most common insects on our planet. And sometimes they can sneak into your living or working spaces. What to do when ants have infested your entire apartment or office, and products and traps from the store do not help? Is there an effective trap that you can make yourself? Let's look at this issue.

How to make an ant trap with your own hands

To make a dry belt, you will need to take a strip (rubber, corrugated paper or coarse fabric) about 20 cm wide. The length of the product will depend on the thickness of the fruit tree. Before you begin tying, seal all existing cracks. When making a dry ant hunting belt, you should consider the following:

• It is recommended to use stretch film for wrapping, especially if the wind is blowing. Unlike tape, it will not stick to the surface.
• Corrugated cardboard is best for use in the fall. This way you can protect the fruit tree from pests looking for a secluded place to settle down for the winter or lay offspring.
• It is recommended not to use cardboard on warm days.

To make a dry insect trap belt, you will need foam rubber, stretch film, scissors and a knife. How to properly wrap a fruit tree:

1. To begin, prepare the foam rubber by measuring the material with a certain margin so that the edges can be joined to the trunk not butt-to-butt.
2. Wrap the foam several times using stretch film. Two or three turns should be enough.
3. Take a roll of film and wrap the foam rubber not too tightly. This is necessary in order to remove the gap at the junction of the edges. Make three or four turns.
4. The tape must be cut and carefully smoothed to the belt. After this, use a sharp knife to remove the excess part above the belt in the lower and upper parts. This way the tree will look more neat, and the bark will be freed from excess insulation.
5. Check the trap on each fruit tree about once a week. In order not to upset the balance, carefully remove the belt and scatter beneficial insects onto the newspaper, then wait until they crawl away on their own.

How do traps work?

The trap, as the name implies, is designed to destroy the insect that falls into it. But before you buy an ant repellent, you should understand how it works. If it is a house with insecticides or adhesive tape, you should not buy it, since only with their help it will be problematic to remove an entire colony.

All traps are divided into several types:

1. Traps with a characteristic odor that attracts insects. Having reached it, the ant smears itself in the poisoned liquid or powder. Then he returns to his relatives in the nest, where he spreads the poison, infecting both other ants and the queen. This trap for domestic ants is very effective and can be made with your own hands.

1. Baits with poison, which is protected by plastic packaging from pets. The insects carry the bait into the colony and thereby poison all the individuals.
2. Traps with sticky sticks, strong poison or electric shock. In this design, the insect dies immediately, but the device cannot be considered particularly effective, since the death of individual ants has little effect on the existence of their colony.

The main goal of ant control is to destroy the queen in the colony. Without it, worker ants will die out.

It is worth remembering that traps do not give a quick effect and, at best, if used correctly, the ants can disappear after a few weeks.

Rules of application

The speed of destruction of the entire ant colony will depend on how correctly you place the traps. Before placing baits, you need to figure out where the main routes of insect movement are.

The main places for installing traps in an apartment can be:

1. Joints between floor and walls near the baseboard. As a rule, there are cracks through which small insects crawl.
2. The space behind the kitchen furniture.
3. Ant trails. They are clearly visible if there are a lot of insects in the apartment. They usually move along a scent-marked route and line up in long lines. Place the trap either on the path itself or near it so that the ants can smell the bait.
4. Ventilation shafts.
5. Storeroom floors.
6. Walls that border the garbage chute or front door.

Of course, each apartment is individual and places where insects gather can be the most unpredictable. Sometimes they can even settle in system units or closets with clothes.

Check all traps once every two weeks and replace them with new ones on time. It is worth noting that traps are absolutely useless against ants that live in the ground.

Types of means to combat arthropods

Traps come in several varieties. For each case you need to select the appropriate option.

Adhesive

They are cheap and can be purchased at any store. They are a box with sticky walls. The ants get inside and stick, and then die. It is best to install them near the trash can. The most effective adhesive preparations: “Tar-Gan”, “Trap”, “Tunnel”.

Poisonous

They contain very strong chemicals: hydramethylnon, fipronil. Pests become infected themselves and then continue to infect other individuals. With the use of this type of bait, after a few days there will be a noticeable decrease in the number of insects, and over time they will disappear completely. Examples of poisonous traps: “Combat”, “Taracid”, “Clean House”.

Electrical

The principle of operation is the destruction of ants with a strong electric current. The insects die immediately. Electric traps are easy to use and work from the mains. They are quite expensive compared to previous types.

Homemade

DIY traps. They will consist of poisonous components: borax and boric acid mixed with the yolk of a boiled egg. When the poison gets into the blood of ants, it begins to act immediately - paralysis and suffocation are observed.

The bait can be made like this: pour boric acid onto a plastic lid or matchbox, and add a little sweet jam on top of it. Foragers will immediately smell the attractive scent. Trying to take the sweetness, they get dirty in the poisoned substance and take it into the nest. It will take some time for complete destruction. Such bait may well replace imported products.

Features of application

All ant traps are divided into several types:

• Adhesive: the cheapest, the price often does not exceed 50 rubles. It is a box with sticky walls and floor. An ant that comes inside sticks and remains inside forever. Such a trap is good for preventing the appearance of parasites (an incoming scout ant will die and will not be able to lead the colony), but it does not cope well with insects that have already settled, since the queen remains safe;
• Poisonous: more effective. Hidden inside is a poison with an attractive smell that can be eaten, or a powder that settles on the pest’s paws. In the first case, the ant takes “food” to the anthill and shows the way to the others, in the second, it brings particles of powder on its paws and upon contact infects the others. Depending on the type of poison, the ants' nervous system is gradually disrupted, breathing problems begin, or paralysis occurs. The colony dies within 1–2 weeks;
• Electronic: an ant crawling inside is exposed to a strong current discharge, which kills it. The price of such a trap is the highest (more than a thousand rubles), and its effectiveness is questionable: only simple insects die, the queen is still safe.

Homemade ant baits

You can make ant traps in your apartment with your own hands. It's very easy to make lures from a matchbox. It must be placed near the baseboard or other area where there may be pest nests. A little honey should be placed inside the device. The ants will smell its scent, crawl into the bait, and then stick to the sweet amber. The next day, you need to throw away the box, replacing it with another trap with fresh honey. Such manipulations should be carried out until all insects are exterminated.

You can make another bait to catch ants in the house. To do this, you need to take a plastic lid and pour boric acid powder into it so that it completely covers the bottom. Add 2-3 drops of liquid honey or sugar syrup to the center of the trap. When insects get inside the lid, they will also stick and stay there. Quite often, devices are made from a 0.5 liter jar. You need to take such a container, pour sunflower oil into it, wrap the outside with white paper and place a wooden stick inside in the form of a ladder. In the center of the trap you need to place a bait that emits a pleasant aroma. Insects will get inside and will not be able to get out.

The simplest traps for domestic ants are made from double-sided tape or sticky tape. It is necessary to paste them over baseboards, floors or other surfaces on which pests can crawl. To catch insects, special balls are often prepared; they are hidden behind cabinets, sofas and in other hard-to-reach places. You need to take boric acid, sugar, flour, boiled yolk and water. A homogeneous mixture should be prepared from these components, rolled into small balls and placed where there is the largest concentration of insects. From time to time, such baits need to be replaced with new ones, throwing out those on which a lot of ants have gathered.

You can also make traps using a different recipe. You need to take 1 tbsp. l. water, 2 tsp. glycerin, 20 g honey, 10 g boric acid, 30 g sugar. All ingredients need to be mixed, rolled into balls from the resulting mass and placed in areas where pests are most concentrated. There is another very simple recipe for making similar ant traps. To do this, take 2-3 tsp. minced meat and 0.5 tbsp. l. Boers. Baits must be made according to the same principle. You can use flour or sweet foods as a basis to create these traps.

To exterminate pests, mint, shag, bay leaf, wormwood, cloves and garlic are often used. You need to take 1 or several components, grind them and treat insect areas with such substances. Sometimes they make their own ant traps using essential oils. You need to take ¼ cup of boiling water and add 12-15 drops of pine needle, lavender, lemon or sea buckthorn extract. The resulting mixture must be poured into plates and placed near the cracks in baseboards, on window sills and other places where pests may accumulate.

Another type of trap is prepared from boric acid and washing powder. You need to take 30 g of each ingredient, mix them, pour them into plastic lids and place the bait where the largest concentration of insects is. In the same way, you can make traps from honey, which is placed in small containers, and placed in those places where pests have been noticed.

If you prepare your own bait for catching ants, you can quickly and effectively remove such insects from your apartment.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=h8S1BYFts9I

Poisonous baits

Why are they better

If your goal is to destroy a nest of ants, and not individual individuals in the apartment, which you will have to fight constantly, then at home you can do this with the help of ant traps. Once inside, attracted by the appetizing smell, the insects become soiled in the toxic substance. But they do not die immediately, but after some time, poisoning the entire nest.

When fighting insects in an apartment on your own, at home, it is better to use these products, even if they are a little more expensive than those described above. With the help of these ant traps you will destroy the queen, and without her the anthill will die. To destroy a nest, you do not need to know where it is located.

Buy a trap

If you trust manufacturers and, instead of making an ant trap with your own hands, prefer to buy it in a store, you will be pleased with your choice, because there are many varieties of them. Even though we call them poisonous, they are not that dangerous. For a person to show signs of poisoning, he must eat 1 tsp. this product, but there is no such amount of toxic substance in the trap packaging.

1. "Combat". Popular ant trap. Its active ingredient is Hydromethylnon, which leads to infection of the entire colony. It does not work immediately, but when the worker ants manage to transfer it to their brothers, and they feed the queen and other members of the colony. This will kill all the insects.
2. "Clean house". It doesn't work as quickly, but it's odorless. A plastic container will prevent children or animals from reaching the poison.
3. "Raptor". Helps against both ants and cockroaches. They guarantee the destruction of the entire population within 6 months. Pleasant to use, because They give off the aroma of apricot and vanilla.
4. "Taracid." The active ingredient is boric acid and herbs (hemlock, larkspur), so the product is safe for people and animals. This poison kills both the ant itself and up to 50 insects in its nest.

"Combat" is one of the most effective drugs against ants

There are also traps from other companies, which you can choose at your nearest store and use at home.

If you don't want to spend money on an ant trap, make your own. You will need a matchbox or other closed container. Place poisonous bait in it and make a move for the ants. What bait should I use? Boric acid. Mix 2 tsp. spoons of minced meat with 1 tsp. this remedy. To prevent a cat or dog from eating it, hide the mixture in a box and place it where insects run. Or choose another recipe with boric acid.

Chemicals

The most famous and effective products containing chemical reagents that answer the question - how to get rid of ants in an apartment are:

• fumitox
• dichlorvos
• taiga
• DEET

Of all the above remedies, according to numerous reviews, the drug DEET is the leader. The ant paths should be treated with these products once every 3-4 days, then the treatment should be repeated until the insects completely disappear.

Pencil against ants

This is the well-known white pencil “Mashenka”. A cheap, simple and odorless product that is safe for households. Despite its simplicity and low cost, it is quite effective.

Sometimes, however, ants can leave a pencil-painted room to settle in an adjacent, untreated one.

Raptor

This product in the form of a gel destroys not only individual individuals, but is also aimed at the complete destruction of the entire ant colony that has settled in the house.

The principle of its operation is that one ant eats the gel poison and infects the entire colony in a chain until the last ant dies out. Boric acid is almost as effective.

"Regent"

These are poisonous pest control granules. But they are also effective in killing ants.

Recipe:

• Dilute Regent granules in water
• Draw the resulting liquid into a syringe
• Inject the solution into all visible crevices and potential habitats of house ants. Definitely under baseboards
• If the surface is voluminous, you can spray it with a spray bottle

The Regent product can destroy an entire ant colony in a fairly short time. But be careful - it is very poisonous, so removing animals from the treatment site is a must.

Ultrasonic repeller

Modern scientific development for quickly and effectively getting rid of insects in the house. It expels not only ants, but also cockroaches and other unwanted guests, and also answers the question: “How to get rid of red ants?”

The validity period of this device is 2 weeks. During this time, according to the manufacturer’s promises, the ants will completely and forever leave your home.

Traps as a way to fight ants

One of the most popular methods of getting rid of ants is traps. This method has proven itself to be the safest and at the same time the most effective. They can be either purchased in a store or made independently. Also positive qualities include the long-lasting effect of traps, ease of use (do not require special knowledge and skills) and low cost of this means of combating ants.

Types of ant traps

The most popular are three types of traps that can be found on the open market:

Adhesive ones are the simplest and cheapest. The principle of operation is that ants come to the bait and stick forever. The main disadvantage of this type of trap is that it is not possible to get the ants and the queen from the anthill. Thus, getting rid of ants will be temporary.

The most common brands of this type are:

• “Trap” is the most budget-friendly option for a trap; the mass is applied in places where insects accumulate. It is effective both in the fight against ants and other insects and even small rodents.

Argus is a more expensive option, suitable for insect and rodent control, and is a set of self-adhesive strips that need to be placed in areas where pests are active.

Poisonous - means of combating delayed expiration. The powerful insecticides included in the product affect the nervous system of ants, paralyze them, which leads to rapid death. The first results can usually be seen after 2-3 days, and after two weeks the ants disappear completely. Due to the fact that insects carry poison into the anthill on their bodies, the affected area increases significantly and the colony is destroyed entirely, along with the queen.

The most popular brands of poisonous houses:

• Raptor - this trap can be seen in commercials and is considered one of the most effective. You can often find such traps in combination with special gels and sprays. Safe for pets.
• Raid - thanks to advertising, it is no less popular than Raptor. Actively fights not only ants, but also other insects in the house. The trap is designed for the victim to eat the bait.

How to use traps correctly

To achieve maximum effect from any type of trap, you should follow a few simple rules:

1. Correct choice of trap location. One correctly installed trap will be much more effective than several chaotically placed ones. As a rule, these are ant trails, corners, joints between the floor and the wall, balconies, storage rooms, ventilation, space under cabinets and refrigerators.
2. Traps should be checked periodically and updated or emptied. This will significantly increase their effectiveness.
3. Regular wet cleaning will speed up getting rid of insects, as they do not like clean rooms.
4. Do not leave leftover food in the open.

Terms of use

To get the maximum effect when using traps in your apartment, you need to learn how to use them. There are several universal principles for all types of products:

1. Choosing a location. The speed of getting rid of insects directly depends on this indicator. It is optimal to install the device in the place where the ant nest is located, as well as their paths. Most often, the trap in the house is placed in closets, near the trash can and adjacent walls, ventilation shafts and under kitchen furniture.
2. Periodically replace used equipment with new ones with fresh bait. Even the best quality devices have an expiration date and lose their effectiveness over time.

In order to achieve the maximum effect from using traps for house ants, you need to learn how to use them correctly.

For all types of devices there are basic rules for their use:

• Choosing a trap location. The efficiency of use and the speed of ridding the apartment of insects directly depend on this indicator;
• Periodically replacing used traps with new devices with fresh bait. Even the best quality appliances have an expiration date and lose their effectiveness over time.

Typically, traps are installed in places where pests are concentrated and near ant trails.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=h8S1BYFts9I

The main places where it is best to place traps:

• Next to the trash can and adjacent walls;
• In storage rooms;
• Under kitchen furniture;
• Near ventilation shafts.

Tags: trap, ant, make About the author: admin4ik

The principle of insect control

Ants establish their colonies in the form of diffuse nests. Only a small part is sent to forage for food, while the rest raise new larvae. Therefore, spraying will kill only a few ants; others will replace them.

Open lures

You should not only destroy the running ants, but also get to their queen. If you kill her, the rest will die out on their own in a short time. This means that the main goal of the traps installed in the apartment is to ensure that simple ants bring poisoned products to the queen. But you will have to be patient a little until this happens.

Important! It is important to use different types of traps correctly. It is recommended to scatter poisonous granules in those areas of the apartment where ants are often found

You can treat surfaces behind furniture.

Closed options

If there are small children or animals in the house, it is extremely dangerous to scatter open chemicals. In this case, closed trap options are suitable. They are a container with small holes that only a small ant can fit through. Hidden inside is a bait with poison, the effect of which does not appear immediately. If it gets into the nest, all the foragers will die within 24 hours.

Children will not be able to open boxes with poisoned filling. Required quantity – 1 container for every 5 sq.m. Placing them in the right places will attract arthropods faster.

Where is the best place to place containers with chemicals:

• behind furniture in the kitchen, where frequent cleaning is difficult;
• in ventilation shafts;
• near the garbage chute;
• in those areas of the floor where there are many small holes;
• in places where ranks of pests are most often observed.

Interesting link Find out how you can get rid of ants in your dacha here.

Destruction of an anthill

The surest remedy for ants in a country house or garden is to destroy the entire anthill. This can be done in several popular ways:

1. Dig it up. Wear protective clothing and gloves. Dig out the anthill, plunging the shovel as deep as possible. Transport it in a wheelbarrow or carry it with a bucket outside the site, and sprinkle the place where it was located with salt, lime or wood ash.
2. If the ant's home is not located on the planting soil, water it with a solution of 2 tbsp. l. soda and 1.5 liters of boiling water. The product will kill pests and larvae.
3. Dissolve wood ash in 3.5 liters of boiling water, dig a nest, pour the mixture into it, and bury it. The solution kills insects.
4. Dig a ditch around the anthill, fill it with sulfur carbon, and set it on fire. The home will burn down along with the settlers.

Ant traps in garden beds

To kill ants in the garden, traps are usually used, which are baits containing substances harmful to ants. You can give recipes for several such baits:

• 60 g of sugar and 20 ml of honey are mixed with half a glass of water. Combine this mixture with 20 g of borax. Sweet bait is distributed over plastic or metal lids. Traps are laid around the beds, which are especially often visited by ants. You can also place them close to an anthill, or place them along ant trails.
• Mix a teaspoon of borax with 50 g of minced meat and roll into balls. Place them among the bushes favored by the ants, along the ant trails, near the anthill.
• Mix boric acid with honey, old jam or thick sugar syrup in equal proportions. To increase efficiency, add baker's yeast. Traps with boric acid are used in the same way as traps with borax.
• Sugar, sugar syrup, jam or honey can be mixed with regular soda. It is safe for humans and pets, but harmful to ants.

The listed traps help not only protect garden crops from insect pests, but also completely get rid of insects if one of the working ants shares the “delicacy” they find with the queen ant.

Safer traps for ants are small containers of sweetened water or fermented beer.

Ants can cause significant damage when they settle in a garden or beds. One of the most effective means of combating these insects is traps. They can be purchased in specialized stores or made with your own hands. Homemade traps are inexpensive, but can protect trees and other plants from ants.

• Anthill in the garden: how to get rid of ants on strawberries
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• Boric acid against ants in the garden: action and application
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• Ammonia, beneficial for plants, against ants in the garden
• How to get rid of ants in the garden: agrochemical and folk remedies

The beginning of hostilities. To prevent ants from visiting your home.

Start deep cleaning your kitchen right away All food stains should be washed off. After washing the kitchen with your usual means, go over all surfaces with a napkin soaked in vinegar. Ants don't like this smell.

You will have to wash not only the furniture, but also dishes, containers, jars, especially if they once contained jam, sugar or honey.

All cereals, flour, sugar and other food should be sealed , as is the case with a mouse infestation. It is better to use special containers with sealed lids or several bags so that ants cannot get to the food.

You will also have to cover all odorous substances: sweet spices like vanilla, detergents, air fresheners. Sweet smells attract ants. Scouts will definitely find them, and other insects will follow the chemical trail of the discoverers. The smell of vinegar should be familiar in the apartment. You have to wait for a week.

Ant trap in the apartment

It is more difficult to destroy ants that appear in an apartment than other pests. Their families may be several meters away from where they enter human habitation. Some individuals never leave the nest, and they can only be poisoned through worker ants, who carry food and feed everyone.

If ants appear in your house, you must immediately begin to fight them

Traps for ants in an apartment are made from improvised means and products that are available in every home and are freely sold; they cost pennies. Based on the operating principle, we can distinguish:

The main effect of Velcro is to lure the insect onto a sticky surface, where its legs will get stuck and it will remain, unable to get out. After a while he will die of hunger. Such Velcro are effective if scouts have just begun to appear in the house. Their number is small, and if they remain trapped, they will not be able to return to the nest and show the workers the way to food.

You can remove the whole family with Velcro, provided:

• the family is still young and small;
• the nest is located close;
• ants go for prey only to your apartment;
• The owner will have the patience to regularly change Velcro and bait for several months.

Velcro will help not only against ants, but also against other small insects

It will take a lot of time until all the miners are destroyed and the family dies of hunger. At this time, the queen will lay eggs and hatch new workers.

The positive qualities of Velcro are that they are easy to make and put in places inaccessible to children and animals. The cost of such devices is pennies. The disadvantage of this method is the unpleasant appearance of the surface with insects stuck to it, which must constantly be thrown away. On the other hand, such Velcro can also attract other insects, cockroaches and fruit flies.

Traps lure ants into some container, and the insects have no way to get out, better than Velcro:

• holds more than Velcro;
• act more efficiently;
• can be changed less frequently;
• accommodate more insects.

When there is a large concentration of insects, Velcro quickly becomes covered with them and loses its effectiveness. It costs nothing for an ant to get over its fellows. Insects fall into the trap in large numbers, they can lie in layers, but with all their intelligence they will not be able to figure out a way to get out.

Poison baits are the most effective traps for house ants. Having collected poisoned food, the workers carry it to the nest and feed the others there. As a result, after about a month, all pests disappear, even if the nest is large, located far away and the ants go to neighboring apartments for prey.

Adviсe

To achieve effectiveness, you need to follow certain rules that will help you use bait effectively:

There should be no leftover food in the kitchen, only poison traps. Thorough and regular cleaning of the apartment. Before use, carefully read the safety precautions in the instructions. Follow them strictly in the future. Chemical poisons tend to accumulate in the human body, so an overdose of drugs should not be allowed.. It is necessary to remove ants not only because they spoil food and furniture

They can attract larger and not always harmless to humans predatory insects into the house - for example, scolopendra

It is necessary to remove ants not only because they spoil food and furniture. They can attract larger and not always harmless to humans predatory insects into the house - for example, scolopendra.

Types of traps

As already mentioned, the range is really large and everyone can choose the most suitable type, let’s consider their advantages and differences.

Adhesive

They are the simplest devices and at the same time have the lowest price. The mechanism of action is very simple. The device has an adhesive substance; when an insect lands on it, it sticks and cannot come off.

As we know, anthills are a rather complex and cunning structure; a queen lives there, which never leaves the shelter, and the ants, who do all the work, also do not go outside.

Therefore, it will not be possible to lure them out of the shelter, which means that after some time new offspring will appear and they will have to fight again. They are great in cases where infection has just occurred and there are no large colonies in the apartment.

The most popular brands of this type include:

• Trap. This is an adhesive mass that is applied to those places where there is a large concentration of insects. Allows you to fight not only ants, but also other pests. It is the most budget option.
• Argus. Suitable for fighting insects and even rodents. Available in the form of strips with an adhesive mass, they are placed in areas of greatest accumulation.

Poisonous

This type is more effective compared to the previous option. The mechanism of action is as follows: upon contact with a toxic substance, it penetrates the ant’s body and affects the nervous system, at the first stage the insect is paralyzed, and then death occurs.

The effectiveness lies in the fact that when they come into contact with the pesticide, they carry it on themselves to the anthill, where they pass it on to other individuals. This is how not only those individuals that have passed through the poison die, but also those that do not leave the anthill at all.

These include brands:

• Raptor. This brand is probably familiar to many, and it is really popular due to its effectiveness. Such traps can be purchased separately or purchased together with a spray or gel. The drug does not pose a danger to pets.
• Raid. No less popular than the previous option. In this case, a poisonous bait is used, which the insect eats and dies.
• Dohlox. Provides effectiveness thanks to the active component fipronil, which is fast-acting and shows good results.

Electrical

Here, a detrimental effect is exerted on insects using a current discharge. Such devices operate from the network. Regarding the disadvantages, it is worth saying that, as in the case of the glue type, they are capable of destroying only those individuals that are in direct contact with the device, the rest remain untouched.

Popular brands:

• Ecosniper. Easy to use, just plug it into the network. Regarding the impact on people and animals, it is completely safe.
• Bradex. The advantage is the destructive effect not only on ants, but also on other pests, flying insects, and small rodents.

Popular brands

You can find a wide variety of insect killers on the market, from practically useless to professional. They differ in composition, manufacturer, effectiveness and cost.

The most popular brands are:

• "Raptor" is a manufacturer that has proven itself in the fight against pests and offers a wide range of products for getting rid of ants. The traps use long-acting poison, so the ant has time to bring the bait to the queen. Often traps come complete with sprays and gels.
• “Clean House” - the poison has no odor, but has a longer effect than analogues (up to 2 months). The traps stick well even vertically; their body is made of plastic and is completely closed to people. The product is usually used to kill cockroaches, but it also works just as well against ants.
• Combat Superattack - a Korean company offers 4 traps in one package, they can be used both at home and on the street. The company promises to completely rid the premises of insects in 3 months, although customers note that a colony lasts a month. The advantages of Kombat traps include complete safety: thanks to the closed box, it is impossible to get the poison.
• Ra >

Restricting access to trees and beds

If you don’t have a goal to get rid of ants, but just need to protect trees and beds from them, create barriers:

1. Water ditch made of car tires. Cut the rubber in half, put it on a small tree or bush, and fill it with water. You can dig a small ditch and place the tire there. If you have a large tree, cut the splint vertically, place it on the plant, fill the cut with sealant, and then fill it with water.
2. Another folk method, similar to the previous one, is clay ditches. They are made in the ground, covered with clay, and then filled with water.
3. Create a "skirt" or fence with sharp edges. Use aluminum foil or a plastic bottle for this.
4. Tree trunks can be wrapped with adhesive tape (double-sided tape) and secured with a rope. The ants become stuck and cannot move further around the plant.
5. A similar method is winding with roofing felt. The top of the material is coated with glue. Insects stick and cannot move further.
6. Sheepskin will help save currant and raspberry bushes. The inside should be lubricated with carbolic acid, and then the plants should be wrapped with the wool facing outwards.

Ant traps on trees

Traps for ants that have taken a fancy to fruit trees are so-called trapping belts. They can be made from various materials: fabric, sheepskin, tape, foil, cling film, paper. The selected material is wrapped or tied around the trunk, after which a substance is applied to it, which helps kill insects and at the same time prevents them from penetrating the tree crown. Place traps at a height of 20–50 cm from the ground surface.

The most popular types of fishing belts among gardeners are:

Duct tape. Usually you purchase a ready-made tape designed for catching flies. It can be replaced with ordinary stationery tape. Glue or a viscous gel, which is applied to it with an additional layer, will help to enhance the effect of the tape. A trap with glue designed to kill mice. It does not lose viscosity for a long time. You can build a trap from cling film. It is wrapped around the trunk, tied in the center with a cloth smeared with “mouse” glue.

Sweet traps. The same cling film or tape can be covered with honey

It will attract the attention of the ants. But their paws will get stuck in it

Honey can be replaced with old jam mixed with brown or boric acid. Then the trap will be poisonous. Even if it doesn’t stop one of the ants, he will die from the poison.

Gate trap. This trap is somewhat more difficult to make with your own hands than the previous ones. To make it, you will need a strip of rubber that can be wrapped around the barrel, fastening the ends and turning the bottom of the rubber up. To prevent the rubber from unfolding, it is secured from below with tape. The resulting rubber trough is filled with vegetable oil. The ants, trying to overcome the obstacle, drown in the gutter.

Tire trap. A groove is made around the tree, a car tire cut in half is placed in it and filled with water.

Ant traps on trees allow you to protect plants from ants and aphids, which they tirelessly care for; their use helps reduce the insect population, but does not allow you to get rid of them completely, since trapping belts do not harm the queen ant.

Basic methods of struggle

Below are the safest ways to remove insects from your home, which will not cause chemical harm to home residents and animals.

Aerosols

As soon as you suspect flying ants in the house, you can immediately use an aerosol. The room must be treated with the windows and doors closed. Effective chemical compositions are:

• Dichlorvos;
• Combat;
• Raid;
• Dohlox.

However, it should be remembered that after treatment you must leave your home for at least 2 hours. And upon arrival, rinse everything thoroughly and remove the remains of insects.

Peppermint Extract Spray

If you need to act quickly and the store is already closed, you can make a composition for baiting ants yourself. To do this you will need several things:

• bottle;
• spray nozzle;
• liquid soap or dishwashing detergent;
• peppermint extract.

A solution is made in the proportions of 1 part soap, 2 parts water and 15 drops of peppermint. This essential oil is sold in any pharmacy and is inexpensive; it is most often used for inhalation.

This solution will dehydrate the ants and help evict them from your home.

Diatomaceous earth

This is a universal tool that is used in completely different areas. It can be used to eliminate odor in shoes, as a face mask, as a fertilizer, and to remove various stains.

In our case, it needs to be scattered in places where insects accumulate. Diatomaceous earth is deadly to ants, but it is absolutely safe and even beneficial for adults, children and animals. The principle of operation is this: when an ant comes into contact with diatomaceous earth, its chitinous cover is damaged, and it dies from mechanical damage.

Automatic fly swatter

Winged ants are typical insects that, like everyone else, also fly towards the light. To combat them effectively, you can install an automatic fly swatter next to the light source. It is battery operated and there is a low voltage inside the trap that kills flyers.

Adhesive tape

A traditional and harmless method to catch pests. The adhesive tape is hung directly on the light source, and all the insects instantly gather on the adhesive surface. They have no chance to get out.

The only drawback of this method is its unaesthetic appearance. Everyone chooses for themselves between efficiency and beauty.

Traps with boric acid or borax

Ants decide to stay in the house for a reason, but because there is always food for them there. Everyone in childhood fed the ants a piece of cookie and watched in fascination as they slowly took it away.

For this we need:

1. Hard-boiled yolk – 1 pc.
2. Boric acid – 2 sachets.
3. Sugar – 1 tablespoon.

All ingredients need to be mixed and rolled into balls slightly larger than a pea. You need to place the bait in places where ants with wings have been seen in the house, on ant trails or in the apartment in places where they are concentrated. This method is also most effective because the ants take the poison into their nest.

Where to set traps in the house

The ants need to create the most convenient conditions for falling into the trap. Therefore, you need to place homemade houses and jars in certain places:

• near the exit from the holes to the apartment;
• the paths they walk on;
• under kitchen furniture;
• near cracks in floors on insulated loggias;
• wall plinths bordering the garbage chute;
• around the trash can;
• hoods;
• ventilation shafts.

When scouts find food, they mark the path to it with a certain smell. The ants walk only along it, lining up in a line. It is optimal to place the trap at the beginning of this living path, where the exit from the nest is.

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We make the ants’ task more difficult: we build barricades and block entrances.

Along with cleaning the room, inspect for cracks where ants could enter. The holes must be sealed with sealant, glue or plaster. But first, wash them with soapy water. This will wash away the chemical trace of insects. In addition, soap kills ants. You can dilute the product in a spray bottle and spray it on insects.

It is not always possible to see all the cracks in a house. Sometimes it seems that ants are walking through the walls. For insects, you can install barriers made of cinnamon, turmeric, activated carbon, and baby powder. It is better to wash door and window openings with vinegar and coat them with Vaseline. Place crushed bay leaf or mint at the insect entry point. The barrier must be made in a continuous line 6 mm wide. You can sprinkle soda or ground coffee on the windowsill.