There is a folk sign: ants in the house - to wealth and harmony. And it is not without reason, because these insects settle in the house where they have something to profit from. In search of food, they move hundreds of meters away from the nest or anthill, choose a new home with comfortable conditions and tasty morsels, and multiply very quickly.
A colony of ants can be called one large organism, their way of life is so clearly planned. While the queens are engaged in breeding their offspring without leaving the secluded area, the working ants scurry around in search of food, leaving behind a special trail of pheromones, along which not only they themselves find their way back, but also their brothers can easily find their way and lead the entire colony to a new place .
House ants can bring an entire colony into your home in search of food.
In nature and in a summer cottage, ants bring tangible benefits: in particular, they protect plants from harmful insects (caterpillars, slugs, fly larvae, etc.). However, once they get into the room, they themselves turn from protectors into pests. Why does this happen and how serious is the harm that they can cause to a person?
Meet the enemy
Fire-colored forest and house ants are called red. The latter are much smaller - body length is about 3 mm. They have three transverse stripes on the back of their body.
Three transverse stripes on the back are a distinctive feature of the domestic variety of red ants
These ants also differ in their origin: forest ants inhabit the forests of Russia, while domestic ones were brought from India in the 16th century. Now red house ants inhabit almost the entire globe (no wonder there are about 10 thousand species!), except for Antarctica, Greenland and Iceland. From which we can conclude that insects need warmth to live comfortably.
Red ants are called pharaohs. This name was given by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, mistakenly believing that Egypt was the birthplace of insects. He was misled by the fact that they were discovered during excavations of tombs.
Lifestyle Features
Red ants are social insects. They live in large colonies, the number of which can number up to tens of thousands of individuals. All residents are clearly subordinated to the hierarchy of three castes: females, males and workers. Representatives of the latter are the most numerous; they provide food for the elite.
The female red ant is larger than the workers and has a more massive rear part of the body.
From this social division we can conclude: by destroying a couple of dozen ants that have encroached on the crumbs in the kitchen, we will not get rid of insects. The female needs only five days to restore the population size.
Having discovered and destroyed a couple of dozen individuals, you should not count on successful removal of pests
What do red ants eat?
They love to eat delicious food and are not picky when choosing food. They are attracted to:
- food products (this is why insects are also called meat or sugar);
- leftover food from a trash can that was not taken out on time;
- pests, the extermination of which has a beneficial effect on human life - aphids, fleas, moths and other insects.
Humans provide a complete diet for ants
Ant behavior
House ants are organized insects. Each individual is assigned certain responsibilities. Worker ants bring food for the queen (queen) and her larvae. In search of food and water, working ants can completely master the kitchen within a day.
If they find a food source, they lay out a path for other individuals to reach it, marking it with a specific smell. If the food found is large, the ant secretes special saliva, which helps soften the large product. The ant then bites off a small piece of food and takes it to the nest. An ant's saliva consists of mucus that resembles a cobweb, and when it processes a product with it, it cannot be consumed afterwards.
Members of the colony follow a daily routine. During the day, each ant does its own job. At dusk, the insects return to the nest, all entrances of which are sealed at night. Therefore, you can only detect ants in an apartment during daylight hours.
How can you detect a colony of ants in an apartment?
- Working ants appear on the left piece of sugar after 2-3 hours.
- Thread-like traces of a white hue (ant saliva) are left on food products.
- Ants crawl in tightly closed bags and jars.
The colony is growing rapidly. Then a small part of the ants, along with the queen, separates to form a new colony in another place. The reproduction of insects in geometric progression gives them the opportunity to develop new territories of human habitation. After a few months, you can already find fresh anthills in all rooms of the apartment, which are very difficult to get rid of at the same time.
What do house ants eat?
Ants are omnivores. They survive in the presence of microscopic food crumbs and can consume any spices and even synthetic products.
More often, the diet of insects follows the table of its human neighbor. The best food is consumed by older individuals. The queen loves protein foods of animal origin, the larvae love carbohydrate foods. In apartments, ants feast on dishes containing sugar and honey.
Reasons for appearance in human habitation zone
A person owes his uncleanliness to the invasion of red ants - leftover food accumulating in the trash can, crumbs on the floor and on the table, dust. But they are not stationed only in the kitchen. Closets with clothes, children's toys, bookshelves - under favorable conditions, pests will be everywhere. And in multi-story buildings, ants can place a nest in the ceilings between concrete structures, under floor tiles, in ventilation ducts and other secluded and hard-to-reach corners.
If you notice a couple of ants in the kitchen, this does not mean that a colony has settled in the house. First, scouts enter it and find out whether the dwelling is suitable for habitation. Therefore, start fighting insects immediately.
Ants live not only in the kitchen, but in other rooms
How insects get into the house
Red ants have several ways into a human home:
- through the garbage chute;
- from neighbors;
- from nearby grocery stores;
- from the street on a person’s shoes and clothes;
Insects crawl from one house to another, from one apartment to another - with food or things brought from infected places.
If you accidentally brought red forest ants into your house, there is nothing to fear: they do not live with humans, so they will very quickly leave the room or die.
How pests appear on a personal plot
For gardeners, the invasion of red ants is also unpleasant. The land and the plantings on it suffer not so much because insects feed on the grown fruits, but because of the creation of nests in the root systems of plants and trees. A strong colony of ants can destroy a mature tree in just 2–3 years. If the nest appears in the ground, then nothing will grow around this place.
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, they are somewhat inferior in effectiveness to professional drugs.
Boric acid
The most effective folk remedy that helps remove domestic ants is boric acid. It is a deadly poison for insects and is also somewhat toxic to humans. Therefore, it is better to keep children and pets away from the product.
There are several ways to prepare boric acid poison to get rid of all the ants:
1 way
- Mix acid with sugar in a ratio of 1:3.
- Dilute the mixture with 2 tbsp. l. very hot water.
- After cooling, the product should be applied to cardboard or an old unnecessary plate.
Sugar will become a bait for pests, and boric acid will act as poison. Traps work on the same principle.
Method 2
- 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.
- Mix the mixture well again until smooth.
- Roll into small balls after wearing protective gloves.
- Spread the resulting poison in places where ants frequent.
In both cases, instead of honey and sugar, you can use jam; pieces of minced meat and bread attract insects well.
Soda
Baking soda can be found in almost any kitchen; it is used not only for baking and cleaning, but also as a means to kill ants. The substance works 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 ratio of 1:1:1.
- Apply the resulting mixture to the nest and those areas where ants are most often seen.
- Treat surfaces every 2-3 days, this will 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.
Ammonia irritates the sensitive sense of smell of ants, so they quickly leave the room.
To remove insects, you need to dilute 100 ml of ammonia in 1 liter of water, and treat surfaces throughout the house with this solution. The procedure should be repeated every 3-4 days for 2 weeks.
A person stops smelling ammonia 1-2 hours after treating the room, but the smell will not give rest to the ants for a long time.
Salt + pepper
Salt and pepper can be used separately, but a mixture of the two is most effective.
To remove ants, both ingredients need to be taken in equal quantities, mixed, sprinkled on ant paths, in the nest.
Seasonings irritate the smell of pests and 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.
Suitable for both liquid and solid soap. In the latter case, you need to make a concentrated soap solution of ½ bar in water.
It is necessary to rub all surfaces in the house with the chosen product, especially cracks, corners, and 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 place it in the places where pests are most often found: along ant paths, in the nest.
Yeast swells in the stomach, disrupts digestion, and leads to death.
Vinegar
Vinegar acts on the same principle as ammonia: it irritates the ants' sense of smell. In addition, the acid corrodes the chitin that covers their bodies.
Apply the product to a cloth and wipe all surfaces in the apartment with it. You can pour undiluted vinegar into the nest, this will help remove the insect colony more effectively.
Use of essential oils
Ants do not like strong aromas, so if you add 10 drops of lavender essential oil and the same amount of mint to a glass of water, and pour two tablespoons of alcohol or vodka into it, they will not be very pleased. Next, lubricate the ant route with the resulting solution, or pour it into a sprinkler and spray. At the same time, you can soak cotton wool or paper napkins with it and put it in cabinets.
Citrus
Another scent that ants cannot tolerate is citrus fruits. All you need to do is save the lemon or orange zest and dry it. Different drying methods are discussed in this article.
Vegetable oil or glycerin
There is an even simpler way - simply lubricate the surfaces on which insects walk with vegetable oil or glycerin. Probably no one likes oiled surfaces, including ants, so they will leave. And if you use clove oil, you will also get aromatherapy that is unpleasant for insects.
Garlic
Garlic is another odorous repellent. Again, many people cannot stand this aroma of health, and insects even more so. There are two options: you can simply cut the head into pieces and spread it out, or grate it and mix it with vegetable oil. The resulting mixture is poured into bottle caps and placed in the required places. Insects will run away from such a scent.
Scented plants
If you continue to press on the sore subject of redheads - the sense of smell, then you can also use fragrant plants like mint, wormwood, elderberry, lavender, tansy and pine needles. Dried twigs are placed in cabinets and in the path of insects. Tomato tops and tobacco are also used for similar purposes.
Borax
Its action is similar to boric acid. A paste is made from it in a 1:1 ratio to sugar and a small addition of water, which is used to lubricate cardboard. The ants mistake the poison for a delicacy because of its sweet aroma and bring it to the “queen” for testing. As a result, the entire colony becomes infected and dies.
Black pepper
It also has a repulsive property for ants, so it is enough to spread ground pepper or dry pods on insect paths. Other repellent spices that can help kill ants include cinnamon, mustard, or cloves. The idea is the same - place it along the ant paths.
An ordinary eggshell will also help in intimidation. The main thing is not to wash or crush it.
Why are red ants dangerous?
In addition to the described examples of harm caused by the pharaohs, there are other consequences of human proximity to insects:
- On their paws, ants carry dangerous microbes that can cause various diseases - diphtheria, dysentery, typhoid, salmonellosis, cholera.
Ants carry dangerous bacteria on their feet - They are also dangerous for domestic animals, because they are carriers of canine distemper. But the list of consequences of proximity to ants for humans does not end there.
- Insects damage wooden furniture by digging tunnels in it to reach their nests.
- They can cause short circuits in household appliances, because they like to inhabit microwave ovens, televisions, and washing machines.
Unlike their forest counterparts, house ants, due to their modest size, do not have strong mandibles (jaws) capable of opening to such a size as to capture a piece of skin. But there are known cases where they have bitten newborn children, causing itching, pain and allergic reactions.
Ants can bite small children, causing allergic reactions and itching
What to do if there are ants in indoor flowers
House flowers are another unusual place where ants like to settle. To get rid of them, you can use the following methods:
- put coffee grounds on the soil - as we remember, ants really don’t like strong odors;
- treat plants with soapy water;
- use sweet but poisonous baits;
- treat the soil with permethrin;
- add diatomaceous earth to the soil.
There are also midges that look like ants with wings. Sweet bait is also useful for destroying them.
Prevention
When the ants are defeated, you should take care not to encounter them in your apartment or house again. To do this, it is better to familiarize yourself with the measures to prevent such meetings:
- After a meal, all food should be put in the refrigerator or at least covered. Crumbs from the table are wiped off immediately, just like the dishes are washed.
- Garbage must be taken out daily and the trash can must have a lid.
- If any liquid is spilled, especially sweet liquid, it should be immediately wiped dry, preferably with soapy water.
- All sweets and bulk products should be in sealed packages that ants cannot get into.
- Wet cleaning is carried out once a week.
- Check if the tap is leaking. Water is the basis of life for ants, so access to it must be limited.
These measures will help you avoid meeting or meeting red ants on your property.
How to find a nest
Naturally, the effectiveness of the fight against ants is largely determined by the correct implementation of all actions. It is pointless to crush them with slippers, because the queen will still create more and more eggs so that the colony remains functional.
It is very important to find a hearth (anthill, nest). The problem is that it can be located anywhere in the room, but most likely it will be difficult to access and dark. The most favorite places are floor/ceiling ceilings, ventilation, bathroom or toilet, kitchen.
To try to determine the place of their accumulation, it is necessary to carefully observe the insects, since often ants always move along the same paths if they know nothing e interferes. Only by calculating the location of their nest will it be possible to begin the active phase of their destruction.
Calling an exterminator
The problem is that ants are also getting smarter and adapting to different conditions, and now they can survive even after some industrial poisons. In addition, they hide their nests so well that it can be difficult to reach even with a spray.
If folk recipes and remedies from stores fail to remove parasites, then you will have to call a professional, namely, an exterminator.
You also need to prepare for his arrival:
- carry out general wet cleaning of the premises;
- put all food and utensils in cellophane, film or plastic bags;
- take out pets.
After this, the residents themselves must leave. After the exterminator’s work, it is necessary to thoroughly ventilate the room and once again carry out a general wet cleaning.
