Ant Bait
Ant bait traps, sometimes referred to as ‘Ant Cafes’ or ‘Ant Bait Stations’ are a highly effective technique in the management of the vast majority of ant species. We use the term ‘vast majority’ rather than simply stating ‘every single species’ since research suggests that ant baits do not work particularly well with certain species of ants. When it comes to ridding your home and garden of ants, baits are, in practice, probably most effective with sugar loving ants.
So what is the idea behind an ant bait trap and how does using one help you to get rid of ants? Well the basic idea of an ant cafe is quite simple. The ant cafes are designed to lure the ants to use them as a source of food and are therefore placed in areas where we wish the ants to find them close to the ant trails. The idea is to stock the ant trap with food which is appealing to the ants and which they will carry back to the colony to give to the queen. An ideal bait will consist of some form of slow acting poisin so that the queen, and hence the colony, will be eradicated.
There are a number of commercially available ‘off the shelve’ Ant Cafes and Ant Bait Station products for sale along with various types of ant baits. When it comes to baits, there are a number of points to remember:
Ant Baits must not be too strong (poisinous) otherwise they will kill too many worker ants before sufficient bait makes it’s way back to the colony to kill the queen.
Ant Bait must work slowly in order to affect the ability of the colony to survive by killing the queen and causing a significant drop in the numbers of workers that gather food and maintain the colony.
Bait must also, of course, be attractive to the target ant and be available in sufficient quantity and over a sufficient period of time in which to be effective.
It is very important to be patient when using this ant elimination technique as we wish for the bait to act slowly so that it has time to work it’s way back to the queen and eventually eliminates the entire ant colony. Baits can take up to several weeks or even months depending on the size of the colony.
Please bear in mind that you must not use toxic chemical sprays at the same time as this is entirely counterproductive since all that will happen is that you will kill the ants before they are able to take the food back to the colony. This defeats the whole purpose of using ant bait in the first place!
Snippets from around the Blogosphere:
How to Kill Ants in Your Home with Natural Pest Control
When all else fails, and you still cannot identify the source of your ant problem, turn to the professionals or purchase a store bought ant trap, or bait station. They look like little black or white plastic disks.
Most of the time 100% syrup baits work fine. If ants seem to be ignoring the bait stations try adding a little vegetable oil. Commercial ant baits vary in concentration of boric acid between 1-5%.
A Guide to Controlling Ants « How-To Australia
Baits are easy to use and often effective. Place the baits next to wherever ants are seen, preferably beside ant "trails". Note: Do not spray other insecticides or cleaning agents around the bait stations.
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