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Our Newsletter


Small Ants

Argentine Ants, Small Ant Control   

 

 
This article is about controlling the 100 or so species of small nuisance ants that invade and nest inside our homes throughout the world. These include but do not exclude the grease ant, sugar ant, black ant, pavement ant, argentine ant, flying ant, odorous house ant, white footed ant, thief ant, acrobat ant, citronella ant, honey ant, and pharaoh ant.

This article is not about fire ants or carpenter ants. To learn about fire ant control and carpenter ant control click on the links below.

  • Fire ant control

  • Carpenter ant control

     

     

  • Click this link to see the difference between termites and flying ants

 

SMALL ANT CONTROL

Sometimes just a cheap spray picked up at the grocery store is all you need to remove these small pesky ants from your house.  But you would probably not be reading this article if this had worked for you.
 

How to use Maxforce Ant Bait to control ants invading your home and business.

 

FOR ANT CONTROL USING BAIT FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES.

1.  BAIT INSIDE...The use of ant bait inside cupboards, closets, window sills, attics, crawl spaces and any other foraging places is necessary to control nests inside your home.  Maxforce Granular Ant Bait is the best bait for this purpose.  The worker ants distribute it throughout the colony.  Control takes 7-14 days. Maxforce granular bait is a very finely ground bait about the size of pepper. It is very safe towards non-target organisms such as pets and birds but works on all species of small ants including the pharaoh, sugar, grease and fire ant. One container covers 1/3 of an acre so for best results distribute this bait throughout the house, attic, crawlspace and outside along the foundation.
Maxforce also comes in Maxforce Ant Bait Stations for really neat people. We also sell Gourmet Ant Bait for the times that the ants prefer a sweet bait.

2.  BAIT OUTSIDE...If you just bait inside then you are inviting all the ants in the neighborhood to enter your house and have a snack.  This is a losing battle.  Bait outside around the foundation and on the window sills. Maxforce Granular works well for an outside ant bait. One 10 oz. container covers 1/3 of an acre, so use the entire container for best results. Maxforce also works on fire ants.
Use the Drax Liquidator bait stations for sweet feeding ants.

3. SPRAY OUTSIDE...One week after the outside baiting use a good residual spray containing cypermethrin to spray all the entry points into the house such as windows, doors, fireplaces, plumbing, etc.  This prevents the ants from re-establishing their scent trails and re-colonizing your house.  This spray will also prevent roaches, spiders and crickets from entering your home.  Repeat this perimeter spray once a month. Failure to repeat this step will allow ants to re-enter your home, many times in as little as 4-6 weeks!!!

For small ant control using a combination of baits, sprays and dusts, follow these guidelines.

 

Sometimes there are just too many ants for a baiting program to handle quickly. This happens in late summer and early fall, especially with argentine ants.

 

1. Bait inside...Use 1/2 of a 10 ounce container of Maxforce granular bait and all of the Drax inside. Put bait under appliances and sinks. Delta Dust may also be used inside the electrical boxes. Do NOT spray inside for 7 days.

 

2. Spray outside...Spray 4-8 gallons of a cypermethrin solution outside only. Quantities must be used to insure proper penetration through the mulch and leaf litter. In addition spray all the entry points going to the inside of the house, such as windows, doors, plumbing, fireplaces, etc.

 

3. Spray inside...After letting the bait stay undisturbed for one week (giving the workers plenty of time to pick it up and take it back to the nest) , then you can spray about one gallon of a cypermethrin solution inside and outside. Cypermethrin comes in many different sizes. See below or follow the links for a complete description of the most popular ones.

 

Best Buy!!!!>>>>>>>>Ant bait kit containing one 10 ounce jar of Maxforce Granular ant bait, 6 liquid bait stations and one syringe of Gourmet Ant bait.

Best Buy!!!>>>>>>>>Combo bait/spray ant extermination kit containing one 10 ounce jar of Maxforce Granular ant bait, one syringe of Gourmet Ant  bait and one pint of Demon EC (makes 32 gallons of finished cypermethrin solution).

Follow this link to see the products above.

Cypermethrin products cannot be shipped to NY, Ct, or outside of the lower 48 U.S. states.