We're dealing with sugar ants, and I'm fed up with them. They're a minor nuisance showing up on one part of a kitchen counter, but it's enough that I don't want to use that counter until the ants are gone.

I've tried:

- Treating the lawn with Over & Out fire ant killer a couple months ago (this did nothing)
- Spraying the perimeter of the house with Harris concentrate (this did nothing)
- Found trails of them coming into the house and putting a mixture of sugar and borax around that area (this works until they pick another route)
- Terro liquid bait traps inside, on the affected counter (they briefly send a couple dozen "scouts" and then just send 2-4 at a time)
- Terro liquid bait traps outside (they are currently swarming them)

How am I supposed to get rid of these? I can't think of anything else. I'd like to avoid a subscription to a pest control service if I can.

ETA: They actually could be ghost ants.

Why?

TimsParents said:

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Why?

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Why what?

Waffledynamics said:

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TimsParents said:

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Why?

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Why what?

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Why do you have the ants. They wouldn't be there if they didn't have a food source, is what the poster was implying.

Sea Speed said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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TimsParents said:

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Why?

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Why what?

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Why do you have the ants. They wouldn't be there if they didn't have a food source, is what the poster was implying.

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I don't actually know. Inside, they send foragers out onto the counter. They aren't going after any pet food or anything beyond that area.

As far as I can tell, they are inhabiting the kitchen island.

I always put bait traps as close to where they were living as possible and sprayed Bifen IT in to whatever hole they are coming out of.

I actually think these might be ghost ants. They look like this.

We once had a leaky hummingbird feeder that started this problem ... in spades. DIY took forever with traditional house sprays & fire ant killer kings, so The End was found ... slowly with
Terro baits & gels = A-OK

We replaced the leaky feeder, so removing food source is always the first no-brainer advice given us.

Later we were blessed with a skunk with a taste/passion for such ants, as well as termites found in our forest & near the house in fallen limbs.

Sea Speed said:

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I always put bait traps as close to where they were living as possible and sprayed Bifen IT in to whatever hole they are coming out of.

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Thanks, yeah I've done that indoors, but they keep sending foragers. Today, I put a few bait traps out where they were trailing. They've been going at them for at least a few hours. Hopefully they'll take it back to the nest and take care of the problem.

I wish I knew what to do to treat our yard to prevent this, though.

Bifen XTS in the yard. Nuke it.

Come to think of it I used something different for carpenter ants but I can't recall, I will have to look. I kill billions of fire ants annually with Bifen though.

had them in a bathroom. put the liquid baits inside cabinet and outside the wall as well. got rid of them.

Waffledynamics said:

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We're dealing with sugar ants, and I'm fed up with them. They're a minor nuisance showing up on one part of a kitchen counter, but it's enough that I don't want to use that counter until the ants are gone.

I've tried:

- Treating the lawn with Over & Out fire ant killer a couple months ago (this did nothing)
- Spraying the perimeter of the house with Harris concentrate (this did nothing)
- Found trails of them coming into the house and putting a mixture of sugar and borax around that area (this works until they pick another route)
- Terro liquid bait traps inside, on the affected counter (they briefly send a couple dozen "scouts" and then just send 2-4 at a time)
- Terro liquid bait traps outside (they are currently swarming them)

How am I supposed to get rid of these? I can't think of anything else. I'd like to avoid a subscription to a pest control service if I can.

ETA: They actually could be ghost ants.

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This stuff works on them all from fire to sugar to brown ants, they all love it and gobble it up. Kills the nest asap. Use like dime size globs in corners and such. They will gather at it, let them eat and return, don't spray them or anything with poison, you want them to return to the nest. I use it on weep holes around the house anytime I see ant trains and have killed suger ant invasions in the past within a couple days of applying it. Reapply it after them eat it until they stop coming.


Combat Indoor and Outdoor Ant Killing Gel, 27 Gram https://a.co/d/7OcnD8b

https://a.co/d/cowPdH4

We have used this with great successs.

Ge this stuff. Leave it on the counter around where they are. Don't mess with them while they are feeding on it. There will be trails of them that will last for for 2-3 days. They will all die and be gone. If you wipe them up or disrupt their trail / feeding process, this will not work.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TERRO-2-oz-Liquid-Ant-Killer/304269595?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101673619&adid=22222222227304269595_101673619_167186614079_21748556807&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=714826546708&wl4=pla-2363245450740&wl5=9027898&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=5356591551&wl11=online&wl12=304269595_101673619&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIze31g_TgiAMVXR-tBh0VCQd6EAQYByABEgKbdvD_BwE

terro liquid works...just need to move it around daily and it will do the trick

RoyVal said:

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terro liquid works...just need to move it around daily and it will do the trick

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I said in the OP that I have Terro liquid baits both inside on the counter where the ants are showing up and also outside where I saw them trailing. Today, the trailing ants outside are almost completely gone from that spot. My hope is that they brought plenty of the bait back home.

However, there seems to be an increase in the ants inside on the counter. Still only as much as a dozen visible at a time at most, but they're just not relenting. I'm looking into some of the other suggestions people have posted here.

The bait traps do not work. You have to use the liquid in the bottle and put it on the cardboard squares they provide.