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Ants in the house: how to get rid of them
10.05.2024 03:10
In the summer, in addition to mosquitoes and flies, ants can also cause a lot of trouble.
And it is not always easy to deal with them, since they settle not only in gardens, utility rooms, but also in residential premises.
It is unlikely that anyone will be reassured by the popular belief that ants in the house mean prosperity and wealth.
Benefits and harms
It is important to know that there are many types of ants and each has its own characteristics. They can also be not only useful, but also quite harmful.
Ants that are found in houses and gardens are different from forest ants. And if we know from childhood that forest ants are forest orderlies, then those that appear in living quarters are only partially useful.
Their existence causes great damage.
For example, at home, some ants eat moth larvae, spiders, bedbugs, flies and do not bother the residents.
In gardens and vegetable gardens - they loosen the soil and also eat various pests. But, unfortunately, in houses, first of all, pharaoh or myrmic ants settle.
Pharaoh ants are red, small, but quite harmful. They can create nests in walls, which makes them difficult to destroy. They crawl into bread, sugar, spoil food and can spread infections.
Myrmic ants are red and black. Although they are small, they are quite aggressive, as they have a sting and therefore can bite painfully.
How to fight
To get rid of ants, you can buy insecticides in any specialized store. There are also several popular folk methods that can be useful.
First, you need to create conditions for the ants in which they will “understand” that there will be nothing for them to eat in the house.
To do this, it is necessary to completely remove any food residues that attract small insects within two weeks.
After eating, dishes should be washed immediately and put away in a cupboard, not allowing them to accumulate in the sink with food leftovers.
It is advisable to wipe all surfaces where ants may have crawled. You can rinse the napkin in vinegar, as ants cannot stand its smell.
Secondly, ants are repelled by various smells (parsley, garlic, bay leaf, mustard, thyme, lemon balm, mint and others).
These herbs should be placed in places where ants most often appear.
Other methods involve creating baits and barriers:
1. In a glass of water, dissolve a quarter teaspoon of boric acid, three spoons of sugar and one or two honey. You will need to pour the bait into a shallow container and place it in places that pets and children cannot reach. Over time, the ants will transfer this "poison" to their anthill and thus begin to poison their "friends".
2. You can put a piece of raw meat and regularly wash off the ants that appear with running water for three to four days. Soon a hungry female will crawl there (she is easy to recognize, as she is twice as big). If you destroy her, you can significantly reduce the number of ants.
3. There is even food that ants eat but do not digest. This includes, first of all, starch and coffee grounds. For special effect, these products should be scattered near baits of syrup, pieces of fruit, etc.
4. All species of ants move in specific directions, along clear "paths" that they mark with pheromone trails. Such signal substances can inform other ants about the presence of food and the safety of the route. If ants are destroyed several times along this route and left on the so-called "highway", then other ants will not follow this path and will not return.
5. You can also put silicone, putty or Vaseline under baseboards, floor coverings and in various cracks. Or create barriers from various substances (pepper, washing powder, cinnamon, turmeric) so that insects do not penetrate the room.
Previously, we wrote about how to clean your faucet to a shine using a product that costs pennies.
