Best ways to deal with Sugar Ants...

[Sauga Bound]

God, I hate these little buggers. I've killed hundreds of them in the last month, but they just keep coming. I've replaced sticky traps twice already because the surfaces were covered in dead ants, but it hasn't slowed them down.

Thankfully they aren't interested in my Ts enclosures, but they are raiding my two cricket enclosures and driving me insane. They're coming in through a window that looks onto my main Tarantula table, where I have three enclosures, my tools, assorted supplies, and enclosures for small and large crickets. I have my own blend of oats, kibble, muesli, orange cubes, and fresh produce to keep them alive for a couple weeks. These are all targets for the ants, who don't seem to bother the crickets, but are still a nuisance.

I haven't posted this without doing lots of research, but there is a lot of contradictory information and I wanted to see how those who've dealt with this before were successful. I've decided on a three-pronged approach, using sticky traps, boric acid mixed with sugar in between the two window panes, and those little poisoned bait stations on the floor and shelves where I have my crickets. I also have the area between the windows, as well as the sill covered in Vaseline. I've inspected the area outside, cut back foliage that was getting close to my window, but don't see a source for the ants at ground level. Until I find their nest, I'm not going to spray any poison.

I've used poisoned bait stations with great success in the past, but there were never other insects nearby that I wanted to protect. Are these bait traps safe and is there a specific kind I should look for? As for the boric acid and sugar, I have not used this method before. Has anyone used it successfully? If so, how do you think about making a kind of perimeter across the area where they are getting in?

Any other suggestions for dealing with these infuriating little buggers would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

First step is to stop with all the home and folk remedies and use a good old fashioned can of Raid ant killer. Move all your pet inverts, tools, and supplies out of the room then spray the window where you see them coming in and out. Spray the ants trapped inside the room as well. Basically spray the ant trail. Let it dry for a couple of hours then go back in with a sponge and container of soapy water and clean up everywhere you sprayed. When the smell of the pesticide is gone, move everything back in.

As for any ants inside your cricket bin, if any, take it outside and put the crickets into a new clean bin, and clean the bin with ants with soapy water. Same with any ants on any furniture. Just use soapy water to kill and remove any stragglers the pesticide didn’t kill.

I’ve been through this lots of times and just save yourself the frustration and use pesticide.

 

[Sauga Bound]

First step is to stop with all the home and folk remedies and use a good old fashioned can of Raid ant killer. Move all your pet inverts, tools, and supplies out of the room then spray the window where you see them coming in and out. Spray the ants trapped inside the room as well. Basically spray the ant trail. Let it dry for a couple of hours then go back in with a sponge and container of soapy water and clean up everywhere you sprayed. When the smell of the pesticide is gone, move everything back in.

As for any ants inside your cricket bin, if any, take it outside and put the crickets into a new clean bin, and clean the bin with ants with soapy water. Same with any ants on any furniture. Just use soapy water to kill and remove any stragglers the pesticide didn’t kill.

I’ve been through this lots of times and just save yourself the frustration and use pesticide.

Thank-you for the advice. If the poison bait traps and boric acid don't work, I'll consider using Raid. The problem is there isn't so much a line of ants as a steady stream of single ants coming in one-at-a-time. Over the days and weeks, they accumulate, but it's hard to target them effectively when there are usually only 5-10 in the area at a given time. That's why I'm focusing more on the entry point and targeting that by making it as toxic as possible. Raid isn't particularly good for residual pest control, which is why I was thinking about boric acid and sugar in between the window panes. The sugar gets them to eat, the acid kills them. They are also likely to bring some of that acid-laced sugar back to the colony. Same with the bait traps.

However, your method is something I will keep in mind if they really start streaming in and I have dozens or hundreds of ants swarming the area. I have taken your advice regarding the crickets, and am storing them elsewhere. This, on its own may help the situation considerably because it's the only food source in the entire room.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Thank-you for the advice. If the poison bait traps and boric acid don't work, I'll consider using Raid. The problem is there isn't so much a line of ants as a steady stream of single ants coming in one-at-a-time. Over the days and weeks, they accumulate, but it's hard to target them effectively when there are usually only 5-10 in the area at a given time. That's why I'm focusing more on the entry point and targeting that by making it as toxic as possible. Raid isn't particularly good for residual pest control, which is why I was thinking about boric acid and sugar in between the window panes. The sugar gets them to eat, the acid kills them. They are also likely to bring some of that acid-laced sugar back to the colony. Same with the bait traps.

However, your method is something I will keep in mind if they really start streaming in and I have dozens or hundreds of ants swarming the area. I have taken your advice regarding the crickets, and am storing them elsewhere. This, on its own may help the situation considerably because it's the only food source in the entire room.

The ant behavior you described is typically what I see. In every instance of using Raid ant killer spray on the interior it has proven to be an effective barrier. I always choose to use Raid spray and solve the problem before it gets worse. You know your situation better than anyone, so good luck!

 

[viper69]

Ants can climb over vaseline- seen it. They are ruthless enemies!!

 

[Kada]

Use boric acid, kills at the nest, problem over. I mix it with wheat flour and sugar to make little dough balls now. Easier to scatter around. No sprays and no ants within a week, queens are dead.

Check the bait traps, .any are boric acid based. Waste of money if you're already using boric acid

 

[Tarantuland]

Liquid boric acid traps like ortho, a sprinkling of diatomaceous earth in problem areas can help too