Some of the sweet substance may be left over your countertop, and you can see sugar ants surrounding them in a few minutes. How to get rid of sugar ants will be the next question. Sugar crumbs will attract ants and they will be doing their work with the help of their co-workers. The sugar ant problem must be prevented at the earliest to control sugar ant infestation in your home.
Sugar ants have an odor-sensing ability that helps catch sweet foods in form. Sugar is an attractive substance to other ant species also. Natural methods will be effective only at their earlier stage, as it enters the home they will start building their nest and it will be challenging to get rid of sugar ants.
Here we provide certain natural home remedies and other ways to prevent sugar ants in our surroundings. They should be treated properly to prevent ants in our home.
1. What are Sugar Ants?
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Sugar ants is a term used to describe many species that are good attractors of sweet substances. Most ants will enter your home looking in search of sweet foods. They will eat raw sugar, baked foods, and even on honey.
Black ants, carpenter ants, pavement ants, ghost ants, and odorous house ants come under this category. Many species are considered sugar ants but they vary in color and size These ants range from 1 -13mm and will be a reddish brown, brown, black, or white body.
We can recognize them by their smell. When smashed, a rotten coconut smell will be produced. These ants will be seen on kitchen counters, cabinets, and sinks. Sugar ants also called odorous house ants will attract sugary items.
2. What Attracts “Sugar Ants”?
As it is attracted to sugary foods it is called sugar ants. Sugar ants live on any sugary substances in your home, ants will identify them and will start walking to build ant colonies in that areas. Hence, ant enters our home and will build ant colony in different areas of our house.
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Sugar, honey, and other sweet items will give them the energy to work and will be the nonstop workers in your house. Even soft drinks will attract sugar ants to your home. A few drops of sweet treats are the ants’ entry point to your home.
Another reason for sugar ants in your home is the dirty dishes in your kitchen. So we can look at how to get rid of sugar ants from your kitchen or surroundings. Uncleaned kitchen countertops will also attract sugar ants to our home.
3. Can We Get Rid of Sugar Ants?
Many ways are there to eliminate sugar ants from your house. Even if you try your best to make your home uninviting the pests, they will still try to invade your home. In these situations, you must treat them quickly.
There is communication between the ants, they communicate by releasing hormones. This helps other ants to find the food source and follow their path in a straight line. Ants enter the home using these hormones.
When choosing the methods to eliminate ants, you must take care of the ants you see and which are hidden. Use the methods that will not only kill ants that entered your home but also that eliminate their colony.
4. Remedies to Get Rid of Sugar Ants: 6 Amazing Remedies
Natural methods and some store-bought methods are available as ant killers that help to get rid of sugar ants. Based on the ant activity in our home, we can choose the appropriate methods for their prevention.
Here are some methods for how to get rid of sugar ants. Follow these solutions to get rid of sugar ants’ bite.
4.1. White Vinegar
The vinegar solution will be ab effective remedy against sugar ants. Applying this method will help to prevent these stubborn sugar ants or other pests from our home. Pavement ants or pharaoh ants also can be controlled using this method.
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For doing this method, simply mix an equal portion of white vinegar and water. After mixing, transfer this liquid mixture into a spray bottle. Now your weapon against sugar ants is ready. Spray the liquid into the areas where you have seen the ant colonies.
So it will the simplest and very useful remedy for how to get rid of sugar ants. And this will be an ingredient that will be included in our kitchen.
4.2. Bay Leaves
This is another natural substance that will help to prevent ants in our home. It will be effective to destroy the pharaoh ants. You can place these small bay leaves in the areas where you found the sugar ant.
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You can find the sugar ant nest and spread the leaves in that place to get rid of the entire colony. Dried leaves also work to prevent the ant population. Place the more bay leaves in the entry point of the home which is the way for ants. It is another method for how to get rid of sugar ants.
4.3. Boric Acid
Boric acid is a slow poison that will be the best sugar ant bait. This will be affected only when mixing with some sweet treat that will attract ants and carry them to their colonies to share with other ants and kills many ants at one time.
Boric acid is effective pest control in all ant species and will work best against nuisance ants which are odorous house ants, pavement ants, acrobat ants, etc. For trying this method, simply mix one part of boric acid with an equal portion of sugar or other sweet substances. Thus this acid will be the best solution for how to get rid of sugar ants.
These are effective poisonous sugar ant baits that will destroy ants but are not the best option if you have pets or children in your home. While intake of this acid, will affect the ants’ digestive systems and kill them. So use this remedy carefully without harming others.
4.4. Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds are not only used to make your morning coffee. It also helps to get rid of sugar ants and other annoying pests in your kitchen. Spreading the coffee grounds in the areas where you found ants will cause them to lose their scent trail.
A strong odor of coffee help to act as the ant bait to avoid ants. But coffee alone cannot destroy ants, adding another ingredient will make it a strong sugar ant eliminator. For outdoor purpose, coffee grounds alone can do the work to get rid of sugar ants. Simply pour coffee into the hills of the ants.
4.4.1. Mixing With Diatomaceous Earth
For indoor purposes, use diatomaceous earth, which is an effective additive that is used as an ant killer. Mix coffee grounds with diatomaceous earth for ant control. First, locate the area where there is ant activity and sprinkle some coffee around the areas of ant hills.
Then pour diatomaceous earth over the top of the colony of ants. Ants travel to eat the coffee grounds passing through the food-grade diatomaceous earth which makes them dehydrate and die. Thus we can get rid of sugar ants using coffee grounds. You can reuse this method when needed.
4.4.2. Mixing with Essential Oils
Some of them may use essential oil to provide a pleasant smell in our homes. Ants hate this strong odor and keep away from these areas. Use these power oils with coffee to control ants. Pour some coffee in the areas where you find their entry to the home.
This prevents other ants from entering again. Now fill the spray bottle with water and 20 drops of essential oils or peppermint oil and spray it toward the remaining ants to kill them. This will work as the best ant bait to get rid of all bait stations.
The odorous house ant will also be destroyed soon after spraying this liquid against them. So another remedy for how to get rid of sugar ants is clear to you.
4.5. Baking Soda
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This fine white powder has the effect to kill sugar ants in our house and act as a pest control for all pesky pests. Mix little baking soda with little powdered sugar in a bowl. Place the bowl near the ant lines. The powdered sugar in the mixture will attract the ants to the bowl.
They carry the sweet product to their nest and share it with other ants. This food source will kill the ants by dehydrating their body and more ants will be destroyed. Hence it acts as a good remedy for how to get rid of sugar ants.
4.6. Lemon Juice
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Lemon is another common ingredient in our kitchen. Sugar ants or black ants do not like this smell so it can be used to destroy it. The smell of lemon will mask the ant trails that they use to get and from food or water supply.
Try to sprinkle some lemon juice in the area where you find the ants. You can also place a piece of lemon in the kitchen cupboard to prevent the entry of ants into your home. hence it is another solution for how to get rid of sugar ants.
5. How to Prevent Sugar Ants in our Home?
Preventing sugar ants from entering the home is the best remedy to get rid of them. By following certain steps we can avoid their attack on our homes. We can try the above-mentioned methods to destroy them completely. But after trying still it remains in our house seek the help of a pest control company to get rid of them.
Clean the sugary messes on the kitchen countertop if there is a spillage. This avoid ants to enter the kitchen. Don’t leave the food open for a long time. Store it in airtight containers or replace leftover items in the fridge.
Rinse dirty dishes after use otherwise, sugar ants will approach them and build colonies beside them. Clean the dining table after every meal especially if you have children in your home. Chocolate pieces will fall while they eat, clean up immediately before ants catch them.
If you follow these tips you can avoid the entry of ants into your house. Our cleanliness will be one reason for the attack of ants in our surroundings. If ants are already a member of your family, try any of the above methods to get rid of them.
Final Note
Sugar ants make us confused as can be seen in many varieties. Black ants are quite common in our homes, it does not harm us. As in the case of sugar ants they will build their world and make the situation worse by entering the whole team into our house.
So, we search for remedies for how to get rid of sugar ants. In this article, we define the various methods to destroy the entire pest from the surroundings. These methods will be helpful for all pesky pests in your home.
While reading this article, you will get the pest control methods for how to get rid of sugar ants from our homes. After trying these methods your home will be free from sugar ants and other pests. Try it and see the magic of getting rid of sugar ants.
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FAQs
Q1. What causes sugar ants in our home?
Sugar ants are attracted to the sweet items in our house. Like other aphids, they also are seen in plants. Dirty dishes or uncleaned tables cause the sugar ants’ surroundings.
Q2. Which is the home remedy against sugar ants?
White vinegar which is a common ingredient in our kitchen helps to destroy sugar ants.it is a very effective remedy that will destroy the entire colony.
Q3. Do sugar ants harm the human body?
Sugar ants bite on human skin if we make a disturbance in their traveling path. A bite reaction may be seen as a swelling just for some time.
Q4. Can we get rid of entire colonies of sugar ants by using these remedies?
Yes, some remedies will act to get rid of the whole family of sugar ants. Boric acid will be effective to destroy the entire sugar ants in our home and surroundings.
Last Updated on by Himani Rawat
