When you make your spring chore list, don’t forget to
“feed”
the ants. To fight ants properly, experts say you have to know
a little ant biology.

“To get rid of ants, you first have to know their diet
and their habitat,” said Dan Suiter, an Extension Service
entomologist with the University of Georgia College of
Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences.

“You’ve also got to kill the queen,” Suiter said.
“Everything an ant colony does revolves around the life of
the queen.”

Spring is New Colony Time

Spring is when new ant colonies form. “The reproductive
ants fly into the air, mate and drop to the ground,” Suiter
said. “Male ants then die. The queen’s wings fall off, and
she goes off to nest and make a new colony.”

Knowing the ants’ diet is important when selecting a
bait-based
pesticide product.

“Ants feed on sugar from plant honeydew and on protein
from dead insects,” he said. “In the spring, they
mostly
eat proteins. In the fall, they eat sugars.”

Treatments with the wrong food base don’t work.

“If the bait contains a food the ants aren’t
eating,”
Suiter said, “you’ve wasted your time and money.”

One product covers both diet bases.

“Raid produces a double control product that includes
both the protein and sugar diet,” he said. “It’s
child-resistant
and comes in see-through packages so you can easily tell when
to replace the product.”

Suiter found Combat ant baits effective, too. Both brands are
widely marketed through grocery stores.

“They’re the only commercial products that use an insect
protein base,” Suiter said. “And there’s obviously
something
to that.”

Baits and Granulars Work
Best

Ant control products come in many forms, but baits are among
Suiter’s favorites.

“Baits are so effective because ants share food,”
he said. “They take it back to the colony and share it with
other ants, including the queen.”

In his lab at the Georgia Experiment Station in Griffin, Ga.,
Suiter tested baits to find the most effective formulas.

“Select a bait,” he said, “that includes any
of these active ingredients: sulfuramid, hydramethylon or
fipronil.
Avoid buying anything with propoxur as an ingredient. This just
repels ants. It doesn’t kill them.”

Suiter ranks granular products high, too.

“Granulars get down into the thatch and mulch where the
ants live,” he said. “The only problem is they have
to be watered in, and with the current drought, come June and
July you may be facing an outdoor water ban.”

Dusts Work Well, But Less is
Best

Pesticide dusts are effective if applied correctly.

“Homeowners tend to think that if a little bit is good,
a lot must be better,” Suiter said. “They apply too
much. Dust is effective forever, but there’s a knack to applying
it. Less is best.”

Liquid sprays are effective. “If you buy a liquid that
contains pyrethroids,” Suiter said, “you’re probably
spraying close to the same product a pest control company would
apply. You may have to invest in a sprayer though.”

Aerosols are Suiter’s least favorite ant control.
“They’re
the most widely sold type of ant and home pest control products,
but I have no use for them,” he said. “They kill only
the ants you see, and they leave oily residues on your counter
tops.”

But people like the instant gratification they provide.

“You push a nozzle and you’ve got dead ants,” he
said. “And now they come in colorful cans and pleasant
scents.
The only time I would ever use them is if I had a party in 10
minutes and needed the ants dead quickly.”

Whichever product you choose, use it outside.

“That’s where the ants live,” Suiter said. “You
may see them inside, but they’re only coming in for resources
like water.”