How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants

Robert James
Pest Control Technician

Suger ant

Have you ever come across these small and tiny insects? Or are they causing you trouble in your home, well, no more stress because here are the best solutions or methods that will help you get rid of sugar ants completely but first of all you must be indeed very sure if they are sugar ants.

Sugar ants are sometimes referred to as banded sugar ants; they are always famous for causing problems in people's homes. They are related to large black ants, brownish orange bodies together with black mandibles and heads. Although at times they may appear in diverse sizes, colors and shapes. It all depends on the roles they participate.

As in, for example, the soldier ants are somehow bigger in size with nearly blackish color whereas workers ants are usually orange brownish in color. They have six legs and are normal between 5-15 millimeters in size, probably not more than an inch. On the other hand, the biggest ants in the colony are typically the queen ants.

The following are some of the neatest facts regarding sugar ants that you need to know

Facts About Sugar Ants

ant larva

  • Male and queen ants mate in mid-air whereas hundreds of workers keep guard on the ground just the same as security guards can protect you.
  • Sugar ants do bite but do not hurt as compared to fire ants
  • The male ants that assist produce baby ones have long black bodies and wings as well.
  • They are omnivores, meaning they eat plants, nectar, dead animals and other insects
  • Queen sugar ants produce eggs throughout late spring into early autumn
  • Sugar ants are known to be nocturnal insects; however they may appear during daytimes during the days that are exceedingly warm and damp
  • They are also protectors of aphid, which are small plant lice that produce a sap just the same as liquid ants love
  • You can rarely see them in your home during the winter month
  • Sugar ants also collect secretions made by plant-eating insects

 Reproduction of Sugar Ants

Eggs produced by Queen Sugar ant in late spring or early autumn can, later on, hatch into new males or queens. Male sugar ants which have wings along with royal blood are entirely black whereas female workers are orange in color.

At the autumn period, the majority of alates mate in the air at the same time sugar ants workers stay watch on the ground. Conversely, the life cycle can take around five to ten weeks, and the standard lifespan of an ant is forty to sixty-five days. On the other hand, the queen can live long up to 25 to 28 years.

The Habitats That Sugar Ants Love Most

These tiny insects love environments that are damp, moist and dark. You can locate them in urban places, deep in the woodlands, inside the forest as well as homes where the conditions are conducive for them. Their nests are frequently found in the following places;

262

  • Root of the plants
  • Old wood
  • Bushes and shrubs
  • Deep beneath the soil
  • Near branches of trees
  • Underneath rocks

Furthermore, you can detect an ant home in a very simple way because their houses look like small mounds having a small hole on top, which sounds like a mini volcano. Under their homes, there are various paths as well a system in place created to keep the ants working correctly so that the queen ants can get all the nutrients together with the care she requires to produce new young little ants.

Why Do Sugar Ants Invade Homes

Sugar ants invade people's homes in the early spring and also fall in search of the following;

  • Food to feed on
  • Cool, moist, dark wooden areas so as to make a nest support their colony

Other older and abundant houses are likely attractive to this variety of ants since they have a lot of moist areas and very much easy to access.

How to Kill Sugar Ants:

  • Pour hot fresh brewed coffee over the nest
  • Also, pour salty boiling water over the nest and will destroy it quickly
  • Sprinkle baking soda in the anthill
  • Dump some bleach on the anthill
  • You can as well flood the entire nest with running water from your garden house

51mpRI%2BgIRL
small lightwide lightsmall light

The Best Ways to Prevent Sugar Ants from Evading Your Home

Maintaining cleanliness in your home isn't enough for these small insects to stay far from your home. All you can do is to spray the foundations of your home with a natural pesticide that will help prevent the ants from thinking of invading your house. However if you find one outside your house, destroy it instantly to avoid future visitors

Secondly, in case your home has cracks, maybe around the doors or windows ensure to seal off all of them. Additionally, also renovate all falling shingles and wood frames. You can as well replace your roof supposing it's damaged and old.

Natural Ways to Get Rid of Sugar Ants

Vinegar for Sugar Ants

41ZnMBLfPjL 4small light

small light

Mix water with white or apple vinegar proportionally 50; 50 and spray high traffic areas, counter tops along with window sills. This mixture solution will assist in stopping the occurrences of pest problems.

small light

Sugar ant trapssmall lightsmall light

Since sugar ants like various foods, try and use mint jelly, peanut butter, maple syrup as well as honey. These will work for trap setting purposes. What you need to create a trap;

  • One teaspoonful of organic boric acid
  • One teaspoonful of maple syrup
  • 1 cracker
  • Small cardboard box

Procedure

Made pinholes inside a box and mix both boric acid and food together, then spread this mixture on a cracker and put it inside the box. The food will draw the sugar ants closer at the same time the boric acid will kill them.

Secret way: Black pepper for sugar ants

51olv4dCjDLsmall lightsmall light

Sprinkle black pepper on all entry points, but if you also find the initial location, pour pepper there as well. It will prevent them from re-entering. It's a super secret way to controlling sugar ants.

Conclusion

According to scientists, they estimate that there are more than 1.5 million ants on the whole planet for each human being and also more than 12000 species of ants that are acknowledged to exist on each continent apart from Antarctica.

Learn more; The ultimate guide to controlling ants "Get Rid of ants!"

WELCOME TO Man Vs. Pest
Disclosure
manvspest.com.com is reader supported. We independently recommend methods, ways, products etc. As amazon associates we receive commission for every qualified purchases. More Details>> 
crosschevron-down linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram