Ants are pesky nuisances that can be difficult to remove once they set up on a property. In most situations, homeowners will choose to go with a repellent or insecticide and they will often see results. However, these options do not completely remove an infestation, they just force ants to avoid an area. This result may be good enough when you’re dealing with most ant species, but if you have a carpenter ant infestation, the last thing you want is for the ants to go about their business. Carpenter ants set up their colonies inside wood, and they can cause a lot of damage as they grow in numbers. This is why pest control pros will use baits against an ant infestation.
How do baits work?
Baits are sometimes referred to as ant traps, which is a bit of a misnomer, because the term implies that the ants will be trapped inside something. Baits are composed of two elements: a food source that is highly attractive to the particular ant species in the infestation, and a slow acting insecticides. Ant foragers will find the bait, leave a pheromone trail to it, and then they will be joined by other workers who will take the bait back to the colony. The bait is then shared among the members of the colony, eventually reaching the queen and killing it off, after which, it’s only a matter of time until the colony completely dies off.
The limitations of ant baits
Ant baits are extremely effective, but they do have a couple of downsides. To start, they take some time to kill the colony, and during this time, you will have to allow ants to travel freely to and from the bait in order for it to be spread amongst the members of the nest. Baits also need to be used precisely. A pest control pro will always perform an inspection first to identify the ant species in the infestation. This is because different ant species have different diets. Some ants prefer sugary foods, while others prefer protein, so the bait has to target the right species in order for it to be as effective as possible.
However, that is pretty much it in terms of limitations. Ant baits remain one of the most effective methods to completely remove an ant infestation from the home. If you would like to know more about how ant baits work, or if you would like to set up an appointment with a pest control pro, contact us today.
