Ant insecticides are pesticides used to control ants and can be purchased in the form of liquid products or powders. They have been shown to be effective against most ant species, although their effectiveness depends on the specific chemical and how they are applied.
Homeowners can use liquid ant sprays to treat exterior ant trails and other points of entry into the home, such as around door thresholds and utility pipes. They also may want to apply a one-to-six-foot swath of spray along the ground adjacent to the foundation of the house and one to three feet up the foundation wall, depending on product label directions.
Argentine ant infestations often cause damage to the interior of residential buildings. The EPA, in response to concerns about ecological exposure from residential uses of pyrethroids and pyrethrins, has implemented a voluntary initiative that limits the use of these pesticides for non-agricultural outdoor applications, including spot or crack-and-crevice treatments, with a few exceptions.
The most effective way to prevent ant infestations in homes is to seal around door thresholds and windows, as well as to minimize the entry of utilities that enter through these openings. In addition, you can reduce the risk of ant infestations by eliminating sources of food and water for ants.
Refillable bait stations provide an affordable and safe means to eliminate ant infestations outside beste maurgift. They contain a bait that is designed to be mixed with a pesticide, usually a water-soluble insecticide, such as bifenthrin or fipronil.
Baits can be used to kill ants in their nesting sites, like mounds or pavement cracks, or to attract them into treated areas where a more concentrated insecticide can be applied (i.e., to traps or sandbags). Some baits have a long residual activity that lasts for months after application.
Faster acting baits include hydramethylnon, indoxacarb and spinosad. These baits can be used to treat individual ant mounds or to broadcast over inaccessible colonies, such as those nesting under sidewalks and under plant beds.
These insecticides are derived from naturally occurring microorganisms and can be administered to fire ants as liquid drenches, injectable aerosols, dusts or granules that can be sprinkled over the mound surface. They have a unique mode of action that causes excitation of the ants’ nervous system and then paralysis.
Another effective method for controlling ants involves soil injections of pesticides directly into the soil, which can be more efficient and less expensive than applying chemicals to plants. Thiamethoxam and bifenthrin are commonly used for this purpose.
To evaluate the efficacy of soil injections, Argentine ants were allowed to forage in aphid-free pepper plants (Treatment I), or in aphid-infested pepper plants injected with 0.10% thiamethoxam (Treatment II) and bifenthrin (Treatment III). The percentage of ants foraging in the aphid-free plant did not differ pre- or post-treatment.
Using baits to control ants in aphid-infested plants also reduces the risk of the insecticide being washed away into runoff water. In addition, the use of a soil-applied insecticide can be combined with other pesticides in the landscape to provide additional, effective protection for crops and landscaping.
