Hi my name is Jackie White I have a bad infestation of little black ants in my house. They are everywhere and in every room. I just recently read your article on what not to do in regards to getting rid of them. I think the damage is done. You see for the last couple of years I have been spraying bug spray in every portal and crack that I have seen them come in. This works for a short amount of time but then they begin to invade again. I have tried to use the pest control agencies but have found them very expensive and the bait left behind attracts them which is great but not so great when they start infesting cereal boxes, ect… Do you have a product that will repel them from storage areas and how long does your bait take to kill off a colony. Thank you for your time. J.W.
As explained in our ANT CONTROL article, the use of sprays inside the home will many times make matters worse. Colonies will be “split” up creating a series of budding colonies which all can become separate nests by themselves and independent from the founding colony. This should always be avoided by keeping the spraying to the outside only. As our article explains, bait and only bait should be used inside. But what you’ve done is something we have found many times. Homeowners will do what they think is smart and when the problem gets out of hand, seek our advice. At this point we’ve dealt with some situations like this and with some new products recently introduced to our industry, there is help for anyone that has a problem like the one you’ve described.
These newer products are unlike old sprays which worked quickly. By killing active ants shortly after coming in contact with treated surfaces, ants were able to figure out what was happening with our old liquid sprays and could adapt to the treatments. The net result is that many colonies would learn to sidestep or avoid treated areas once they learned any given area was dangerous. But these new compounds have found a way around this problem. Instead of working quickly, they actually take a long time to have their impact. This enables contaminated ants to walk back to their nest and indirectly affect many other ants in the colony. The net result is that by the time the nest finds out there is a problem, it’s too late. In most cases you can get enough of your treatment into the nest so in the end, the little black ants will all die before they know what hits them.
At this point, I’d recommend trying at least one if not both of these product formulations. The easiest to use inside would be the PT-PHANTOM. This is an aerosol and thus ready to spray. Use the crack and crevice applicator tip and straw and apply some it to any area you’ve seen activity or suspect little black ant activity to appear. Treatments in the home will last 2-3 months. For now, treat monthly till the problem is gone.
To make sure they don’t come back, treat the outside with PHANTOM CONCENTRATE. Both products work the same; they take a long time to infiltrate the black ant nest so that when they do note they’re getting sick and dying, it’s too late for them to adjust. The damage will have been done and the colony will shut down. Liquid treating the outside foundation and a big area of ground around the house ensures you get a safe “barrier” between the outside and inside of the home. This ensures new ants won’t able to come inside without having the same problem happen to them. Once the problem is under control, apply the Phantom quarterly outside and you shouldn’t have any more issues. In fact, it should handle most all of your pest problems.
As noted above, treating in the inside with the PT-Phantom alone will solve the problem. But failure to treat the outside will allow more to come so it’s best to do both. If you have any questions or concerns, please give us a call on our toll free 1-800-877-7290.
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