How To Kill Sugar Ants

Good news!  Understanding how to kill sugar ants is really easy.  

In fact, when it comes to removing unwanted insects or household pests, sugar ants are probably one of the easiest.

Ants.......they're almost like a ghost that suddenly appears out of nowhere.

One day your kitchen, bathroom or apartment is ant free, then suddenly they're everywhere.

Where did they come from and how do they all just "show up" at one time?

In this article we will teach your everything you need to know in order to get rid of these pesky, yet common household intruders.

What Are Sugar Ants?

Sugar ants are not really a specific species of ant.  

They're basically a group of ants all classified under the same name because they all love to eat the same things......sweets!

Some of the most common sugar ants found in the United States are:

• Carpenter ants
• Pharaoh ants
• Little black ants
• Odorous house ants
• Pavent ants
• Acrobat ants

Their diet is not specific to just sugar and sweets though, they also enjoy protein, fats and even plant pollen, but they definitely have a passion for sweets.

Okay, so they like sweets but how do they find that drop of syrup on the kitchen floor so fast?  

Sugar ants have a sense of smell that's 4-5 times better than other insects, so finding their next meal is easy.

Do Sugar Ants Bite?

Technically a sugar ant can bite you, but unless you're highly allergic it's not going to hurt you.

Unlike fire ants that can cause a very painful bite, sugar ants really don't pose any threat.

Other than being bothersome to watch congregate around a piece of cookie that was dropped on the floor, they don't cause a lot of health risks unless they happen to invade your pantry and get inside your food.

Carpenter ants (which can be classified as a sugar ant) are an exception because carpenter ants burrow into wooden structures to nest and live.

Carpenter ants don't actually eat the wood though, like a termite would do.

They simply make smooth tunnels into your home as a place to live.  

These tunnels can weaken and jeopardize the structure of your house.

How Do Sugar Ants Show Up So Quickly?

As sugar ants travel, they can lay down a pheromone trail to help guide other ants to an easy meal.

It's basically an invisible ant runway leading to the ever illusive pot of sugar gold!

If you want to alter this invisible runway use a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water.  

This mixture washes away the pheromones so the ants can no longer follow the trail which causes them to look elsewhere for an easy meal.

How To Kill Sugar Ants In The Kitchen And Bathroom

Since sugar ants can crawl through the smallest cracks, both new and old homes are susceptible to an infestation.

One of the easiest ways to prevent them from entering your home is to clean.

Vacuum the floors, don't leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight and wipe down the sink when it's empty.

Even though we all use trash bags, don't forget to wipe down the bottom of your trashcan every once in a while and check behind the trash can for any food that may have fallen out.

All of these areas are ideal spots for sugar ants to congregate.  

This spring, I had a problem with sugar ants in my bathroom.  

They were living inside the wall somewhere and they would constantly wonder across my tile floor.

After a deep clean of the bathroom and some well placed ant traps (which we will discuss below) I was able to get rid of the sugar ants in about 3 days.

How To Kill Sugar Ants With Borax - DIY Ant Trap

Like we mentioned earlier, learning how to kill sugar ants is surprisingly easy and you can get rid of them without using a lot of harsh poisons or chemicals.

One of the best ways to get rid of them is by making your own DIY ant trap.

In order to make the trap you'll need a few basic ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of Borax
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar

Combine these ingredients into a saucepan and warm it up to make a sweet slurry that's infused with Borax.

Borax is just a laundry detergent supplement that you can find in almost any grocery store.

Once everything is blended, pour a small amount into a pop bottle cap or other shallow dish that allows the ants to reach it.  

You can also soak cotton balls in the liquid and set them out which works great!

Make sure not to add too much Borax.  

You want the ants to take the Borax back to the nest so you get rid of the entire colony.  

This is the secret to answering the question "How to kill sugar ants."

You'll see ants crawling everywhere around your trap but you have to resist the urge of killing them.  

You need these ants to take the bait back to the colony.

After about 2-3 days your sugar ant problem will be gone!

How To Kill Ants Using Terro Ant Bait

If you don't feel like making your own homemade ant trap, you can purchase Terro Ant Bait for a very reasonable price.

I love this stuff and although I don't mind making my own bait traps, this stuff is so convenient and for the price, you can't beat it.

TERRO Liquid Ant Bait Ant Killer

Just follow the directions and again, resist the urge to kill the ants that are eating the bait because just like the borax, you need them to take it back to the entire colony to completely get rid of the sugar ants.

How To Kill Sugar Ants - Overall

Learning how to kill sugar ants is easy.  

Just do a thorough cleaning of your home, making sure to wipe down the floors, sink and countertops.

Next, choose one of these easy to use traps listed above and before you know it, your ant problem will be gone.