How to Get Rid Of Black Ants?

Hook: Are you tired of sharing your home with unwanted, creepy-crawly guests? Black ants are not only unsightly but also pose a serious health risk to you and your family. Fortunately, you can always get rid of them without using harsh chemicals.

Key takeaway:

There are two common types of black ants found in houses: little black ants and carpenter ants.
Little black ants typically enter homes in search of food and can eat a variety of things, while carpenter ants live in wood and feed on insects and carbohydrates.
Black ants are commonly found in sunny and sandy states like Florida, but infestations can be identified by signs such as ant mounds, carpenter ant tunnels, and ants in the home.
Black ants can pose health risks to humans and pets, as they can carry bacteria and cause allergic reactions.
To prevent black ants from entering the home, it’s important to seal potential entrances, avoid leaving food out, and use bait to eliminate them.

This comprehensive guide on how to get rid of black ants naturally is your answer to a pest-free home. Discover how to identify the signs of an infestation, common entry points of black ants in the house, and practical prevention tips that work.

Say goodbye to black ants for good and enjoy a clean, hygienic home without the fear of pests. With this guide, you’ll have all the information you need to make informed decisions on how to naturally get rid of black ants.

Behavior and Habits of Different Black Ants

Ants are one of the most diverse insect species on the planet. However, when it comes to common black ants in house, there are only two types of black ants. They include:

Little Black Ants

The “tiny black ants” (monomorium minimum) are little and black. Eastern US, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern California are home to this species. Little black ants enter our home through a tiny crack or hole as they wander in their colony in quest of food. Little black ants eat dead and live insects, aphids, and scale dung. They also eat grease, oil, veggies, fruits, sweets, and meats. So if they find food in your home or garden, they will stay there. Characteristics:

They prefer to live outside but will nest indoors.
They are dark brown or black.
Their workers are 1/16″ long, and queens are about 1/8″.

Two black ants eat sugar. How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants

Carpenter Ants or Big Black Ants

Most big black ants are carpenter ants. Today, western black carpenter ants (camponotus modoc) can be easily found in various US-based states, including black ants in Florida. These ants nest in insulation or outdoors in trees and timbers. In terms of food, the western carpenter ants feed on insects and carbohydrates (e.g. bread crumbs, sugar, honey or sweets, etc.) like plant and fruit juices, meat, cookies, eggs, sweets, cakes, molasses, and sugar. Moreover, these creepy crawlies also form nests inside the wood. Characteristics:

They live in deadwood and wooden structures.
They are black-colored with dark red legs and golden hairs on the abdomen.
Their workers are 1/4 to 1/2 inches long, and queens are 3/4 inches long.

Black Ant Florida – Signs of Infestation

Black ants are commonly found in sunny and sandy states like Florida. The dry and sandy atmosphere there helps tiny black ants survive, especially during summer. Typically, you will find the nests of black ants Florida on trees, mounds of dirt found in a garden, and wood. However, the common presence of black ants in Florida and other sunny states doesn’t mean you have to let them take over your living space. Instead, even when it is easy for black ants to barge into your home space, you must take action. If you don’t, these flying or biting black ants can wreak havoc in your home – from destroying your furniture to damaging the house structure. Moreover, some ants may chew on the wire casing, causing fires. The best way to avoid such disastrous situations despite your living location is to be wary of the signs of black ant infestation in your home and get rid of them quickly. You can understand their infestation indicators and eliminate them when necessary. Some such common home and garden infestation symptoms include:

Yard ant mounds.
Ants on your pipes outside.
Visible fire ant mounds.
Carpenter ant tunnels and damage.
Swarmers (black ants with wings).
Ants in your home.
Holes in screens.

The Health Hazards

Are you thinking, do little black ants bite? The National Wildlife Federation states that there are about 12,000 ant species, with very few being dangerous. But apart from the danger caused by their attacks, ants can bring bacteria and diseases. Thus, these ants are a nuisance and health risk, especially in households with children, older people, or pets. Moreover, a study found that particular large or tiny black ants can induce severe reactions. These ants can induce mild allergies to severe anaphylactic shock. All in all, black ants can pose infinite and dangerous health risks. So if you’re concerned that can black ants bite? The answer is YES, and at most, its affects are real.

Prevention Tips To Keep Black Ants from Entering the House

The real struggle with getting rid of pests starts when they enter your house. However, it is always possible to prevent them from entering in the first place.

Here are a few tips to prevent tiny or large black ants from entering your home and attacking your lifestyle hygiene:

Preparing Entrance Areas: Biting or flying black ants enter through cracks, corners, windows, and doors. So you should seal all potential primary and hidden entrances to keep them out using sticky tape or anti-ant track seals.
Avoid Black Ant Attractors: Ants come inside for food or warmth. So make sure to keep the food like juice, mapple syrup, sugar, fruits, and crumbled crackers covered. You should also remove the crumbs that gather on your floors by sweeping, cleaning, and vacuuming them regularly. Moreover, dirty homes also breed ants. Hence, it’s important to clean your kitchen and sink daily.
Bait the Ants: Preventing black ants requires baiting them beforehand. For this, 2 tbsp boric acid powder or borax, 2 cups sugar or maple syrup, and 1 cup water produce a simple and efficient bait. Apply this mixture on a sheet or the black ant entrances outside your home to keep them distant.

Removal Methods

Finding black ants in your kitchen or different nooks and corners of your home can be a nightmare. This nightmare may lead you to the endless stress of how to get rid of black ants in the house. But don’t worry. You can quickly get rid of these pests with the right removal methods.

Today, multiple methods exist to eliminate tiny black ants in your living or workspace without much hassle. Ranging from natural to chemical-based and even physical – there are different methods to prevent pests from compromising your living hygiene.

Without further ado, let’s go ahead and explore these methods and how you can implement them:

Natural Methods

Using Diatomaceous Earth. This natural material kills ants and other crawling creatures but is safe for humans and pets. So sprinkle diatomaceous earth in corners, under sinks, windowsills, and other ant-prone areas. Moreover, after every week or two, vacuum the diatomaceous earth and replace it with new.

Using Essential Oil Spray: Tea tree, lavender, peppermint, lemon, and Windex oils naturally repel insects. So mix 10 drops of oil with one cup of water and create a repellent. Spray this repellent in a spray bottle around your house to repel ants.

Using Boric Acid: Ants and insects die after crawling over boric acid powder. So all you need to do is spread boric acid in corners and around rooms.

Using Cinnamon Powder. If you don’t have any other repellent, sprinkle cinnamon in the ant’s nest. This fine powder and its pungent smell repel ants. Thus, it prevents pests from returning.

Chemical-Based Methods

Using Commercial Bait: Commercial bait is a mixture of poison and sweetness that attracts and kills huge black ants. It works when ants ingest the bait and bring it back to the nest, poisoning the colony. Eventually, all the ants die after one or two life cycles.

Usage:

If you use bait, be sure there are no children or pets around. Follow the packing directions to prepare the bait traps, then set them in ant trails.
Since this takes time, let the traps stay for a few days. Meanwhile, keep your place tidy so the ants eat the bait instead of crumbs or sticky places.

Using Pesticide:

In this method, buy a shop formula, combine the materials according to the directions, pour the solution into a sprayer, and spray the infested rooms. You can also apply the solution outside your house to keep ants out. Moreover, this procedure usually results in immediate death. So sweep up any dead ants and properly dispose of them.

Usage:

Since chemicals can make children and pets sick, keep them away from the sprayed areas.
Directly spray on little and huge black ants using an aerosol spray. For this, indoor formulas work nicely in kitchens. Simply apply the spray anywhere you see ants crawling.
To avoid sickening children or pets, wipe off and disinfect the area after spraying.

Physical Methods

Bringing Down the Black Ants Home: If you see black ants often, there’s a possibility that these pests may nest nearby. Hence, to get rid of them from inside your house, you need to completely get rid of their nest on the outside by locating it.

You can do this by placing some food on the floor for the ants to come and feed on. When they make a trail to the food, you can follow this trail to locate their nest. Typically, black ant nests on the outdoors are found in a garden, yard, or on tree branches.

Once you find their nest, pour boiling water on the nest.This way, all the small black ants inside the nest will die within. The best way to ensure that there is no living ant left, pour 2-3 bowls of hot water on the nest.

Conclusion

Ants, particularly black ants, are regular intruders into homes throughout the United States and can be hazardous to our health. They can be difficult to get rid of, but by utilizing the different ways indicated above, it is feasible to repel and eradicate ants over time. Commercial solutions are also available to kill or repel these pests.

Lastly, keeping your home clean and removing potential entry and hiding points for ants might help avoid further infestations.

David Tormin

David is a certified entomologist with over 15 years of experience in the pest control industry. He has a deep passion for all things insects and is an expert in identifying and managing various pest species. John is also an avid gardener and enjoys using natural and organic methods to control pests in his own garden.