How do I get rid of ants in my kitchen?

Most kitchen ants can be cleared up without an exterminator, but only if you deal with the colony rather than the ants you can see. Baits are a toxicant mixed with a food the ants want. Workers carry it back to the nest and feed it to the rest of the colony, including the queen, which is how a bait kills the colony rather than only the ants you can see.^[1] Cleaning and sealing make the bait work faster and keep the next wave out.

First, work out which ant you have

The species decides the bait. Ants are finicky and may prefer a sweet or a protein-based bait, so the bait has to be labeled for the species you have.^[2] Look closely at a few ants, or put one in a sealed bag and take it to your county Extension office. The ones that most often turn up in Virginia kitchens:

• Odorous house ant: about 1/16 to 1/8 inch, brownish to black, with a foul smell when crushed. A frequent house invader that nests in many places indoors and out.^[1]
• Pavement ant: about 1/8 inch, light to dark brown or blackish, with fine parallel lines on the head and thorax. It nests under stones and pavement edges, and in winter may nest in crevices beside a heat source.^[1]
• Pharaoh ant: tiny, about 1/16 to 3/32 inch, yellowish to red, often found around kitchen and bathroom faucets. It feeds on sweets but prefers fatty foods.^[1]
• Thief ant: even smaller and yellowish, and prefers grease and protein over sweets. It is more likely than most to nest indoors in cracks and cupboards.^[1]
• Carpenter ant: large, about 1/4 to 3/4 inch, black or red and black.^[1] These need a different approach; see whether you need a professional for carpenter ants.

One more to rule out. In Virginia, red imported fire ant colonies are now established throughout Hampton Roads, and individual colonies have been documented in the greater Richmond area and as far west as Montgomery County.^[2] Reddish ants that boil out of a soil mound and sting are not a kitchen-bait job.

Take away what they are eating

Ants follow a scent trail from the nest to the food, and the first job is to break it and empty the pantry of easy meals. It matters for more than tidiness: ants that get into food can carry food-borne illness such as Salmonella.^[1]

• Wipe ant trails with soapy water to remove the scent trail the others follow.^[4]
• Vacuum up ants and dispose of the vacuum bag right away; you can also add cornstarch to the bag.^[4]
• Clean up crumbs and spills, especially sweet drinks like soda, and empty and wash garbage cans and recycling bins regularly.^[4]
• Store food in hard, sealed containers instead of cardboard boxes or paper wrappers, and keep sugar and honey in the refrigerator.^[4]
• Keep food containers off the floor and remove garbage from the house promptly.^[1]
• Fix dripping faucets and leaky pipes under the sink, which give ants a dependable water source.^[1]
• Pick up the pet bowl between meals, and rinse cans and bottles before they go into the recycling.

Bait the trail, then leave it alone

Once the counters are clean, the bait is the most interesting food left. Place bait near the ant trail, the entry point or the nest.^[1] Prepackaged stations are the simplest; gel baits in a small tube go into the crack where the trail disappears. Keep both away from children and pets and follow the label.

The hard part is patience:

• Do not disturb a trail of ants that are feeding on the bait, or they may leave the area.^[1] A crowd of ants on the bait is the bait working.
• Do not use sprays or dusts around the bait. They repel the ants and drive them away from it.^[1]
• A colony may prefer a protein bait one week and an oil bait the next, so be ready to switch products.^[1]
• Replace bait when it is empty. It can take 5 to 10 days to see fewer ants.^[6]

Resist the can of spray. Spraying ants indoors with pesticides will not prevent more ants from entering.^[6] For ants on a counter you need gone right now, detergent mixed with water in a spray bottle immobilizes ants so you can wipe them up with a sponge,^[1] and it leaves nothing behind on food surfaces.

Remove bait stations once the ants are under control, and only put bait out for an ant problem you actually have, since unneeded bait can attract ants.^[1]

Close the way in

While the bait works, find where the trail enters: usually a gap at the back of the counter, around a pipe under the sink, along a window frame or under the back door. Caulk the holes and cracks the trail used, and weather-strip around windows and doors where ants get in.^[1] Outside, keep shrubs and branches trimmed so ants cannot travel from them to the house.^[4]

If a potted plant has ants, set it inside a larger bowl of water with a little detergent, keeping the pot above the water line.^[4] Diatomaceous earth or silica aerogel dust placed in dry cracks and crevices where ants enter dries them out; moisture makes it less effective.^[1] Use dusts only away from where you are baiting. If you use a pesticide, try a lower-toxicity product first and read and follow the label.^[4]

For the routine that keeps them from coming back, read how to keep ants out of the house.

Stop and call a pro if

• The ants are large and black and you see them indoors in winter. When carpenter ants are active indoors in late winter or early spring (February and March), the nest is probably inside the house.^[3] That usually means damp wood somewhere; see whether carpenter ants are a sign of water damage.
• You find fire ants inside. Red imported fire ants rarely nest indoors, but if they do, call a professional pest control operator immediately.^[2] Fire ant colonies found outside the quarantined areas should be reported to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), and people outside those areas should not attempt to treat them.^[2]
• Someone is stung and reacts badly. If someone stung by fire ants has swelling, chest pain or difficulty breathing, get emergency medical treatment immediately.^[5]
• Several weeks of clean counters, fresh bait and sealing have not slowed the trail, or the ants come out of the walls in several rooms.

A company you hire must be licensed: in Virginia no one may apply or recommend a pesticide commercially without a pesticide business license and a certified commercial applicator.^[7] What ant control costs in Virginia explains what goes into a quote.

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