How to Get Rid of Crazy Ants (A Simple Guide)

Handling an ant infestation may be nerve-wracking, but dealing with a crazy ants infestation is worse. The tiny pests are intelligent and fast, particularly in the face of danger. It’s challenging to catch these ants. You’ll need to plan carefully and be patient than when handling a regular ant infestation.
Read on to learn more about how to get rid of crazy ants in Texas.

What are Crazy Ants?

Crazy ants get their name from the pest’s erratic behavior and frantic movements. Although the species is from Southeast Asia, the species is prevalent all around. Their trail is scattered, and you’ll find their colony moving around waywardly. That makes it challenging to target for extermination.
These ants are about three millimeters in length, and they are dark brown. They are also called Raspberry crazy ants due to their discovery by a Texas exterminator, Tom Raspberry.

Where Do They Live?

These ants are versatile and can live in dry and moist habitats. You’ll find them in soil, cavities of plants, under rocks, and rotten wood. However, they can’t survive in a cold climate and will move indoors once the weather changes.
Unlike regular ants that travel in large colonies, crazy ants form small colonies that consist of a supercolony. A supercolony can have about 20 ants.

What Do They Eat?

Crazy ant workers feed on live and dead insects, fruits, seeds, and plant secretions. They also eat household foods like anything liquid, meats, sweets, and greasy foods.

Crazy Ant Inspection

Crazy ants adapt to dry and moist environments. They can nest in mulch, firewood, debris, timber, and construction materials. These pests can also be in irrigation equipment, holes in the trunks, rotting wood, and limbs of trees.
When foraging, you can see their trails on sidewalks, walls, patios, and driveways. You may notice some going back to their nest, while others may be moving to their food source. Follow those going back to the nest to locate and eliminate them.
Inspect potted plants, as these pests love nesting in the soil. Check any plants on your patios, window boxes, or porches. They may also hide in rain gutters.
Always locate as many entry points when inspecting for crazy ant colonies. When checking the indoors, follow the trails to determine where they may have a nest or where they may be entering from.

Identifying a Crazy Ant Infestation

Crazy ants are invasive and have enormous populations. They are omnivorous and can invade your house looking for food. You may suffer from an ant infestation if you have dead insects that have been left unattended. What’s more, they bite and can chomp on electrical equipment.

Locating their nesting sites can be tricky, as they don’t form trails like regular ants. Nevertheless, you can use bait like maple syrup or honey to track them down. With this, you can follow their path and establish their entry points.

Crazy Ant Treatment and Removal

Ever wondered how to get rid of crazy and carpenter ants in the house? Well, it’s possible even though this ant species is difficult to control compared to other ant species.

How to Get Rid of Crazy Ants Naturally

You’ll need a multi-step approach to reduce tawny crazy ant population. Some of the steps on how to get rid of ants diy include:

Modifying the Landscape

Go through your lawn and backyard, and remove any debris like dead leaves and limbs. Get rid of anything lying on the ground that you don’t need.

Repair any Leaks

If you notice that, you either have leaks indoors or out, ensure they are repaired, as tawny crazy ants love moist, humid conditions. Furthermore, if you regularly water your plants, reduce the frequency.

Conduct a Barrier Treatment

Inspect your house’s foundation and check for cracks and holes. Use a barrier treatment around your foundation to prevent these pests from getting inside.

Preventing a Crazy Ant Infestation

You can control and prevent crazy ants by:

Sealing of Entry Points in Your House

Determine the points of entry by using the bait method. You need to block off these points, which could include holes in windows, doors, and walls. Use cotton or a cloth filled with a repellant to block these holes or cracks. You can also use an insecticide to spray these areas to ensure your home is safe from these pests.

Eliminate Debris

Crazy ants can nest anywhere, including bricks and piles of lumber. Remove anything that may act as a nesting site for ants.

Mow Your Lawn and Trim Branches

Always mow your lawn and keep the mulch less than two inches thick. Make sure that the mulch is twelve inches away from foundations. Do not forget to trim trees and shrub branches to ensure they are not touching the house.
You may also consider re-landscaping to avoid plants that may attract insects and similar pests. In the meantime, you can treat these plants.

Use the Texas Two-Step

Make use of a chemical and bait, which can be vegetables, insects, or fruit. The ants may try to take the bait to their nesting site. You’ll see a whole and colonies walking out to look for food. At this point, use a chemical spray to kill the ants.

Get Rid of Food and Water Sources

It’s essential to get rid of any food and water source that may attract these ants. Lack of food and moisture means that they won’t survive. That will make the place inhabitable, and they may either leave or die.
Also, ensure that you seal off any food and fruit laying around. Do not forget to keep the garbage bins covered. In case of any food spills, clean them immediately.

Invest in an Insecticide

While keeping the environment and your house free of anything that may attract crazy ants is essential, you also need to get an insecticide to alleviate this persistent pest. The pesticide can be in the form of liquid sprays, baits, or in granular form.
Always read the insecticide basics for guidance on how to spray these ants to eliminate them.

Get a Professional

While learning how to get rid of crazy ants home remedy is useful, sometimes these pests can be challenging to locate and control. They have erratic behavior, which may make it challenging to eliminate. You may not have the equipment or experience to deal with these ant species.
It’s best to contact a professional pest control company. They will send experienced staff to conduct a home pest inspection by identifying possible entry points and signs of pest activity.

More information about crazy ants
https://bfl.utexas.edu/research/invasive-species-research/crazy-ants
https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/home/managing-tawny-crazy-ants-guidelines-for-the-pest-management-professional/
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/magazine/crazy-ants.html