Best Ant Traps

Most people are familiar with ants and don’t think twice when they see them outdoors. After all, regular encounters are inevitable with more than 10,000 species and an estimated 1.6 million of them for every human. You would need a lot of ant bait traps to get rid of all of them.

While kind of creepy when they teem in large numbers, ants are essential to the ecosystem. They aerate the soil, bring seeds deep into the ground, and provide food for other organisms. You can find ants in all continents on the planet except Antarctica, which is kind of ironic given its name. Most ants found in the US are harmless to humans unless you are one of the 3% or so of the population allergic to their bite.

However, ant bites hurt, especially fire ants, developing into a painful blister that becomes pus-filled within 24 hours. It will not typically kill you but may leave a scar after the blister heals.

Ants can also be dangerous to small pets and children in large numbers, so if you have an ant problem in your home, you want to explore ways of getting rid of them safely by using ant bait traps. Below are some of the best ant traps for pest control available today. 

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Terro T300B Liquid Ant Baits

TERRO Liquid Ant Baits use a sweet liquid to encourage ants to eatand bring it back to the colony. The liquid contains borax, eventuallykilling the ants that consume it.

Features:

• Eliminates ants commonly found in households
• Pre-filled bait stations and ready-to-use
• Closed stations prevent the liquid from drying out
• Easy snap-off tabs

Advance 375A Select Granular Ant Bait

The Advance 375a is protein-based ant bait that uses a delayed-action
pesticide called abamectin. The active ingredient eventually kills worker ants of common household
ant species and halts egg production.

Features

• General-purpose ant
  bait (effective against carpenter ants, fire ants, and pharaoh ants)
• Ready to use
• For outdoor use

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TERRO 2 oz Liquid Ant Killer T200

TERRO Liquid Ant Killer is delayed-action ant bait that attracts and
kills worker ants with borax. It allows ants to live long enough to bring the liquid back to the
colony, eventually killing all ants that consume it.

Features

• No-drip
  dispenser
• Delayed action for
  maximum exposure
• Easy to use

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Ortho Home Defense Liquid Ant Bait

Ortho Home Defense Liquid Ant Bait lures worker ants and allows them to
bring the liquid back to the colony to eventually kill all ants that consume it, including the
queen. The active ingredient is spinosad, an insecticide.

Features

• Continuous protection
• Convenient Clean Snap Technology tab
• Appropriate for indoor use
• Easy to use

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BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps

BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps are a set of four plastic vessels that
can hold up to 6 oz. of water and hang directly above existing hummingbird feeders. The water is a
natural barrier to most ants, preventing them from reaching the nectar.

Features

• Easy to clean and use
• Effective as a natural barrier to ant infestations
• Non-toxic

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Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station

Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station attracts ants with a tri-sugar
combo, and its delayed action allows ants to carry the bait back to the colony and kill all ants
that consume it, including the queen. The gel’s active ingredient is the powerful insecticide
fipronil that kills ants within 24 hours.

Features

• Easy-to-use bait stations
• Very attractive to ants with its tri-sugar formula
• It lasts for one month

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Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Ant Bait

Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Ant Bait attracts ants as a combination food and
water source. Its active ingredient, dinotefuran, is relatively non-toxic to humans and pets but
lethal to common household ants. It is okay to use indoors and outdoors.

Features

• Broad, stable base to prevent spillage
• Easy to use
• It kills the target colony within 24 hours

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Home Plus Metal Ant Traps Indoor & Outdoor

Home Plus Metal Ant Traps Indoor & Outdoor Use bait to attract and
kill ants in the colony that eat it. The active ingredient is the insecticide abamectin, which kills
ants within 24 hours, including the queen.

Features

• Appropriate for indoorand outdoor use
• Effective against 60% more ant species than other brands
• Pre-filled, easy to use

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RESCUE! Ant Baits

RESCUE! Ant Baits is a dual-bait formula containing borax in the form of
a sugar gel and protein bait, both of which foraging ants bring back to the colony to feed other
ants and larvae. The bait kills the colony, including the queen, within days.

Features

• Child-resistant
• Ready to use and mess-free
• Fast-acting and long-lasting

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Best Ant Traps Features

Overview of Ant Infestations

Ants are ubiquitous, as previously discussed, but if you see just a few ants occasionally inside your home, it’s not necessarily a sign that you have an ant infestation. Perhaps they are just having a look-see. However, they could also be the tip of an ant iceberg. If you see the following signs, you probably have a bigger problem on your hands.

• Live ants: Seeing a few ants around occasionally is not cause for alarm. However, if you see large numbers of them appear regularly in some regions of your house, particularly the kitchen, it’s time to take action.
• Ant pathways: Reconnoitering ants lay a trail of pheromones when they find water or food to lead other ants to it so they can bring supplies back to the colony. If you see a conga line of ants anywhere in the home, that’s an ant pathway. It may be a sign of an infestation.
• Ant nests: The signs of an ant nest may take several forms depending on the type of ant. Carpenter ants, for example, leave behind sawdust as they burrow into wooden structures. Opportunistic nesters such as odorous house ants or black ants build homes in insulation, electrical wiring, near pipes, and around heaters. They may leave behind bits of dirt and insulation as a sign of their activities. Outdoors, you will see mounds of soil around a hole, usually a sign of a nest.
• Dirt: If you see trails of dirt going into your home, you can deduce, Watson, that ants have invaded your home. They might not be nesting indoors, but they are definitely regular customers.

Not seeing these signs of an infestation does not mean you don’t have one. When there is a flood, you might see floating fire ants in the water that is a precursor to a future infestation. However, you can do some things to make your home inhospitable to ants now and in the future.

• Dispose of food waste appropriately
• Clean up spills straight away
• Store food in airtight containers
• Avoid leaving unwashed dishes in the sink overnight
• Plug up gaps around doors and windows
• Store firewood in a covered and raised area off the ground
• Remove dead tree limbs nearest to your home

How do Ant Traps Work?

If you suspect an ant infestation or simply want to guard against one, you can set ant traps and ant killers in and around your home. The most common types of ant control address different issues and have varying degrees of success.

Ant Traps

Also known as ant baits, ant traps are not really traps in the sense that Roach Motel is a trap. In most ant traps you will find, ants check in, but they also check out. The idea is to attract ants with something they like, such as sugar or protein in liquid or gel form, and have them carry it back to the colony.

The bait typically contains a toxin that will kill the ants but not at once. Ideally, ants in the colony will eat it and feed it to the queen and larvae, eventually killing the entire colony.

Ant traps are generally effective in the long-term control of ants and, in most cases, are safe for pets and small children. However, even the best ant traps might not work, mainly because different types of baits attract specific species of ants. To find out the best ant trap for your home, use the following tips.

• Do a beta test: Place a small amount of bait in an area when you have seen a large number of ants go. If they don’t take to that bait, try a different one.
• Use strategic placement: Most ants prefer to stay in warm, humid spaces, but they come out to find food wherever they can. Since bait can degrade in the presence of sunlight and water, place them in cool, dry, and dark areas where ants might go, such as inside kitchen cabinets.
• Make it seem safe: Avoid placing ant traps in areas where you have recently used an insecticide spray. No matter how attractive the bait, the ants will not come.
• Keep the area clean: You want ants to home in on your strategically placed ant traps, so make sure they have no other source of food and water in the area.
• Replenish as needed: If your home has attracted quite a few colonies, getting rid of all of them might require more bait than you have put out. Check regularly if the bait is all gone and replace it as needed.
• Be patient: Many of the best ant traps kill within 24 hours, but the colony might be a big one, or there might be more than one. It might take some time before your home becomes completely ant-free, so don’t get discouraged yet.

Sprays

Insect sprays will usually kill both visible and hidden ants and insects in the home as they can get into every nook and cranny. Sprays are also effective in killing flying ants and termites and repelling any outsiders from coming in. The problem is sprays kill instantly, so it is only effective in eliminating ants in the home. It will not get rid of the colony outside the house unless you can find it and spray it directly inside it. The effects are also short-term.

Dusts

Dusts are like sprays in that they can wipe out a colony if you can find it because it kills on contact, but the effects are long-term, If you can’t find the nest, you can still use it along the home’s perimeter to keep ants out. However, you need to use caution when using dusts because it is highly toxic, especially to pets and young children.

Types of Ant Traps

Ant traps come in different types, and the one you choose will depend on your understanding of how each type works. Below is a quick description of each ant trap type.

Liquid Bait Traps

Liquid ant traps use a liquid, gel, or combination of the two to attract ants looking for a source of food and water. Ants need water to survive, so an ant trap in liquid form solves both problems. Generally, the bait formula includes a substance that is toxic to ants, but not immediately. As a result, the ants carry the bait back to the colony for sharing. This type of ant trap effectively kills all ants that eat the bait, including the queen, and in some cases, the larvae.

Dusted Ant Traps

Dusted ant traps use a toxic substance in water-repelling powder form and, in most cases, kill on contact. It is immediately effective in killing ants and other insects. However, it will not kill the entire colony unless applied directly to the ants’ nest. Ant dust is appropriate for use in hard-to-reach places and fills up cracks and crevices to keep ants from entering the home. Use it with caution as it is pretty toxic to humans and animals.

Immediate Killer Ant Traps

Like roach traps, immediate killer ant traps lure ants in and trap them with sticky glue. Some products use electricity or poison to kill them on the spot.  While immediate killer ant traps are pretty effective in dealing with larger ants such as carpenter ants, they will not solve your problem if you have an ant infestation on your hands.

Disadvantages of Ant Traps

Ant traps are easy to use, cheap, and readily available. However, they are not always effective because they only work on specific ants, as explained earlier. For example, some ant species are only attracted to protein-based bait, while others make a beeline for sugar-based traps. Carpenter ants are particularly difficult to deal with because they have a carried diet. You need to identify the species of ants you have in your home so you can choose the right ant trap, and even then, you might need to do some trial and error.

Common ants can be a nuisance and dangerous to your house. Sometimes, ant traps couldn’t be enough. For an effective and professional treatment against ant infestation, contact PestGuide now!

Best Ant Traps Reviews

Now that you have a good understanding of ant traps and ant baits, the next thing you need to know is the best ant traps currently available. Below are reviews of selected ant traps to help you decide.

Terro T300B Liquid Ant Baits

Terro T300B Liquid Ant Bait is a type of liquid ant trap that uses a sugary liquid formula containing borax to draw in ants. Because the bait is in a closed environment, the liquid does not evaporate or spill,

The borax in the liquid interferes with the ant’s digestive system, eventually killing them, but not before they have brought it to the colony and the queen. The delayed action of the formula makes it an effective agent for exterminating ant colonies inside and outside the home.

Terro T300B Liquid Ant Bait is effective against common species of ants, but it may only be used indoors. While it does work well once set up, there is some difficulty with using the snap-off tabs because it does not snap off cleanly. Snipping off the ends with a pair of scissors gave better results. Spilling is also a danger, so handle it with caution.

The sugary bait attracts a large number of ants so that it can get pretty bad for a few days, but that eventually tapers off, and most of the ants will disappear.

Terro T300B Liquid Ant Bait is available on Amazon in 6-pack and 12-pack options. The 6-pack starts from $4.30, and the 12-pack starts from $9.35.

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Advance 375A Select Granular Ant Bait

Advance 375A Select Granular Ant Bait is a professional-grade product for the elimination of many household ant species. These include fire ants, carpenter ants, odorous house ants, acrobat ants, thief ants, Argentine ants, big-headed ants, crazy ants, harvester ants, tiny black ants, field ants, pavement ants, and pharaoh ants. It will also stop the production of eggs, effectively killing off the colony.

The ant bait is a mixture of several types of protein with abamectin, an insecticide with delayed action.  You may use the product indoors and outdoors but do so with caution as abamectin is toxic when ingested. Advance 375a Select Granular Ant Bait effectively eliminates large colonies of ants within a few days to a few weeks. While it may seem more expensive than other ant traps, the Advance 375a provides a good supply of ant bait for several infestations.

Advance 375A Granular Ant Bait is available on DoMyOwn.com in 8-oz and 2-lb sizes. The 8-oz bottle retails for $26.30, and the 2-lb jug goes for $55.94. Both sizes may last for several months of continuous use.

TERRO 2 oz Liquid Ant Killer T200

TERRO Liquid Ant Killer works much like the Terro T300B ant trap without the closed container. It comes in a squeeze bottle and cardboard squares on which to apply the sweet liquid and place wherever ants are wont to travel. However, the liquid also contains borax which kills ants slowly by interfering with their digestion, allowing them to live long enough to carry the poison to the colony to kill off other ants and the queen.

The title might seem a bit misleading because the bottle contains 1 oz of the liquid ant bait, not 2 oz. The net weight is 2 oz. However, one ounce of the ant bait is quite enough for the average ant colony. To use it, dispense a small amount of the thick liquid on the cardboard square to create a small puddle. You can scatter the bait over a wide area, and ants can easily access the liquid from all sides. Because it is thick and sticky, it does not drip or make a mess.

The TERRO Liquid Ant Killer is available on Amazon starting from $6.00 per pack.

Ortho Home Defense Liquid Ant Bait

Ant traps typically use only one type of bait. The Ortho Home Defense Liquid Ant Bait has both a sweet liquid and protein in the mix to attract different types of ants. Like other delayed action ant traps, the bait is toxic to ants but keeps them alive long enough to lead other ants to the bait and carry it to the colony. The ants often feed the sweet liquid to the larvae, which kills future generations of the ants and the queen.

A significant drawback to this product is that it does not work against carpenter ants, a real pest and wood destroyer in the home. The container is also not very stable, so it is easy to knock it over, spilling the contents. However, if the ants do take the bait, the active ingredient spinosad is very effective in exterminating ant colonies.

The Ortho Home Dense Liquid Ant Bait is available in Walmart for $9.34.

BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps

If you want an ant trap to keep these pests from raiding your hummingbird feeder but not one using chemicals, the BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps are what you need. It is a set of plastic cups with hooks that can hold up to 6 oz. of water. You place it right above the feeders so that it forms an ant barrier. It won’t kill the ants (unless they fall in), and it certainly won’t address any ant infestation issues you might have. However, you will have some happy hummingbirds to make up for it.

A set of BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps costs $21.99 on Amazon.

Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station

Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station attracts ants with a tri-sugar combo. Its delayed action allows ants to carry the bait back to the colony and kill all ants that consume it, including the queen. The gel’s active ingredient is the powerful insecticide fipronil that kills ants within 24 hours, eradicates a colony in 3-5 days, and keeps working for up to three months.

While the Combat Max gels do seem to knock down ants quite fast, you might see ants start to come back after two weeks or so. Those also disappear after taking the bait, suggesting that it doesn’t kill off the larvae, and these are the new adult ones. It is a pity that it does not work on fire ants, carpenter ants, pharaoh ants, or harvester ants.

The Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station pack comes with four bait stations and retails from $7.99 on Amazon.

Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Ant Bait

The Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Ant Bait joins the trend in ant traps for using two types of bait: food and water. It lures thirsty as well as hungry ants to partake of its dinotefuran-laced bait, which is toxic to ants but relatively safe for humans and pets.

The bait stations are of a stable shape, so they are not easy to knock over. They are clear plastic so that you can use them outdoors and indoors. You can also easily see if there is no more bait and you need to replace it. It is child-proof, so that makes it doubly safe for indoor use.

Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Ant Bait is effective against common household ant species but has very little impact on controlling the population of carpenter, harvester, fire, and pharaoh ants.

Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Ant Bait pack comes with four pre-filled bait stations and retails starting from $13.44 on Amazon.

Home Plus Metal Ant Traps Indoor & Outdoor

Home Plus Metal Ant Traps Indoor & Outdoor Use has four types of food granule attractants as bait to attract and kill ants in the colony that eat it. The active ingredient is the insecticide abamectin, which kills ants within 24 hours, including the queen.

The metal containers have semi-perforate holes on the side that you need to punch in to let in the ant. They carry bits of the insecticide-laced food granules back to the colony.  Because it is in a sealed container with a flat bottom and solid bait, there is no danger of accidental spills, so it is safe to use on the kitchen counter. It is also appropriate for outdoor use. The Home Plus Metal Ant Traps appear to be very effective for eliminating common household ants. 

The Home Plus Metal Ant Traps Indoor & Outdoor comes in packs of ant traps and retails for $6.94 on Amazon.

RESCUE! Ant Baits

RESCUE! Ant Baits is a two-for-one, combining a sugar gel and protein as bait formula that uses borax as the active ingredient. Foraging ants take the bait and lead other ants to it to bring a whole bunch of it back to the colony for the other ants and larvae. Because the gel is semi-solid, it is easier for the ants to carry and bring more of it to the nest. The borax in the bait messes with their digestion. It eventually kills all the ants that eat it, including the queen, within a day or two.

The bait station is a square box with a translucent top that is ready to use once you open the package. There is nothing to snap, tear, pull, or push to set it up. Simply place it where the ants go and leave it alone for two weeks. It is not easy for a child or pet to tamper with the closed container, so it is safe for indoor use.

RESCUE! Ant Baits come in packs of 6 bait stations and retails for $7.53 on Amazon.

To Learn More About Ant Infestation, Check Out Pest Guide Today!

Ants are definitely hard to eliminate, especially once they establish a colony in or around your home. These best ant traps and baits can go a long way towards controlling most household ant species, but not all. Not one of these ant traps will work for all types of ants, so it is essential to find out as much about ants and other household pests as possible by browsing our extensive library of guides.

If you have any questions, head on to our online contact form and drop us a message. We will be happy to help.

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