If you have ghost ants in your home, you undoubtedly want to get rid of them, pronto! We have the answers you need to get rid of ghost ants, from identifying them and making your home less welcoming, to relying on bait traps and professionals to do the dirty work of exterminating them and their nests.
Tiny ghost ants might not be as creepy as real ghosts, but they are eerie little visitors. Ghost ants don’t behave exactly the same as other types of ants, which can make them difficult to track down and kill. No worries, though, we have the guide you need to get rid of ghost ants and reclaim your home once again.
The steps include:
Let’s get started and exorcise these tiny phantoms.
Ghost ants have some unique characteristics that makes it fairly easy to distinguish them from their less ghostlike counterparts.
First, these are small ants, measuring less than 2mm in length. Their heads are dark, like any ant, but their abdomens are pale, almost translucent. This gives them the ghostly appearance that lends well to their name.
Another difference is the way they move. While most ants march along well-defined scent trails and can be followed to their nests, ghost ants just run around sporadically. It can be difficult to see where they came in or where they’re going because they move around in what seems like a random pattern.
Finally, ghost ants create multiple nesting sites rather than one big one. This is an issue because if you manage to track down and eliminate one, chances are good that there’s another one hiding elsewhere in or near your home. This makes extermination a bit of a challenge.
Prevention is one key to keeping ghost ants at bay. Keep your home clean and free from crumbs, sticky spills, open packages, and other things that will entice ants.
When you clean your kitchen after meals, be sure to wipe down surfaces well, particularly if anything has spilled. Sweep or vacuum and mop regularly. In your pantry and cabinets, make sure food is in airtight containers.
In short, anything you can do it make it less likely the ants will find delectable morsels to eat will make your home less hospitable to these little creepers.
It can be difficult to see where ghost ants are getting into your home because they don’t march in lines to entry and exit points. That being said, you can still take some steps to seal off spots where they might be getting in.
Look for cracks and crevices on the outside of your home. Make sure the doors and windows are closing tightly. There might also be holes where cables or plumbing enter the home or gaps around vents that you can seal off.
Some of the items you can use to seal entry points include caulk, weather stripping around windows, and door sweeps under doors.
Keeping the ants out can also be done with natural repellents. If the ghost ants don’t like the way your home smells, don’t be offended; be glad, because they’ll probably choose not to enter.
Some repellents that are known to be distasteful to ghost ants include
You can apply these substances to areas prone to ghost ants. Also, putting them near windows and doors can make the ants turn around while still outside and choose another home to infiltrate.
Of course, trying to convince the ants to stay away is easier said than done, in some cases. You might need to resort to bait traps to kill the colony. Ghost ants, like other ants, share food with their queen and fellow workers and soldiers. If you can get them to take poisoned bait, they’ll share the love, causing the colony to die out.
Commercially available ant baits are your best bet, since they’ll attract the ants and will also kill them slowly enough to allow them to carry food back to their nests. You don’t want to kill them off before they have a chance to go home.
Remember, don’t kill ants that you see once you put the baits down, as this will hamper your efforts to wipe out the colony. Just put the baits in high traffic areas (not near human food, though), and wait. It will probably take a few days or even up to a week to see a difference, so you’ll need to be patient.
If your DIY and self-help methods just aren’t curing your ghost ant infestation, you’ll want to consider calling in the pros. Professional exterminators have more treatments and ways to find hidden nests. They’ll also often guarantee their work and will come back if you continue to see ants after treatment.
Ghost ants can be a challenge to eradicate, but it can be done. It just takes time, patience, some cleaning, and a few items you might have around your house already. If none of that works, call in the professionals, and you’ll be ant-free in no time.
Featured image by Prabir Kashyap / Unsplash
Article image by Nino Maghradze / Unsplash
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