A Complete Guide to Stop Pharaoh Ants to Control Your Home
Jacqueline Belcher
Most of us overlook the disturbance of ants in our homes until it becomes a massive invasion. Then it turns into an all-out mission to get rid of them, to find them, and stop them from coming back. If you have one type of household ant named pharaoh ant is more problematic.
It is widespread in ant species. Except Antarctica pharaoh ants found almost in homes of every continent. They prefer a warm temperature to live. This type of ants is an issue because they tend to multiply quickly and nest in places even that is hard to get to. One cannot control their invasion easily.
How Pharaoh Ants Look
Almost all ants have the same physical traits, and most people get confused with another type of sugar ants, Argentine ants. The main difference between these both types of ants is that Argentine ants tend to live both inside and outside the home while Pharaoh ants prefer to be inside homes.
Pharaoh ants are about to 1/16 inch long, orange or yellow color with the darker abdomen, no spine, and developed eyes. They spread quickly because female Pharaoh ant can lay more than 350 eggs in her life. This type of female ants breeds more quickly as they are in a warm environment like an office or home. Their colonies made up of up to 300,000 ants.
Where Do They Make Their Nests
Pharaoh ants like to nest in a damp, unreachable area near to food and water. Kitchens and bathrooms are favorite places for them. They can even make their nests in those areas and cracks which are hardest to reach.
Look for their colonies in empty spaces in ceilings, within walls, attic, behind the switch plates and window sills, door frames, around the hot water pipeline, between laundry stuff, and around wood furniture.
Pharaoh ant queens migrate along with a few workers, pupae, larvae, and eggs to another place to set up a new colony. Sometimes this happens due to overcrowding in the nest and known as “budding”.
Prevention Tips
Many people ask about how to get rid of pharaoh ants because they affect the cleanliness of a home and cause many other problems. They carry many diseases and contaminate food. Here we have collected some tips to stop their invasion.
Bait
Bait is a natural way to get rid of this type of ants. Bait made from baking soda and sugar is a common way to get your home clean from pharaoh ants. Sugar attracts the ants, and baking soda affects their digestive system and helps to kill them.
A Mixture of Vinegar and Water
Make a mixture of vinegar and water, spray it wherever you find nests of ants. Vinegar works as an ant repellent when we mix it with water.
Use of Cinnamon
Most people don’t know that cinnamon can help them to deter pharaoh ants from entering their homes. Make a mixture of cinnamon and water and sprinkle it on the ant’s nests.