How To Get Rid Of Argentine Ants Naturally

Get a Free Quote
White powder in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Argentine ants are some of the most stubborn and resilient ant infestations you can encounter. Their colonies can span your entire building, and they can multiply astonishingly fast. They're extremely resilient to most conventional methods of removing them from a property, and they can easily re-assert themselves by building a new ant colony as soon as you've gotten rid of one. Without professional help, it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to permanently get rid of them from your property.

So how can you get rid of Argentine ants naturally from the premises? Argentine ant infestations can grow to extremely large sizes, and unless you remove all access to food sources nearby, it's unlikely that natural methods can get rid of an entire colony. Natural ways of removing them can work - but only if you're dealing with a single Argentine ant nest. Otherwise, you'll need more aggressive and professional methods to remove them.

Read More: How to Repel Argentine Ants from Your Yard 

Guaranteed Pest Extermination Services, Right at Your Doorstep

No matter what kind of pest problem you’re dealing with, you can count on Pinnacle Pest Control to provide top-notch pest extermination services. With decades of experience under our name, we have already helped hundreds of residents and business owners in Sacramento eliminate pests in their property and keep them away for good.

Call Now
A man in a red shirt is holding a fire extinguisher.

Is It Possible To Get Rid Of Argentine Ants Naturally?

Argentine ants are invasive ant species that can quickly settle in an urban environment. Originally from South America, this invasive species made its way to the United States by shipping routes and settled in the southern portion of the country. They've since become a common household pest, with the worst infestations taking over entire city blocks.

So can you get rid of them using natural methods/ingredients? It depends. This type of ant tends to form super colonies, with Argentine ant workers foraging for a wide distance to find a source of food. This means that there are certain types of ant control methods - and substances - that can work well on them. However, these invasive pests can quickly spiral out of control the bigger their colony grows.

So if you are thinking of using natural ingredients to get rid of Argentine ants with natural ingredients, here are some things you can consider using:

Boric acid

Boric acid is by far the most effective natural bait to get rid of Argentine ant colonies, but it requires a precise concentration to affect a colony. The safest concentration of active borate is typically around 0.5 to 2 percent. Anything more and the boric acid will kill the foraging ants before they get back to the satellite nests, and anything less won't work at all.

Boric acid also works best as a bait, especially combined with other sweet bait that can effectively lure ants out of the satellite nests and main nest. You'll also need a lot of boric acid to make sure the entire colony gets affected by the bait, with your bait stations being out for a few weeks.

Food-grade diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous earth is a powder made from algae, with high amounts of silica which can dehydrate most insects. This includes species like carpenter ants, Argentine ants, and most types of ant species. It's extremely easy to use - just sprinkle it over any places where Argentine ants may be used as a trail and it should function as an effective repellent/ant killer.

However, keep in mind that this only works to repel ants and kill the ants that are already outside for the nests - it doesn't do anything to actually thin their numbers or affect their queens. The complete metamorphosis of an Argentine ant is around 100 days, so they can easily replace any ants that you kill with this method.

Alcohol-mix sprays

Using a solution of 40 percent alcohol, 40 percent water, and 20 percent dish soap should be enough to act as a rudimentary ant killer for most exposed Argentine ant trails, and it's a relatively easy mix of chemicals that anyone can mix in their own home. This mixture should be sprayed on any visible ant trails in your home, as well as other places like cracks or gaps in the walls where ants can get in.

But like most repellents and ant killers, this is only effective with exposed ants. They won't have a lot of effect on a large colony, which is what most Argentine ant infestations rapidly turn into. Unless you're using it for ant prevention, it won't be very effective against Argentine ants.

Natural ingredients can work for getting rid of Argentine ants, but there's a limit to how effective they can be depending on the size of your infestation. The bigger the colony is, the more resistant they are to these types of ant control.

The Best Way To Get Rid Of Argentine Ants On Your Own

ants came in colony to eat meat as a bait, pest control needed

So if you have a considerable Argentine ant infestation on your hands, what can you do to handle it? By far, baiting is the best way you can try to limit the spread of an Argentine ant infestation. This is because the colony regularly sends out thousands of workers in search of food since these enormous colonies can be home to hundreds of Argentine ant queens. By luring these ants with baits, you're far more likely to get rid of the hundreds of queens in your Argentine ant infestation, dealing a crushing blow to the hive.

But what exactly should your bait stations look like? Here's everything you need to know about using ant baits for Argentine ant control:

Understanding Ant Feeding Patterns

Ants will generally go towards any supply of food available, but they aren't the only thing they can feed on. Given the super colonies that Argentine ants will often form, you can expect hundreds of thousands of worker ants to come out in droves to look for any food source available. This can range from anything from pet food to yard debris - which means you need to understand how any supply of food lying around can potentially support an Argentine ant infestation.

Argentine ants in particular are very fond of sweet foods - though their food preferences will range to whatever's available. However, you can take advantage of this preference by using sweet bait to attract more foraging ants to your bait stations.

If you don't have the right type of bait or not enough of it, a few bait droplets around the bait tray can be enough to at least establish a line from the ant colony to your bait station. Even if you aren't using sweet bait, the sheer number of foraging worker ants will guarantee that some satellite nests will be affected by the bait.

Knowing Where Argentine Ants Live

Argentine ants typically prefer to live in a damp environment that is near a source of food - though if the colony gets big enough, they can also settle in tree branches or tree stumps. If you see Argentine ants settling around the base of trees in your area, you're most likely dealing with an extremely large colony. If there already happens to be a native ant species in the area, Argentine ants will invade and drive them out of their nest and take it over as their own.

Like most insect baits, placing your bait tray near Argentine ant colonies is a great way to ensure that your baits take effect a lot earlier - especially if you keep using sweet baits. Using fresh bait (like food waste) can also be another way to get your bait to the colony, but keep in mind that other insects and animals can also be attracted to your bait stations.

For the most effective control of Argentine ants, make sure that your bait stations are at places that aren't exposed to the elements. Conditions like heavy rainfall can wash your baits away, which can affect other animal species or insects in the area. If you want to make sure the entire colony gets affected by your baits, you should always place them in an even perimeter around your property.

Baiting At The Right Time

One thing to keep in mind when using baits is that they're at their most effective when the colony has plenty of workers out in search of food, which isn't always all the time. While it may seem like Argentine ant colonies are always on the search for food, their food preferences, the size of their colony, and the weather can play crucial roles in how effective baiting them will be.

Argentine ant colonies will often increase their food foraging habits sometime around fall when their access to sugary food sources outside your home decreases. Combined with the habit that some homeowners have of stocking food before the winter, this creates the ideal environment that precedes an Argentine ant invasion.

This is also the best time to set out your bait stations, since fresh bait when the colony is tight for food can work even better on Argentine ant colonies. Since they're an aggressive species that competitively fight for food - even with other insects or ants in the area - you should make sure that you have enough bait set out for the ants to bring back to their nests.

Read More: How to Differentiate Argentine Ants and Fire Ants?

When It's Time To Call In Professional Exterminators

Even with the best baits and constantly being on top of any potential infestations, there's only so much that you can do by yourself with an Argentine ant colony on your property. This is why pest control companies will usually recommend professional extermination services when dealing with Argentine ants in particular, as this type of ant can be troublesome to remove without expert help.

Ideally, you should be calling in a professional exterminator at the first sight of Argentine ants on your property. This gives them enough time to analyze the property, determine how big an infestation you'll have to deal with, and give you a quote or recommendation on your next steps.

Hiring an exterminator also has other benefits aside from removing Argentine ants from your property:

Preventive control

One thing that you can do to avoid Argentine ant infestations is to not give them the chance to settle inside your property at all. However, preventative ant control can be a difficult thing to do by yourself if you aren't familiar with the behaviors of Argentine ants or other pests, and you can end up doing more harm than good if you try to do it yourself.

But by getting a professional pest exterminator, you're guaranteed quality and efficient results with preventive ant control. A professional can identify the most likely spaces that ants can enter, alter or change without too much difference to their surroundings, and ensure that your property remains ant-free.

Removing other pests

While Argentine ants can be troublesome, they're often not the only pests on your property. As an aggressive and invasive species, Argentine ants can often interfere with the natural ecosystem around your area, which can bring out other pests, insects, and wildlife near your home. Professional exterminators can also deal with these pests for you while removing your Argentine ants.

The same prevention methods used for Argentine ants can also be used for other pests, especially for more stubborn species like rodents. A professional exterminator can also give you recommendations on how to reduce the likelihood that other pests can settle on your property, which can keep your home pest-free in the long run.

Long-term pest control

Finally, a professional exterminator can help your property through the many changes it may experience throughout your lifetime. They can give you advice on renovations, reconstructions, and other fixtures that may potentially let pests inside your property, and coordinate with other professionals to find the best pest-free solutions.

Partnering with an experienced professional exterminator can help ensure that your property will always remain pest-free no matter what renovations or additions you may make to it and will be on hand in case pests do come through because of these changes.

Professional Argentine Ant Removal And Other Insect Infestations

professional pest control worker doing his job

Removing an Argentine ant colony can be extremely difficult without professional help, as they can occupy an entire building before they can be detected. By calling in a professional like Pinnacle Pest Control, we're able to boost the efficacy of your ant baits or ant repellents by reinforcing your property with ant prevention methods. Our experts are fully qualified and insured to work on any sort of property with any type of ant problem, with effective and long-term results you can rely on. Call Pinnacle Pest Control today and request a free quote from us.

Read More: How Long Can Argentine Ants Survive Without Food?

Guaranteed Pest Extermination Services, Right at Your Doorstep

No matter what kind of pest problem you’re dealing with, you can count on Pinnacle Pest Control to provide top-notch pest extermination services. With decades of experience under our name, we have already helped hundreds of residents and business owners in Sacramento eliminate pests in their property and keep them away for good.

Call Now
A man in a red shirt is holding a fire extinguisher.

Related Posts

Top