Looking for the best ant traps?
Well, you’re in the right place as we go into detail about what to look for and how to buy a top ant trap.
From sugar ant to grease and protein ants, how to do you use an ant trap and what should you do to make your ant issues go away as fast as possible?
We have the answers.
Ed has been working in the pest control industry for years helping 1,000's of homeowners navigate the world of insect and rodent management. He manages Pest Strategies now helping homeowners around the world!
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Terro T300B Liquid Ant Baits
Features
- Excellent overall results in most instances.
- Easy to use. Just set and forget.
- Liquid material keeps the bait from drying out
Advance 375a Granules with bait stations
Features
- Powerful protein based bait with potent poison (Abamectin)
- Large container will last a long time
- Easy to sprinkle in affected areas straight out of the container (for outdoor use)
BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps
Features
- Keeps ants away from bird feeders
- No sprays or insecticides needed
- Simple to set up
Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station
Features
- Fast-acting
- Easy to use
- Bait gel won't fry out
Table Of Contents
Top 5 Best Ant Traps
Ant traps provide a safe way to deploy insecticide onto an infesting colony. There are several ways to control and rid your surroundings of these pesky little critters. In this article, We’re going to go over some of the best ant traps available for home use and tips and tricks you’ll need to know when using them.
For many, the pests they mostly detest are ants. Here are the traps we reviewed of this article.
- Terro T300B Liquid Ant Baits(our top pick for sugar ants)
- Advance 375a Granuleswithbait stations(top pick for protein ants)
- RESCUE! Ant Baits
- BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps
- Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station
What Are Ant Traps?
Ant traps are not your traditional traps. If anything, they are better described as feeding stations. The only difference is that the ‘food’ is a bait that contains poison as one of the ingredients.
The bait will be either a sweet or protein-based mixture that draws the ants to the ‘trap’ to feed. They eat some of the bait themselves but will also transport quantities of it back to their colony. This is where the ant trap does most of its work. The ants in the colony will eat the food and slowly die from the poison.这使得蚂蚁交易ps a safe alternativeto sprays as it kills off the insects at their source.
Are Ant Traps For Indoor Use or Outdoor Use?
Both.
The best ant traps are designed with entry/exit holes to permit easy access to the bait contained inside a plastic disc or box and are effective wherever they are used.
However, some manufacturers have specifically designed some exclusively for use indoors and others meant just for outdoor applications (usually the waterproof traps).
The Different Types of Ant Traps
There are also several different types of ant traps. Commercially made ones come in various sizes and shapes but typically feature a food source held inside a small plastic container.
Outdoor designs include the same basic premise but instead of sitting on flat surfaces, the best ant traps for outdoors include hanging devices for attachment to trees or bird feeders.
Others use a stake for placement in yards or flower gardens.
Even further, some manufacturers forgo the “trap” part all together and encourage homeowners to direclty apply the baits to their yard in affected areas.
Specifically, this is how most granule based baits are meant to be applied. You buy a jug of granules and either sprinkle them around your yard directly from the container (easiest but not evenly distributed) or use a broadcast spreader you would normally use to spread seeds.
Using the spread ensures a nice even distribution of the granules across your lawn. Keep reading to see which granules we like the most!
How To Make Your Own Ant Traps
There are numeroushomemade ant traps. These are typically recipe-based as opposed to container designs. The most common ingredient in homemade traps isboraxor boric acid mixed with sugar (honey, jelly, etc) or some other food source to attract the insects.
Borax is a mineral and a salt of boric acid and is a chemical commonly used as an insecticide. It has other uses as well including as an antiseptic and flame retardant.
Which Type Of Ant Trap Should You Use?
The short answer is that it depends.
The traps you select depends on the type of ant infestation you have. Protein ants, such asFire Ants,Carpenter Ants, orThief Ants, will prefer a protein rich meal.
Sugar ants will prefer a sugary meal. The packaging on the product you select will most likely notate the ant it is designed to kill.
Something you should also consider is if you’re going to place the trap inside or outside your home.Outdoor traps should be waterproof and say on the packaging that they are approved for outdoor usage.
Ant Trap Best Practices
To get the best success from your ant trap, make sure to remove other attractants that would distract the ants. This means that all surfaces near the ants should be washed clean to remove any traces of food or the scent of food. Trash receptacles should also be emptied to eliminate any possibility of the ants ignoring the bait and concentrating on existing food sources.The food base inside the bait mixture is intended to attract the attention of the passing ants. They will feed on it and transport pieces of the bait to their home. The slow acting poison will start to take effect and a decrease in ant activity should be obvious quickly with complete eradication to be expected in just a few days.
If an ant problem persists or returns after a period, such as a seasonal problem, it is important not to continue to use the exact same kind of ant bait. This is because the ants can develop a resistance to the active ingredient in the bait being used. Switching out the ant traps used with one infestation for a different one to treat a different infestation is a good idea. Be sure to read the packaging of the products used to ensure a different active ingredient is used when making such a switch.
Our Ant Trap Reviews
Ant traps can be a great way to reduce your ant problem. Below are our top recommendations,
Related Articles
Terro T300B Liquid Ant Baits
Ant baits generally work better than aerosol sprays. The idea is to attract the workers to a food source that’s been tainted with poison. In this case, Terro mixed a sugary attractant with just the right amount of borax, a mild insecticide targeted specifically at ants.
将Terro液体蚁饵你找到任何地方foraging ants. They’re safe to use along baseboards, in cupboards, and anywhere ants are present. The plastic stations come with a new snap-off feature to make it easier to activate the attractant. And it allows ants to access the station.
Initially, you may see more ants than usual. That’s because the attractant is so strong that more workers will want to feed the colony with this new food source. Over time, as the colony gets poisoned, all the ants will eventually die.
The recommended dosage is six traps for every ant colony. This should give maximum control, according to the instructions. However, it’s best not to touch the baits after they’ve been placed. Replace each station as they become depleted. Complete control may take up to two weeks.
好的和坏的
- Excellent overall results in most instances.
- Easy to use. Just set and forget.
- Liquid material keeps the bait from drying out
- Product is slow-acting. It may take up to two weeks to eliminate ant colonies.
- May not work for all ant species. That's because some ants prefer grease and fat over sweets.
- Liquid may be messy to clean up after use.
Advance 375a Granules with bait stations
We recommend combiningAdvanced 375a Granule Ant Baitwithrefillable ant stationsto target indoor ants who prefer a protein-based diet.
If you have more of an outdoor ant issue, you can probably skip the bait stations and just sprinkle the bait out of the container itself.
If you use them indoors, you’ll want to take extra precautions because pets and children may confuse the granules with food and eat it. Bait stations contain the bait making it harder for something like that to happen.
We recommend combing this bait with the TERRO mentioned earlier in this article to ensure you target and kill both protein ants and sugar ants. You won’t know which type you have until you start testing each type of bait.
好的和坏的
- Potent poison and protein based bait combination
- One container should last for many uses
- Easy to sprinkle in affected areas straight out of the container (for outdoor use)
- Not self contained and requires the purchase of separate bait stations for indoor use
- Granules are rather large. which may bother some folks
- Will not work well with ants who prefer a sugar based diet
Combat Max Ant Killing Gel Bait Station
For faster ant-killing action, there’s Combat Max Bait Stations. With fipronil as its active ingredient, these advanced bait traps can kill ants within 24 hours, according to the label. And there’s no liquid mess to clean up afterward.
The genius of this product lies in its active ingredient, fipronil. It’s much stronger than the borates contained in other ant stations. But the real secret is that the dosage is so low that the ants don’t even know they’re being poisoned. So, they keep coming back for more until the entire colony is completely eliminated.
The effectiveness of this product also lies in its unique attractant. Combat developed a formula that utilizes three types of sugars. The idea is that if one species doesn’t like one of the sugars, it may gravitate to the other two. This ensures that the Combat Max bait stations will kill as many ants as possible.
饵站很容易使用。只是让他们down in areas where you see ants. There’s nothing else to do. The stations are designed to hold up well in any climate. And the baits will last up to three months without having to replace them.
好的和坏的
- Fast-acting. Results can be seen within 24 hours
- Easy to use. Just place them in areas where you see ants and forget about them. There's no monitoring needed.
- Bait gel won't fry out. Lasts for up to 3 months.
- Not labeled for carpenter, pharoah, fire, and harvester ants.
BestNest Bird Feeder Ant Traps
Don’t let your backyard hummingbirds suffer any longer with ants invading their feeders. Now there’s a way to eliminate them for good with these feeder ant traps from BestNest.
Each unit hangs above an existing bird feeder. Then, all you have to do is fill it with water. Since ants don’t like to swim, it deters them from reaching your bird feeders.
This set comes with a pack of four so you can protect the entire backyard, and each one is made from durable PVC material that won’t break down in hot or cold weather.
好的和坏的
- Keeps ants away from bird feeders
- No sprays or insecticides needed
- Simple to set up
- Each unit made from durable materials
- Top hook has limits on where you can hang it
RESCUE! Ant Baits
RESCUE! Ant Baits are laboratory tested as a safe alternative to aerosol sprays. These tamper-resistant stations are safe for families with small children and are registered with the EPA.
These boric acid-based stations have low toxicity to humans but kill ants in only a few hours, and they’re easy to use. Simply open the package and place a few where you see ants.
The attractant lures the insect in, and after eating it, the ant feeds it to the queen. In less than a week, you should see ants disappear.
好的和坏的
- Tamper-resistant
- Safe to use indoors
- No set-up required
- Mess-free bait stations
- May take up to ten days to see results