How To Treat Your Whole Yard For Ants

How To Treat Your Whole Yard For Ants

Ants are found on every continent, in nearly every habitat, and in a variety of different forms. There are ants which can be confused for bees, ants with jaws large enough to bite through human skin, and ants capable of surviving anywhere from below freezing to over 120 degrees. Ants are common. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the most common complaints among homeowners is an ant infestation. While they may not be the biggest problem you have ever faced, they should be taken care of immediately before they spread and become a much larger problem.

Whole yard ant control is best handled by taking a systemic approach. In other words, it’s best to treat the whole yard, not just individual hot spots. This is because ants travel and often distribute small-particulate “bridge food” (defecation) between nest and feeding sites. If the feeding sites are located far away from nest and never treated, the ants can simply bypass their treatment behind them and bring pesticide back to the nest.

How To Treat Your Whole Yard For Ants

How To Treat Your Whole Yard For Ants

Ants are a major problem. They can ruin your yard and home with their constant activity, leaving behind trails of waste and destruction. And they’re not just a nuisance—they can also spread disease to you, your family, and your pets.

But don’t worry! There are several ways you can get rid of ants in your yard. The first step is to identify what type of ant it is so you know how best to get rid of them. Here’s how:

Identify the Ant

There are seven common types of ants that invade homes and yards: pavement, odorous house, carpenter, harvester, Argentine, thief and fire ant. Pavement ants are small brown or black ants that live under rocks or mulch in warm weather; these ants nest outside during warm months but will enter your home when the weather gets cold. Odorous house ants are red-brown colored with a distinct odor when crushed; they prefer sweets over other foods and will often enter into homes through windowsills or cracks in door frames looking for food sources such as sugar-based food spills on counters or floors.

Understand where ants live

Ants typically live in small holes in your lawn or garden. They like to stay close to food sources so they can eat it easily once it is discovered by their fellow ants. You may notice that there are more ants near trash cans or compost bins than other places in your yard because these areas provide easy access to food sources that are often left out overnight when people go to bed at night. If you have pets who use their bowls outside overnight, this can also attract ants because they like animal waste as well!

If you want to get rid of ants in your yard, the best way to do so is by treating your entire yard at once. Treating individual areas or spots only ensures that the ants will come back again and again, because they will not be fully eradicated.

How To Treat Your Whole Yard For Ants

Soap

While it may sound strange, soap and water is a good way to rid your lawn of ants. This homemade solution sticks to ants and the soap suffocates them. Be sure to use an eco-friendly soap, as harsh products may affect your grass.

Mix both together in a spray bottle. In order to maintain a healthy lawn, use only one part soap and two parts water. Spray the solution on the areas affected. For anthills, spray a larger portion of liquid. Do not complete this process in the direct sunlight, or during the hottest part of the day, as your grass will overheat.

Diatomaceous Earth

It’s a mouthful, and you’re probably wondering what it is. Diatomaceous earth (say that 5 times fast) is a form of silica, made up of fossilized plankton. This powder works by dehydrating ants, drying up the oils in their exoskeleton, which in turn kills the ant. This is a popular solution, for several different reasons.

Diatomaceous earth is 2 for 1. In other words, because it is composed mainly of minerals, it rids the area of ants, while fertilizing the soil. There are two main ways to apply the solution to your lawn.

One, being to simply sprinkle the powder over the areas infested with ants. If the weather tends to be particularly windy, the powder can be mixed into water (4 tablespoons of diatomaceous per gallon), and applied.

This method takes anywhere from 7-17 days to fully kill off the ant population.

Chemicals

Chemicals can get a bad rap, and for a good reason. However, there are a select few chemicals that are not harmful to outdoor plants or grass. Bifenthrin, for example, is used to combat most ant infestations.

Bifenthrin attacks ants’ nervous systems, and in most cases instantaneously kills ants in contact. Not only is it an effective ant killer, but is commonly used for other pest problems. Depending on the severity of the ants, it should be re-applied via a spray bottle every 2 to 3 months.

List Of How To Treat Your Whole Yard For Ants