Sugar ants are ants that feed on sweet products and especially sugar.
Sugar ants look tiny, and they are small creatures with black and brown coloration. There is a separate species of sugar ants, known as the banded sugar ant (Camptonotus consobrinus) but still, people refer to pharaoh ants, pavement ants, and little black ants as sugar ants.
These small insects feed on sugar products, sweet dishes, bread, and other fatty items.
These sugar ants get into our house through windows, small openings, cracks through windows and doors, and are used in living damp places and in dark places, often in kitchens.
There are several home remedies found in your kitchen to get rid of sugar ants through ingredients like sugar, white vinegar, Diatomaceous earth, coffee, lemon juice, borax, or sugar itself.
But these sugar ants can spread diseases, therefore it is better to get rid of sugar ants as soon as possible.
There are some common remedies for getting rid of sugar ants and flying ants. It is suggested that humans should use natural remedies as well as traps to completely get rid of sugar ants.
These methods will not harm your house but you will get rid of these sugar ants.
It is clear that sugar ants are attracted to sugary foods and therefore sugar ant bait and traps also consist of sugar, honey, and white vinegar. These are some ways to prevent sugar ants from invading your house because a sugar ant bite is very harmful and you should always remain wary of sugar ants.
Ant baits should be set in the house to prevent a sugar ant infestation, some natural home remedies also work as chemicals to prevent sugar ants from entering your house.
Boric acid and honey are some of the ingredients used as ant bait as they are insecticides. When it gets mixed with honey it works as an ant killer and their whole colony.
The boric acid works as when the ant feeds on the mixture it poisons the ant.
The moment you see a sugar ant infestation you should set an ant bait to get rid of them. When using a boric acid mixture to kill ants make sure you keep it away from the children and pets in your house as it is very toxic.
There are several home remedies to get rid of sugar ants and using borax is one of them and is also successful in killing sugar ants.
Ants come to our house and live inside your house in small cracks in doors, windows, or small openings in the walls.
People who are not drawn to using chemicals to kill ants make use of these home remedies like borax.
Borax is one of the natural ant killers used by people to kill ants present in their houses.
So there are various combinations used like killing ants with borax along with sugar water, all you need to do is mix borax with sugar water and dip cotton balls in it.
This remedy includes one and a half cups warm water, half a cup of sugar, cotton balls, and one and a half tablespoons of borax, small vessels, a jar, depthless dishes, or caps (optional).
The first step includes mixing sugar water with borax because ants do not consider borax as a food source and sugar is something they get attracted to therefore in this case sugar water works as an ant trap, the moment sugar ants come near the sugar water they will be in touch with borax and will surely eat it and die.
Mix the sugar water with borax and shake the jar, any kind of water temperature will be fine but warm water will easily get dissolved with borax and this will be turned into a sweet liquid solution and the cotton balls will be easily be dipped into it.
The number of cotton balls will depend on how bad the ant infestation is and this sweet liquid water solution can be saved for later at a cool place like in a fridge or refrigerator.
The next and last step is to place the soaked cotton balls near the ant trail or if you know the place where the entry points are inside the house or maybe around the house, if you don't want to make the floor dirty then you may place the cotton balls on some container.
It is said that the sense of smell in ants is strong and therefore they will easily smell the sugar liquid solution when they are n search of food.
The pavement ants or the sugar ants must have a nest where they live around the house and you need to block that with the solution.
Make sure you block the ant nest when all the ants are killed not before that otherwise you will face the problem, put some epoxy putty or sealing paste to seal the ant trails as this will create problems for the ants to come again and their whole colony will be then blocked from coming around the house.
For dealing with the rest of the sugar ants with the same solution mix the two ingredients borax along with sugar water again and the quantity will depend on how bog the ant problem is.
Then you may sprinkle the solution over the places where you feel the ants can come from.
The sugar ants will then be prevented from entering the house, just make sure that you do not use those utensils or spray bottles again as borax is very toxic and harmful for humans and for animals too.
Therefore keep your children and pets away from this whole process as it may harm them badly.
How to get rid of sugar ants with baking soda?
Baking soda is one of the best natural home remedies for getting rid of sugar ants.
The process is very easy to mix powdered sugar with baking soda and pour this mixture into some utensils and place it near the entry point of their nest and do this process when you see ants coming from their nest.
When the ant comes out of their nest in search of some food source and will see the powder they will take it to their nest and will eat it.
It reacts with their digestive system in the form of chemicals and will create carbon dioxide inside them.
If they are seen taking the powder into their nest maybe they are planning something big to kill the head of the colony. Baking soda is the best natural home remedy from keeping away the sugar ants from entering the house.
The ants get attracted to sugary products and if baking powder is mixed into it then they may get killed by this.
Baking soda is a pheromone trail and ants know the smell of baking soda as well as the tricks to avoid it still you can spread it all over the sides of doors, windows, and cracks.
You may also fill the cracks with baking soda but mixing it with sugar or will affect the ants in some other way.
They will be tricked by the process of a mixture of baking soda and sugar powder and will consume it and the moment the chemical enters their body they will die and so their colony will.
Baking soda is also used for ant bites, if you may get an ant bite then you may put some baking soda at the place of your body where the bite is.
How to get rid of sugar ants with vinegar?
Vinegar is also one of the best home remedies to get rid of sugar ants in the garden because the smell of vinegar is very strong and can not be tolerated in the house so therefore if you see sugar ants in your garden or any outer area of the house you may kill them by using vinegar.
A vinegar solution is always successful in getting rid of sugar ants and ant pheromone trail and also works in bringing ants out of their nest.
The process is very simple you just have to mix some vinegar and water in a spray bottle, as vinegar contains acetic acid it will act as a deterrent against these pests and lead to the removal of the scent of an ant trail.
When you find the entry points and all possible ways through which ants can enter the house or kitchen or any other room or place where some food is kept spray this solution on the baseboards and block all the trails to get rid of sugar ants on the patio.
The ants are most active in the morning time or at noontime so make sure you spray the vinegar solution at that time to kill a large number of ants.
If sugar ants are mostly visible in your kitchen then white vinegar is the best way to be used as a natural pesticide to kill and repel ants.
Vinegar kills the ants and also make sure that they do not come to our house again, the amount of vinegar and water should be in equal proportion in the spray bottle.
Do not spray this solution around the holes or entry points just spray it onto the ants so they will disappear as soon as possible and never come back.
Pheromones are a chemical secreted by ants which they use to create trails, this solution can be directly sprayed on the workplace, or tables even on kitchen platforms if they are more visible in these places.
Flying ants can also be removed by this vinegar solution so if you flying ants are troubling you in your house then you may spray some vinegar on them to get rid of them.
Lemon juice and diatomaceous earth are also some of the best home remedies to get rid of these sugar ant species.
How to get rid of sugar ants without chemicals?
There are a lot of ways to kill or remove sugar ants without using chemicals and therefore people use natural home remedies for pest control and they become ant bait for the house sugar ants.
There are some natural ways to remove these sugar ants or insects and these pet food are boiling water, essential oil, baking soda, borax, white vinegar, coffee grounds or chalk, neem oil, soapy water, citrus peels, diatomaceous earth, cayenne pepper, and lemon eucalyptus.
These remedies are the best way to remove ants from your house and never let them come back, people hate when their favorite food gets infected by sugar ants or insects and to avoid them they use these kinds of natural remedies.
Ant bites are very harmful, and dangerous for pets and children also cause pain or make you scratch. Baking soda is the food product used for removing and killing these sugar ants and is also useful for curing the ant bite.
It is more useful in curing the red ant bite, just put some amount of baking soda where the ant bite is and leave it for some time, it will make you scratch for some time and it will heal soon.
Water and coconut oil is also one of the pest control home remedies.
These kinds of solutions like soapy water, vinegar solution, coconut oil water solution are some basic solutions that are natural and chemical-free to treat the sugar ants. Cayenne pepper is also a food product that basically does not kill ants but is a good repellent for these sugar ants.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how to get rid of sugar ants then why not take a look at how to get rid of skunks, or red ants facts.
We Want Your Photos!
Do you have a photo you are happy to share that would improve this article?
Bachelor of Science specializing in Computer Science
Christian MbaBachelor of Science specializing in Computer Science
Christian Mba is an experienced blogger and content writer with over a decade of experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Nigeria and has a keen interest in Python programming. Along with his writing and blogging expertise, he is also an SEO specialist with more than six years of experience. Chris, as he is commonly known, has a passion for music and enjoys playing the piano.
1) Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the Buy Now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published but we cannot guarantee that on the time of reading. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
3) Because we are an educational resource, we have quotes and facts about a range of historical and modern figures. We do not endorse the actions of or rhetoric of all the people included in these collections, but we think they are important for growing minds to learn about under the guidance of parents or guardians.