Pest Strategies

Searching for the best ant traps? Read our review for product recommendations and other expert advice to keep your home ant- and pest-free.

Though inevitable, finding a population of ants in your home is a frustrating and unpleasant discovery. To return to your former ant-free life, you’ll want to get rid of them as soon as possible, and fortunately, many ant killers and traps are available for DIY pest control.

To target and eliminate a variety of ant species, it’s worth exercising some due diligence. In this article, Pest Strategies rounded up all of the information you need to know to make an informed decision regarding the best ant traps for your home and infestation. We researched dozens of products on Amazon, and the below options made our list of recommendations.

 

Buying Guide

When activated, ant traps and bait start attracting ants within hours and work continuously for several weeks or months. However, different active ingredients target specific ant species, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for. Here’s some information to consider as you begin your search: 

• Active ingredients: Traps and baits contain one of the following active ingredients to attract and kill ants in droves. 

• Boric acid: Boric acid has been used for decades as a common and relatively safe (to humans) insecticide. For ants, boric acid is lethal. It’s often mixed with a fructose- or sucrose-based solution to target sugar ants. Boric acid is also found in versatile ant traps and baits that work on both grease and sugar ants. 

• Abamectin: Though less common than boric acid, abamectin is particularly effective against protein ants. Abamectin is often sold in granule form. You can load the granules into bait stations or spread them around your home when loose ant bait isn’t a concern. 

• Hydramethylnon: This insecticide is used in many ant traps and killers to target a wide variety of species. A major benefit of hydramethylnon is that it poses minimal toxic risk to humans. However, it’s often used with other potent insecticides. 

• Knockdown effect: Knockdown effect refers to how fast a pest control product begins working. Some ant traps begin killing ants within two or three hours of being set out, while others can take a few days to start claiming victims. 

• Lasting protection: Ant traps last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, with the longest-lasting brands advertising up to six months of use. Depending on how severe your ant infestation is and whether you’re using the bait outdoors where it’s exposed to the elements, you may need to replace or reapply sooner than instructed. 

• Ease of use: The most intuitive ant traps have a peel-and-place design to make activating and setting each trap as quick and easy as possible. Standalone gels, granules, liquids, and other ant-killing products may require more time and effort to spread around your home.

• Mess: Ant traps that use liquid or gel bait may leave small spots of sticky, mildly toxic residue on your surfaces. Granules and powders, on the other hand, may need to be swept up and thrown away once your ant infestation dies down, though sometimes they naturally disintegrate over the course of a few months. 

 

Causes of an Ant Infestation

The best way to get rid of ants is to take a proactive approach and prevent them from entering your home in the first place. However, even the most diligent homeowners will notice a grouping of ants at one point or another. Knowing how to avoid making your home a comfortable place for ants to settle is important. As you finalize your search for the best ant traps on the market, think about these common causes of ants:

• Abundant food: Ants can establish colonies around your home by discovering just an ounce of food. Open food containers and loosely bagged trash tend to attract ants, among other pests.

• Moisture: All insects need some level of moisture to survive, and ants are no different. As a result, they often seek out easily available water sources, such as leaky plumbing. 

• Safe harborage: Ants almost always nest outside under rocks, in the ground, or within vegetation. However, some species develop satellite colonies that pioneer to invade voids within your walls. Ants perceive these cracks in your walls as protection from predators. 
• Ideal temperature: Ant colonies tend to thrive if the right temperature and humidity levels are present. Summer months tend to bring the most ants from the hot pavement to the inside of your home.

 

 

FAQs

• What forms do ant baits come in? 

All ant traps contain bait with some type of active ingredient. These baits can come in liquid, gel, granule, or powder form, with each one working differently.

• Liquid: This sweet solution works best to attract sugar ants.

• Gel: You can squeeze gel bait into cracks or holes where ants are coming from. 

• Granule: These larger chunks of ant bait are usually best for outdoor use, helping to create a barrier between the inside of your home and the colony of ants living outside of it. 

• Powder: This fine powder evenly spreads for a consistent layer of ant protection. 

• Are ant sprays better than ant traps?

Taking matters directly into your own hands and spraying ant killer may seem more effective than idly setting out a trap. In the short-term, this may be true, but a well-placed trap will attract the majority of nearby ants, including the queen. If the queen ant dies, the colony will collapse or retreat from your home, thereby solving your ant infestation.

• Are ant traps best suited for indoor or outdoor use? 

Though many ant traps are designed for indoor and outdoor use, some manufacturers sell ant traps specifically intended for one or the other. Outdoor traps are usually waterproof. 

• What should I be aware of before I set out my ant traps? 

Don’t be surprised if your ant infestation appears to magnify significantly a few hours or days after setting out traps. These traps attract a lot of ants by design. Additionally, carefully monitor the areas around your traps to avoid stepping on ants. 

• Are ant traps safe to use around pets and children? 

Like with most pest control products, we urge you to exercise caution when setting ant traps around wandering pets and children. Loose bait is especially dangerous because it can be easily ingested. However, stations where the bait is contained deep within the housing is less likely to be a problem. If you’re particularly concerned about ingestion, you can opt for an ant spray made from natural ingredients, such as essential oils. 

 

 

Pest Strategies provides reviews of select products that are top-selling on Amazon and/or popular in consumer searches. Our team evaluates the products based on industry research, consumer reviews, pricing data, and other objective criteria. Unless otherwise noted, these product reviews are intended to help inform buying decisions for non-professionals. Because pest control products can be dangerous to your family if mishandled, we always recommend consulting with an exterminator, even if just to ask for advice on how to apply pest control products yourself.