How To Get Rid Of Grease Ants (Thief Ants)

Here is how to get rid of grease ants completely.

Grease ants are among the most common pest issues people deal with in the United States. Also called thief ants, such an alias is given for a good reason.

By their nature, grease ants steal food from wherever they can. Their stealing activity isn’t restricted to food alone as they also steal larvae and pupae from neighboring colonies.

Grease Ant Control Options

When faced with a grease ant problem, the first thing you want to do is find a solution. A solution, in this case, involves getting rid of them.

This article seeks to provide helpful tips on how to rid your surroundings of these ants. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

What Are Grease Ants?

Like every pest issue, there’s a need to first identify the pest. Thief ants are likely to be mistaken for other ant species such as pharaoh ants.

To avoid misidentification, you only need to look out for the following; grease ants have a light brown to yellow body coloration.

Also, their tiny size (measuring between 1.3 to 1.8 mm long) includes antennae having 10 segments. Between the abdomen and thorax are two connecting nodes. What more?

These ants are often attracted to greasy foods hence their name.

Comprehensive Approaches For Ridding Your Home of Grease Ants

When it comes to grease ant elimination, 2 approaches should be adopted. The first requires the active extermination of existing pests. This should be followed by preventive strategies.

Such strategies help keep grease ants from returning. You’ll want to stick around as we further discuss each of these approaches.

i. Active Treatment of Existing Infestation

When it comes to active treatment of grease ants infestation, several options can be adopted.

You may want to hire an exterminator for a more comprehensive treatment or get things done yourself through DIY methods. DIY treatment strategies include the use of bait traps, as well as the use of a variety of insecticides.

There are also home remedies that will prove useful to your extermination efforts. Whatever your preferences are, you can rid your home of all grease ants lurking around.

However, your treatment efforts will have to be carefully implemented especially when adopting the DIY approach.

• Hiring an Exterminator

One of the best ways of tackling a difficult pest infestation is through professional intervention. This is where the services of an exterminator become necessary.

Pest management services offer a variety of solutions that are comprehensive enough to resolve the most difficult grease ant issues.

Because there are lots of service providers, you’ll have to find the most reliable by way of reading through customer reviews.

Also, friends and family members may recommend certain ant control services they’ve used or patronized in the past.

• Grease Ant Bait & Traps

Bait traps are designed for pest control purposes. Those meant for grease ant control include greasy bait. The objective is to ensure such traps are irresistible.

Thief ants are unable to leave once they enter the bait traps. It’s important to know that not all bait traps will work on grease ants.

Some of the best products to consider include PIC Homeplus Ant Killer Bait, Terro T300B Liquid Ant Killer Bait, Optigard Ant Bait Gel Box, and Combat Ant Bait.

There are lots of other bait trap products to choose from.  All you need to do is make your findings by searching on Amazon and other shopping sites.

• Use Insecticides

Another DIY measure you can adopt is the application of insecticides around affected areas. Insecticides come in a variety of forms and brands.

Each insecticide comes with specific use instructions on how to deploy. So, you’ll need to carefully read through and implement all instructions given.

Examples of insecticides that will help resolve your grease ant problems include Mighty Mint Insect & Pest Control, Amdro Ant Block, Aunt Fannie’s Ant Remedy, and Terro Outdoor Liquid.

Others include Terro Ant Killer Granules, Raid Ant & Roach Killer, Ortho Ant Killer, and BioAdvanced Ant & Termite Killer.

• Home Remedy Treatments

Home remedy treatments are equally as effective as the others when properly applied. Such treatments mostly require making mixtures which are then sprayed or sprinkled on grease ants.

Some examples of effective home remedies for thief ants include peppermint spray, as well as vinegar, and water.

You can also make a mixture of peanut butter and borax, or prepare a soap and water mixture. It’s important to know how to prepare these home remedy treatments to get desired results.

ii. Preventive Treatment

Having eliminated the grease ant problem, you’ll need to be attentive enough to ensure that these pests do not return. In other words, treatment of a pest problem is never enough.

More needs to be done in terms of prevention. First, you’ll need to focus on what attracts them into your home.

Grease ants are attracted to food. Therefore, your methods of food storage and how you clean up your home are paramount. So, how does one prevent these pests from returning? It’s easy!

First, get rid of any attractions. There are several ways to do this as you’ll soon find out.

• Seal all Entry Points

All pest issues in homes originated from the outdoors. A case of grease ant presence is likely to be due to one or more entry points found around your home.

This calls for basic preventive actions like sealing such openings. These entry points may be in the form of cracks, holes, or gaps along your walls.

You’ll need to carefully inspect these and have them sealed. Caulk is one of the most widely used sealing materials for such openings. Sealing these openings does a whole lot of good to your structure.

You tend to improve your home’s insulation while also preventing potential structural issues.

• Eliminate All Food Sources

This article will be incomplete without focusing on the primary attraction of grease ants to your home.

The seemingly harmless grease lying on your kitchen appliances contributes a lot more in attracting thief ants than you think. Once cleaned, your kitchen and home become less inviting to these pests.

Getting rid of grease ants from your home requires taking a critical look at certain factors. By identifying and eliminating these sources of attraction, you make your home ant-proof.