Ants are strategic home invaders. The worker ants will come to check your home before the infestation begin. They will check for food availability, water availability, and the spot where they can build their nest. If your home provides them with the three basic needs, you can be sure that the ant infestation will be massive.
Is Terro ant bait not working? Why are the ants still coming into my home? These are the questions that come to mind after you’ve tried the Terro ant bait, but the ants continue the invasion. These questions will be answered in this blog. I will explain how Terro ant bait works to get favorable results. You will also know what to do when Terro ant bait not working.
Why is Terro ant bait not working?
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Getting rid of ants when they are planning to build a nest in your home or when there is an infestation requires intentional efforts. Using Terro ant bait to wipe off the ant colony is a great decision.
You can become worried when the bait seems not to be working because the ants keep coming into your home as if you’ve not made an effort. Below are some of the reasons why Terro ant bait doesn’t work or work partially.
Wrong bait setting
One of the common reasons why Terro ant bait seems not to work is– setting the Terro ant bait at the wrong spot. For the Terro ant bait to work, all the ants in the colony must consume it. You must set the Terro ant bait where the worker ants can easily find it.
The number of ants that stays in the nest is far more than the number of ants that walk around your house. The main target of Terro ant bait is uniform consumption by the ant colony.
You are not patient
Using Terro ant bait requires patience. It will take time before the worker ants pack the baited food to the remaining ants in the nest. Sometimes not all the ants in the nest will consume the food.
When you use the Terro ant bait for the first time, there is a high probability that some of the ants in the nest will survive because they didn’t consume the bait. In such cases, you will need to go through the baiting process more than once.
The ant colony is large
The larger the number of ants in the colony you are dealing with, the longer it takes to get rid of them. It will take time before the bait is served to all the ants in the colony. Try using the bait consistently for a period of time before you conclude that it is not working.
How does Terro ant bait work?
Before you conclude that the Terro ant bait is not working, ensure that you used the bait correctly. Terro ant bait requires four steps to eliminate the entire ant colony. Below are the four steps.
- Identify and eliminate points of entry
When ant infestation occurs in your backyard or near your house, some of the worker ants will enter your home to check if they can settle down within. They usually enter houses through cracks and crevices in windows or doors.
To prevent the ant colony from migrating into your home, you need to eliminate their point of entry. Eliminating the point of entry of the worker ants might be difficult because they enter your house randomly without a trail. (Olalekan, you can attach the link to the previous blog on how to get rid of random ants here)
If the ants already have their nest within your house, eliminating their points of entry becomes easier. Ants usually build their indoor nest in dark and damp places or underground. Each time they come out to pack from your kitchen, laundry room, or anywhere food is available in your house, they leave pheromone trails for others to follow. Trace the trail of the ants to locate their hidden nest.
- Bait setting
This is where Terro ant bait comes in. It is the duty of the worker ants to search for food, water and take it to their nest for collective consumption. The ants that constitute nuisances in your house are mostly worker ants.
Set the Terro ant liquid bait at the point of entry or where you usually see the ants in large numbers in your house.
The sweet aroma of the bait will attract them. They will come out in large numbers to pack the food and take it to their nest for collective consumption. Pour the liquid ant bait into strategic places where they can notice it quickly.
- Ants colony feeding
Allow the worker ants to feed and take some to their nest. Terro ant bait kills the ants gradually while giving them enough time to pack the food to their nest. At this stage, you have to be patient.
When the nest of the ants is located within your house, the worker ants will come in large numbers to pack the food.
When the nest of the ant is located outside your house, the worker ants that come to pack the food might be few.
- Destroy outdoor nest
Locating the nest of the ant and destroying it is the best and permanent solution to get rid of the entire ant colony.
Carefully trace the trail of the ants outside your house. Once you locate their nest, wet it with insecticide. Use a shovel to destroy the anthill. Make sure that you kill the Queen and founder of the ant colony – she is usually hidden deep within the ant nest.
What to do when Terro ant bait seems not to work
After you’ve tried using the bait several times to no avail, try other products.
One noticeable thing about the Terro ant bait is; ants usually avoid consuming the bait after its first massive killing of the worker ants.
The best way to use the Terro ant to get favorable results is to ensure that more than half of the ant colony consumed it during the first attempt. Since you cannot determine by any measure that over half of the colony member was killed, therefore it’s best to use another ant killer if the one Terro ant bait won’t work after first use
Conclusion
Ants are annoying home invaders. They sometimes come in large numbers during infestation in your backyard or near your house. Using Terro ant bait to get rid of the entire ant colony requires patience.
Follow the steps on how to use the Terro ant bait properly. You can also follow the instructions on the Terro ant bait pack.
If every effort proves abortive, you can consider opting for other products or insecticides. The best and most permanent solution to ant infestation is to locate their nest and destroy it. It works like magic.
