How To Kill Ghost Ants

Keep Them Out!

It is easy for ghost ants and other small insects to gain access to homes and buildings through tiny cracks or gaps in the foundation (most often around doors and windows.) These areas should be thoroughly inspected and potential entry points sealed up by caulk or other exclusion material.

Step 1) Inspection

In order to treat a ghost ant infestation properly, you must first inspect the property thoroughly inside and out for mounds or other potential nesting sites.

Ghost Ant/ outdoor nesting sites: soil, hollowed trees, under firewood, rocks, and other piles of material or debris.

Ghost Ant/ indoor nesting sites: in walls and voids, and seen around moisture sources like sinks, pipes, or potted plants.

Step 2) Treat Outdoor Ant Mounds

Outdoor mounds can be eliminating by drenching the mound with Cyper TC insecticide, using a gallon sprayer. Drenching simply means applying enough of the liquid insecticide to drown all ants in the nest and surrounding area. Always read the product label for specific directions on mound treatments. Pets and children should be kept away from the treated area until the solution has dried.

Step 3) Spray Outdoor Perimeter

Spray a good barrier around the home using Talstar or Cyper TC and a one gallon sprayer. This will help prevent entry. A fan spray that is at least 3 feet high on the side of the building and 3 to 6 feet out on the ground will provide excellent protection.

Step 4) Indoors: Wait, don't spray!-Better to Bait

With Ghost ants, the use of residual sprays indoors will only cause stress on the colony, causing it to split into a larger number of sub-colonies. This will actually worsen the infestation.

Baiting indoors is preferred and a far mare effective method of control than spraying or dusting. Try a slow-acting bait labeled specifically for Ghost Ant control. Protein baits seem to be the most accepted by Ghost Ants, but they will sometimes switch over to a sweet-feeding cycle for a time. To judge whether a bait is effective, simply monitor whether the placement is being visited or decreasing in size. If not, switch to a different bait until you find one that is readily accepted.