fbpx

How To Kill The Queen Ant In Your House Or Yard?

Hey there! Some links on this page are affiliate links which means that, if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I greatly appreciate your support!

The name says it all. The queen ant is generally the root cause of menace when it comes to ants in your house. Therefore, in this article, you will read about everything you need to know about how to kill the queen ant in your house! Hopefully, this will help you kill off the ant infestation that’s feeding on the crumbs in your kitchen!

What are the two types of ant nests?

When an ant colony grows too large, the ants will start to establish satellite nests. These nests are usually small and contain only workers, as the queens and eggs remain in the main or mature nest.

There are two types of ant nests- the mature nest and the satellite nest.

  • The mature nest is the main or original nest where the queen ant resides.
  • Satellite nests are smaller nests that are created by worker ants when they find a new food source.

What is the main difference between queen ants and worker ants?

Queen ants are the only reproductive members of an ant colony. They lay eggs and are responsible for the overall health of the colony.

Worker ants are sterile females or male ants who do all the work in the colony without any help from other queen ants. This includes foraging for food, caring for larvae, and building and repairing the nest.

Worker ants are responsible for many tasks in the colony, chief among them being the care of the queen, young, and food. They also build and maintain the nest, defend it from intruders, and collect food.

Why is killing the worker ants not going to be helpful for you?

The fact is that killing only the worker ants, as and when you spot them, might help only a little in your quest to get rid of an ant infestation in your house. But it probably won’t have a lasting or substantial effect as such.

The reason is that the workers are only doing the queen ant’s bidding. It is the queen ant of a colony that lays eggs and populates the colony with more worker ants. Therefore, even if you kill a few worker ants, the queen ant will continue to lay eggs and give birth to more workers!

If, however, you manage to eliminate or kill the queen ant, you will get rid of the root source of the entire ant population. Therefore, even though you won’t see the effect immediately, the worker ants will only stay alive for their natural lives or lesser.

Once they die, there is no queen ant that can lay any more eggs and create more worker ants. Therefore, the entire ant colony will gradually die out!

How can you identify the queen ant?

how to kill the queen ant

Queen ants are typically much larger than the other ants in a colony. They also have a different shape to their thorax and abdomen. Additionally, queen ants have longer legs than the other ants in the colony.

Apart from the fact that the queen ant is the largest ant in the colony and can be easily identified by her size, she will also have a third segment on her body that is significantly larger than any male’s segment, making her easily distinguishable from other ants in your house or yard.

If you are not entirely sure whether or not you have found the queen ant, it is best to capture her and take her to an expert.

What is the typical structure of an ant colony?

Most ant colonies have one queen ant and many worker ants. The queen ant is the only reproductive member of the colony, and she lays eggs.

Worker ants are the sterile ones and do all the work in the colony, such as foraging for food, caring for larvae, and building nests.

The queen ant is the sole ant that can give birth to more ants by laying eggs in an ant colony. All other ants in the colony are either male or female, and they serve the queen. The queen is typically the largest ant in the colony, and she gives birth to all of the other ants.

What happens when the queen ant dies in an ant colony?

When the queen ant dies, the colony will soon die. The queen ant is easily the most important member of an ant colony, and her death will cause the colony to collapse. This is because she is responsible for laying eggs and maintaining the population of the colony.

When the queen ant dies, all the workers in the colony will start to die off. This happens because the queen is responsible for producing pheromones that control the reproduction and behavior of the workers.

If there are multiple queens in a colony, they will kill each other until only one is left.

How can a queen ant die generally?

The death of a queen ant can happen in a variety of ways. Worker ants will eliminate a queen if she is no longer needed, but sometimes this action goes too far and eliminates all the queens. This can lead to the colony dying out.

While this is nature at play, there is also another scenario wherein the queen ant dies. In this scenario, it is typically the concerted effort of human beings to artificially kill the queen ant and get rid of the ant infestation on a given premise.

How to kill the queen ant?

How to kill the queen ant?

The overbearing question of this article is how to kill the queen ant, and, as promised, here is your guide on how you can kill the queen ant of the ant colony enjoying the spoils of your dinner!

Use ant baits to kill the queen ants through the worker ants!

If you have an existing or growing ant problem in your house or yard, using ant bait traps is a great way. If you see ants walking in a line near your home or yard, you will likely have an ant nest somewhere close by.

The bait traps work by attracting the worker ants, who then take the bait back to the queen ant. This will eventually kill her and stop the infestation. There are a variety of different types of ant bait traps available, so be sure to choose the right one for your needs.

In order to kill the queen ant, it is important to use traps that will be appealing to the worker ants. However, it is crucial that you keep these traps away from animals and children as they contain poison. Read below how you can create or make your own ant bait trap!

How to make an ant bait trap?

Ant bait trap

An ant bait trap is made of two simple ingredients: borax and sweet food. The borax is mixed with the water to form a paste, while the sweet food can be anything from jelly to syrup.

The traps are easy to make and can be placed in strategic locations around your house or yard to help control an ant infestation.

Bait is a critical part of any ant control program. The bait is mixed with borax, which makes it thick and gooey. This will help the ants to carry it back to the nest.

There are many different ways to make an ant bait trap. Another way is to mix sugar and borax together in a bowl until it forms a paste.

You could also use corn syrup and baking soda. Put the bait where the ants are coming in and out of your house or yard, and they will hopefully eat it and die.

Locate the ant nest and pour insecticide onto it.

In order to kill the queen ant and all of the ants in your house or yard, you will need to locate their nest and then pour insecticide onto it. You can find suitable ant insecticides in most hardware and pesticide stores.

The insecticide will kill ants instantly on contact and will continue to gradually eliminate any ants for up to ninety days, depending on which product you choose.

If you can’t find the ant nest, or if it’s in a difficult-to-reach place, try using a spray foam insecticide. Look for one that has a long, slender nozzle – this will help you get into those tight spots.

Once you spray this type of foaming insecticide, the liquid will solidify and form a poisonous foam that will then gradually kill the ants in these difficult-to-reach places!

Use insects to get rid of pest insects – beneficial nematodes.

Nematodes are small, beneficial insects that can be used to get rid of pest insects. They are available at most garden stores and can be applied directly to the soil where the pests are found.

These insects are a great natural way to get rid of pests in your garden or yard. Once you have released them, they will need water applied followed by shade to avoid heat damage and successful elimination of pests.

In order to use nematodes as a form of pest control, it is important to understand how they work and when they need to be released. Nematodes are best released on a specific day, and they should be watered in properly so that they can reach the pests.

You could also discuss how to use beneficial nematodes to your advantage with your local pest control professional.

Use a quality bug bomb to get rid of the queen ant.

The bug bomb will kill the queen ant and worker ants.

If you have an existing ant problem in your house or yard, another fantastic way to get rid of them is by using a bug bomb. This will kill the queen and stop the ant colony from growing.

Make sure that you read the manual’s instructions carefully and take all necessary precautions when using a bug bomb.

Bug bombs, or total release foggers, are an effective way to get rid of queen ants in your house or yard. The process will take four hours for the fogging and two hours for airing out the premises.

You could use an ozone machine to kill the queen ant.

In order to kill the queen ant, you can use an ozone machine. It’s a lot like fogging your house – you just need to make sure that the ozone machine is set up properly and is targeting the ants. Ozone machines are available for purchase online or at most hardware stores.

It’s important to note that you’ll need to leave the machine on for ten hours and open all doors and windows afterward in order to clear the ozone from your home. Otherwise, you could experience adverse health effects.

This is mainly because ozone machines use airborne compounds to achieve maximum coverage in space. This helps them kill the queen ants and worker ants effectively, even if they are in hidden nooks and corners of the house!

Simply pour boiling hot water into the ant colony’s nest.

Boiling water kills ants on contact.

Now, ants are insects that thrive off sunlight or other external sources of warmth and heat. That said, ants don’t die because of the cold. Rather, they exhibit a behavior similar to hibernation by which they save their energy.

However, ants are not equipped to withstand the temperature of boiling water. Therefore, pouring boiling water is effective because it kills ants instantly after coming into contact with them.

The only disadvantage of using this method is that it would be best applied on a warm or sunny day. On warms days, ant colonies stay close to the upper surface of their nests.

Since boiling water cannot penetrate the complete depth of a mud nest, having them close to the surface ensures that the boiling water comes into contact with the queen ant along with the worker ants and kills them immediately!

Use orange or neem oil by pouring it into the nesting holes created by ants.

If you are seeing an influx of carpenter ants in your house or yard, there are a few things that you can do to get rid of them.

One option is to pour orange or neem oil into their nesting holes. Pouring the oil into the nesting holes created by the ants will ensure that they die over time. You should also ensure that you do this on a regular basis for the best results!

Consult a pest control professional as your last and ultimate resort.

If you have an ant problem and you’ve tried all of the DIY methods to get rid of them with no success, it is time to consult a pest control professional. Professional services have the knowledge and tools necessary to eradicate an ant infestation completely.

However, it is important to remember that even if you hire a professional, there is no guarantee that the ants will move on and no way to know how long the migration might take.

Conclusion

There is a motley of ways that you can use to kill queen ants. In fact, many of these ways will kill the queen ant and eliminate colonies of worker ants, all at once! Since all of these are DIY methods, you can get started using them by yourself!

About the author

A biotechnologist by profession and a passionate pest researcher. I have been one of those people who used to run away from cockroaches and rats due to their pesky features, but then we all get that turn in life when we have to face something.