Ant nests can be in your siding, yard, or pavement. Follow an ant that has recently gathered food to see where it returns to.


If ants swarm around a certain area of your siding, there will probably be a nest there. Look for any holes in the siding that the ants appear to travel through. Usually, these appear in between layers of bricks, in spots with broken mortar. These holes can also show up under lap siding or in cracks found in stucco walls.
Note that a nest can be marked with an anthill or mound, but may also be located under mulch, gravel, stones, landscaping timbers, pavement, or grass. Some varieties even search out wood trim that has been rotted or damaged by moisture.
Track ants by placing small dabs of honey, jelly, or peanut butter on an index card. Place the card as close to the ant nest as you can find, and watch ants as they approach it. After they eat, they will return to the nest, making them easier to follow.;
, Ant nests on walls and pavement should be sprayed with an insecticide containing bifenthrin. Spot-treat specific areas when the problem is small and restricted to easily treated locations.Both liquid and granule ant killers are fine.
Insecticides containing carbaryl or pyrethroid may also work.
 If you have spotted ant hills or heavy ant activity in your lawn, spray a lawn and garden insect killer over the grass. You should also apply it to trees and shrubs.


Use the chemical within one day of mowing.
Do not apply the insecticide on a windy day.
Apply during the early morning or late afternoon. These times of day are when the ants are most active.
For broad-scale insecticides, look for one containing bifenthrin. You could also use insecticides with carbaryl or pyrethroid. Note that these insecticides will also kill other insects. Look on the label to determine which insects are at risk.
Re-treat after six weeks, if necessary.
Soak infested areas with diluted insecticide concentrate. Pour the insecticide directly on the area from a large bucket.
 Baits attract ants in the same way that food attracts them, but the granules contain a poison that kill ants upon being digested. The ants take the bait back to the nest, share it with the rest, and die shortly thereafter.


Use a broadcast spreader to spread the ant bait over your lawn.
You may need to wait a few weeks before seeing notable results.
Ant baits are especially useful against fire ants.
Alternatively, you can sprinkle bait in small piles around outdoor ant mounds, pavement cracks, or other possible nesting and trailing areas.
 Drench an outdoor nest with hot, soapy water to kill a large amount of the colony. The remaining ants will be driven away and forced to find another location.


Combine a few generous squirts of liquid dish soap with boiling water. While the water is still steaming hot, pour it over the nest.
The soap clings to the outside of the ant's body, trapping the water inside and effectively causing the ants to drown.
Similarly, you can get ants out of flowerpots by flooding them with soapy water, as well.
 Sprinkle boric acid around any nest in your yard, on your pavement, or along the outside of the house. Only use the substance in dry areas, though.


Be careful with this remedy. Even though it is technically a "natural" fix, boric acid is still toxic to both children and animals.
Alternatively, you can combine 1 Tbsp (15 ml) boric acid with 1 cup (250 ml) sugar. Add just enough water to form a paste. Drop pieces of this paste near the anthill or along ant trails. The sugar will attract the ants, and the boric acid will kill them.
 Tobacco water, baby powder, and glue are all decent solutions you can use to clog the hole of the anthill and kill many of the ants inside. Pour the remedy directly into the hole of the anthill, using as much as possible to fill the anthill thoroughly.For tobacco water, begin by soaking a small handful of pipe tobacco in twice as much warm water overnight. Discard the tobacco itself and pour the remaining liquid directly over and into the anthill.
Glue and baby powder should be piped into the anthill through the hole.
You can also use baby powder to dust any common ant trails you see. Baby powder, in particular, cuts and dehydrates ants who cross over it, making it an effective insecticide.
 Essentially, you should apply it anywhere you tend to see ants.


Keep the DE dry. Do not wet it, since the effectiveness will decrease when the DE is wet.
The DE does not work immediately, but does kill most ants within a week or two. The ants cross over the DE, and the tiny granules cut open their protective outer coating. As a result, the ants can no longer retain moisture, and eventually dehydrate to death.
 Combine the peel of one to three oranges with 1 cup (250 ml) of warm water using a blender. Blend into a smooth puree, then pour the puree over and into any known ant hills.This works especially well on ants nests in your garden, on your patio, or along your foundation.
The smell of this solution is pleasant to humans, but unpleasant to most dogs and cats, so your pets are unlikely to be attracted to the area.
The puree will kill ants that receive a direct dose of it, but the majority of the ants will simply be driven away.
 Pour equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray the solution around ant hills and other nests, along with any known, frequented ant trails.


You could also pour undiluted white vinegar directly onto the ant hills in your lawn.
Vinegar may kill a few ants that are directly hit with an undiluted dosage, but for the most part, it simply drives ants away since ants are repelled by the smell of it.
 In particular, you should clean any food or drink spills and only store garbage outdoors in containers with secure, airtight lids.


Do not let pet food remain outdoors and in the open for more than an hour or so. Any food that does remain outdoors for an extended period of time should be placed in a tray of water to discourage ants from approaching it.
Most ants are attracted by a substance called "honeydew," which is produced by aphids and other sap-consuming insects. If you spot these insects in your yard, get rid of them to prevent more ants from coming around.
 Ant populations are usually attracted to conditions that make shelter and travel simpler. Removing sources of shelter in the yard can discourage ants from settling there, and removing sources of travel around your home will help prevent the ant problem from spreading indoors.


The back of any tree, shrub, or plant should be at least 6 inches (15.24 cm) away from the house, roof, or deck.
Keep a space of 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.24 cm) free between your foundation and soil. You should also make sure that the soil slopes away from the house.
Do not stack firewood near your house.
Ants like bare spots in your yard, so bare soil should be covered with healthy grass or trim vegetation.
Ants like thatch, so remove any thatch in your lawn by raking it away.
 Even if your ant problem remains outside right now, there is always a risk that the problem may move inside. Treating the perimeter of your home with a good barrier can greatly discourage ants from coming into the house from the outside.


Look for any area inside the home that an ant might enter through, like a window frame, door frame, or a hole in the wall or foundation. Use an indoor insecticide and spray these areas well according to the instructions provided on the label. A product containing bifenthrin, permethrin, or deltamethrin will usually be our best choice, and you should usually spray a 4-inch (10-cm) wide band along these possible points of entry.
Before ants get into the home, you should also caulk or seal any hole you spot.
Along the outer perimeter, spray an outdoor insecticide on the foundation and under your bottom-most layer of siding. Choose a chemical labeled as "barrier treatment," and use a 12-inch (30.5-cm) wide band of insecticide.
Hunt down the nests.
Apply pesticide directly to the nest.
Spray the lawn.
Use ant bait.
Drench the ants with soapy water.
Use boric acid.
Gum up the anthill.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth (DE).Use food-grade DE and sprinkle it around nests, known ant trails, and around the perimeter of the house.
Send the ants running using orange peels.
Try vinegar.
Eliminate possible food sources.Discourage ants from settling or thriving in your yard by removing anything outdoors that the ants may use for food.
Remove possible sources of shelter and travel.
Ant-proof the perimeter of the building.
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