Killing the queen ant and destroying ant nests are essential for ant control. Discover how you can do it and the risks involved.
Ask any ant exterminator about queen ants. The exterminator will tell you the importance of killing the queen.
Destroying the ant nest and eliminating the queen is critical to getting rid of ants.
If you only kill the worker ants and not the queen ants, then ant infestation can return.
But there are some simple ways to kill the queen ant. Locate the ants’ nests and use one of the following methods.
Boiling Water
The best and the most straightforward way to kill the queen ant is to pour boiling water into the ant mound.
But this is a risky move. Pouring boiling water on a fire ant mound will expose you to painful fire ant bites and stings.
But this method works if you’re dealing with ant mounds of not-so-aggressive ants.
Take appropriate precautions while pouring boiling water into the ant nest. Wear shoes, gloves, trousers tucked in the socks, and a full-sleeved shirt.
It’ll prevent the ants from contacting the skin. All ant species become aggressive while defending their colonies, queens, eggs, and larvae.
Liquid Gel Ant Bait
Use gel ant baits in areas where you’ve noticed ant trails or ant activity. Gel baits are poisonous.
Ants feed on the gel baits. The worker ants will carry it to their colonies to share it with the other ants.
As the worker ants feed the queen ant, the queen ant will also feed on the gel bait.
Result? All the ants in the colony that fed on the bait, including the queen ant, will die.
Gel baits are more effective than pouring boiling water.
But these baits must be out of reach of children and pets.
Also, read the safety instructions on the packaging before using the baits.
Borax Ant Bait
You can make ant baits with borax. Read my borax ant killer recipe to find out more.
Prepare these baits in the form of dough balls or pastes. Keep them where you’ve noticed ant trails or ant activity.
The sugar and peanut butter in the bait attract the ants. And the ants eat the bait.
The worker ants will also carry the bait to their nests to feed the queen ants.
Borax messes up with the ants’ internal system and causes a slow death. The ants that feed on the bait will die in a few days.
When used wisely, this bait can remove an entire colony in the house.
If you’ve diatomaceous earth, it’s even better. You can use diatomaceous earth instead of borax in the recipe.
Borax can cause problems if you ingest it. So, ensure that the borax dough balls or pastes are out of reach for kids and pets.
Insecticide Sprays
Like the professionals, you can also use insecticide sprays on the ant nest to kill the queen ant in the nest.
But, it also carries risks of exposure to chemicals and ant bites.
So, wear protective clothing. And handle the chemical insecticides as per the instructions.
You Cannot Lure the Queen Out of the Nest
Queen ants stay in their colonies since the first batch of worker ants appeared.
They keep laying eggs, which is their primary job. The worker ants feed the queen ants and rear the young.
So, you’ll need to use one of three steps to kill the queen ant.
Queen Ants Appearance
The ant queen might have marks where her wings used to be.
You might notice the queen ant while pouring boiling water or using insecticide spray.
She is the most giant and darkest ant in the colony. She has a big abdomen because her primary purpose is to lay eggs and expand the ant family.
Worker ants are smaller than queen ants.
What Happens When the Queen Ant Dies?
The worker ants keep performing their standard duties when the queen ant dies.
But, there are no more new ant eggs and larvae because the queen ant died.
Over time, the worker ants live out their life. Their lifespan is 4 months to 2 years, depending on the species.
But the queen ant can survive for 15 years if you don’t kill it.
Hire Professional Pest Control
DIY methods work till they don’t. And there’s always an element of guesswork involved in them.
When you’re dealing with too many ants, then hiring professional pest control is your best option.
Ants like fire ants are dangerous. And you can get nasty bites and stings while eliminating their queens.
Carpenter ants make many nests in one home. These nests can be hard to find. And each nest can have a queen.
And ants will return if you don’t kill each of these queens and destroy their nests.
Dr. Thomas Orbert is a PhD in Entomology with extensive research experience in ectoparasites and microbials. He has also worked in the spaces of ecology conservation and has multiple years of experience in field research and scientific publishing.