Store Bought Bait
You now know that store bought sprays are not good for controlling ants inside your home. But what about ant traps? They won’t counteract our products. And they can draw the ants out so we can track them better. So even if they fail in controlling your ant infestation, they will not work against you. They allow control products to be safely placed out in the open. That makes it easy to apply without much time and effort. Just place the ant trap where you are seeing them. It helps control ants when you can’t find the nest. This is good too. But if it is a giant colony coming in from the outside, your cheap bait station will not pack much punch. It is not a good idea to be attracting a large colony of ants to a place where you do not want to see them.
If you decide to use store bought bait, set out a variety of bait. Give the ants options. The two most common active ingredients in store bought bait are Avermectin and Borax. Borax can kill ants before they make it back to the nest. On top of that, an established colony reproduces faster than boric acid kills off workers. Not the best product choice, especially during summer. Placing a variety of bait can counteract the shortcomings of these baits.
Professional Bait
It is hard to find an effective bait station (ant trap) at the store though. Even professional bait stations leave much to be desired. Lakewood Exterminating has tested many stations over the years. We have found that it is more effective to bait with a syringe of gel bait. Or to place Maxforce Quantum bait in plastic bait trays. Everything else is meh.
We leave a bait station with each customer as an insurance policy. Yet they are not used as a primary means of control. We tell customers if the ants pop up again, or do not go away, to place the bait station on the trail. Allow 3-5 days to achieve control once you try a bait station. If it does not work after that time, customers can call us for a retreatment.