The reasons for the presence of black ants in the house

Black ants

It is also known as the black carpenter ant (in English: Black Carpenter Ant), and the reason for this is that it uses its strong jaw to carve wood, prepare organized nests using its carpentry, and not consume it as its own food. While black ants are one of their types, there are many other types. Among them: red, yellow, brown, and others. Black ants build nests and colonies inside or outside the house, and their location may be in dry or humid places. They are also more active at night; Searching for food sources, consuming it and storing it in nests.

The reasons for the presence of black ants in the house

The reason for the presence of black ants and their settlement in homes is due to many factors, including:

Humidity and suitable environment for building nests

High humidity plays a fundamental and important role in the survival of the nests of the mother queens of black ants. Humidity problems in homes result from several factors, in addition to the availability of suitable environments that attract black ants and make them choose homes and their yards to build their nests. Among these reasons are the following:

• Water leakage from roofs, or holes in sewer pipes, gutters, etc.
• Ants also build nests in dry, well-ventilated areas, especially those where there is mold resulting from the extension of green areas over the soil due to water sources, or when parts of wood come into contact and remain on the ground for a period of time, then they are removed after fungi and mold grow underneath.
• The presence of dead tree parts and limbs in the yards and around houses, or those branches that are directly connected to the windows of the house and facilitate the entry of ants into it, or they can live and build nests in their dead limbs.
• Storing and stacking large quantities of firewood used for stoves in garage areas, warehouses, and basements in the house, or leaving it on the ground for a long period of time, as it is a preferred place and environment for building ants’ nests.

Cracks and openings that facilitate its entry into homes

Openings, cracks, and fissures in the walls and ceilings of homes can be a major reason for the presence of ants and nesting around them, or inside them, by exploiting them as special gates that allow them to enter and leave homes and take their nutritional needs from them in their own way, without the need to escape from the residents, as they are small pests that pass through. It can easily pass through cracks and openings, and it can also establish colonies and nests in large, neglected cracks and voids in the walls of houses, and live in them.

Availability of food and water sources

Ants, like other pests and insects, are attracted to homes where there are sources of life, such as food and water, especially those sources that have a sweet taste. Where ants smell the sweet scent of foods and feel them from a distance, most notably fruits and their various juices, in addition to the following other sources:

• Remnants of food stuck on uncleaned dishes and utensils that are left in the sink, so ants feed on them later.
• The open trash can, which contains food waste and remains, which ants are attracted to and use as a rich source of food.
• Exposed foods left on tables and in eating places, especially bread, sweets, and fruits such as bananas.
• Containers for storing foods, sweets, and sugar that are not tightly sealed or closed, which ants can sneak into and get their food from.
• Empty bottles and cans containing food that were not disposed of properly or taken out of the home.

Ways to eliminate black ants in the home

Black ants can be eliminated in homes by using the following methods:

• Drizzle with lemon juiceThe citric acid present in lemon juice acts as a repellent agent to repel ants and keep them away from the house. It is used through the following steps:
  • Mix 3 part lemon juice with XNUMX parts water.
  • Place the solution in an empty spray bottle and spray the ant clusters with it.
  • Spray the surroundings of the house and the places where ants are suspected of being present or walking on them with the solution to repel them and remove them from them.
• Dishwashing soapDishwashing soap is used as an effective household method to eliminate and exterminate household ants and other harmful insects such as cockroaches. It is used in the following way:
  • Mix two parts water with one part dishwashing soap, put the solution in an empty spray bottle and shake it well. To make it easier to spray and use.
  • Spray the ants directly with the solution, eliminate them, then wipe the dead remains with a wet cloth and dispose of them, and keep the remaining bottle.
  • You can put sugar bait for ants, and prepare dishes and utensils covered with a layer of soap and water. To kill ants when they walk over them in search of sugar.
• Black or red pepperAnts are repulsed by the annoying smell of pepper, so it can be used to expel them from the house in easy and safe ways, by spraying ant colonies, appliances and various places where they walk with pepper. To get him out and get him away from the house.
• Boiling waterBoiling water kills and eliminates ants, but it is a method that may not guarantee access to the internal nests if they are very deep under the surface of the ground. It is used simply by spraying it into holes that a person suspects are passages or ants’ homes, or pouring it on directly visible ant clusters and disposing of them. Of which.
• Citrus peelsCitrus peels are used as effective and safe household pesticides to eliminate swarms of ants that walk on plants and inside various home ponds, by making a barrier out of them, such as oranges and lemons, so that it surrounds the plants inside the home ponds.
• Use of pesticidesThere are many types of insecticides made from natural materials, some of which are chemical, and they effectively eliminate ants and other household pests, in addition to traps designated for killing ants, some of which may be free of toxins, but it is recommended to read the instructions before use, and review their components. To avoid harmful use that may harm some pets or children.