Does Liquid Ant Bait Kill Carpenter Ants

Ants are not all alike, so it’s important that your customers use TERRO products on the ants those products were made to target. One of the most common questions TERRO^® gets is this:

Does Liquid Bait Work On Carpenter Ants?

TERRO^® Liquid Ant Killer is made up of three main ingredients: Borax, sugar and water.

This bait combination works to attract sweet-eating ants, which are sent from their nest to hunt for food or water sources. Carpenter ants are considered sweet-eating ants, but just barely. It’s true, these insects do occasionally feed on common sweets such as syrup, honey, jelly, sugar, salt, and fruit, but not very often. When they are seeking out those sugars, they will be attracted to TERRO^® liquid bait.

How Does Ant Bait Kill Ants?

Ant bait begins working after an ant ingests the bait and shares it with the rest of the colony. From there, the ants slowly succumb to the Borax they’ve consumed. To maximize the effectiveness of TERRO^® liquid bait products, it's vital to offer it to carpenter ants when they are actively on the lookout for sweets. (Of course, there are plenty of other ant species that will be attracted to liquid bait, including Argentine ants, pavement ants, little black ants, odorous house ants, crazy ants, ghost ants and big headed ants.)

Other Carpenter Ant Options

If liquid baiting doesn't seem to be attracting the carpenter ants in and around your customer’s home, we suggest treating the problem areas with a contact killer, such as TERRO^® Carpenter Ant & Termite Killer spray. With this line of defense, homeowners can treat the carpenter ant nests and surrounding areas directly. They can also treat the places where ants enter a structure, such as windows and doorways. Plus, the extension tube is the perfect tool to inject the spray into wall voids and small openings in the infested wood.

Other products to consider using against carpenter ants include TERRO^® Ant Dust or TERRO^® Ant Killer Plus.