Argentine Ant Control: How To Get Rid of Argentine Ants

This page is an Argentine Ant control guide. By using the products and methods suggested you will get control of Argentine Ants. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee 100% control of Argentine Ants.

Argentine Ants are a major problem for homes as well as for farmers for the amount of damage they can inflict upon crops and gardens. This species of ant, as the name suggests, were brought over from Argentina during the 1890s aboard ships that carried coffee and sugar. Since then, Argentine Ants have made their mark on land, extending from the coast throughout California and to the southern parts of the United States.

Argentine ants are 1/12th to 1/8th inch long and are colored a dull brown. They are an aggressive species of ant and are known for creating super colonies that can number into the thousands with multiple queens that can reach up to the hundreds. While Argentine ants don’t establish nests inside of homes, they do establish nests outside near a home they are targeting and create intricate trails to enter homes to forage for food.

The Argentine Ant is relentless in its pursuit of food and when indoors, they will go to great lengths in their search including entering refrigerators and other hard to reach places. Argentine Ants are also attracted to moisture and will even seek the moisture of human bodies by entering beds while we sleep.

If you have a problem with Argentine ants on your property, our DIY guide below can help. Follow our expert advice and product recommendations to get rid of Argentine Ants for good.

Identification

Before you can carry out a pesticide application you need to make sure you're dealing with Argentine Ants via identification. Argentine ants are medium-sized ants with a slender, shiny, smooth body. They can range between light to dark brown in color.  The Argentine ant is often confused with the Pharaoh ant due to both looking similar to each other.

Worker ants are 2-3 mm long and all look the same while queens are about twice their size. Argentine ant populations can grow rapidly to the point that a colony breaks off and creates subcolonies. This is done through a process called budding

Use the image and description above to help you in properly identifying Argentine Ants. If you are not totally sure, contact us and one of our experts will assist with identification.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed that you are dealing with Argentine Ants, you can proceed with inspection to locate the areas that these Ants frequent or where their colonies are established. You should also gauge how severe of an infestation you have and what hot spots will need to be focused on when conducting a treatment.

Where To Inspect

Inspect your property both indoors and outdoors for mounds and nests where the ant colony is headquartered. Typical outdoor nesting sites include soil, hollowed trees, under firewood, rocks, and other piles of material or debris, and underneath stone or brick walkways. Indoors, Argentine Ants can be found in walls and voids, and around wherever there is moisture sources such as sinks, pipes, or potted plants.

What To Look For 

You're looking for Argentine Ant forage trails and colonies. Follow the trails and see if they lead you into any wall voids, cracks or crevices, or if you're outside if they lead you directly to any possible colonies or nests. You can always create a trail by placing bait (like peanut butter) and seeing if a trail develops. Follow it back to the source and this will lead to areas with high Argentine Ant activity. Once you have discovered their nests or foraging trails, this is where you will apply the treatment.

Treatment

Once you have confirmed Argentine Ant activity, it is time to begin treatment. Remember to read all product labels and follow their application instructions, and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

To treat Argentine Ants we recommend an outdoor application of Supreme IT to your yard and perimeter as well directly to any ant mound you find. Indoors, apply Ant-Trax Ant Bait to kill foraging worker ants and spray Fipro Foaming Aerosol in voids and crevices where they have been found.

Step 1 - Outdoor Treatment with Supreme IT

Supreme IT is a powerful insecticide that targets more than 75+ insect pests, and it both kills and repels ants. You will use this product to drench any colonies outside, and to enact a perimeter barrier around your structure (if you have an infestation indoors) that will prevent Ants from coming inside. It also has a residual (or long-term effects) that will last for 3 months.

Determine how much Supreme IT you will need by first calculating the square footage of your yard and perimeter. To do this, measure (in feet) and multiply the area length times the width (length x width = square footage). 1 oz. of Supreme IT in 1 gallon of water can treat 1,000 sq. ft. of area.

Spray all along the perimeter of your property by spraying 3 feet up and 3 feet out from the foundation of your structure. While spraying in this manner also spray window frames, door frames, eaves, soffits, garage doors, rain gutters, electrical/plumbing penetrations, and cracks and crevices where you have seen traveling in.

Step 2 - Drench Ant Mounds With Supreme

To drench any colonies you're able to find, first, spray all around the opening of the colony to affect any Ants that manage to escape the treatment. Next, spray the mound itself, saturating it with the Supreme IT until it is completely drenched.

Step 3 - Indoor Treatment with Ant-Trax Ant Bait

Ant-Trax is a sweet ant bait that ants find irresistible. It works slowly, allowing the ants to carry back the bait back to the colony where extermination of the whole colony occurs. This product comes in a syringe for easy application.

Apply a pea-sized drop in places of high Argentine Ant activity and separate each placement by at least one foot. Apply in countertops, in kitchens, bathrooms, and wherever you have noticed Little Yellow Ant activity.

Do not kill the ants or clean (or use cleaning supplies) in the areas where Ant-Trax was applied for at least 7 to 10 days. The point is to let the ants feed on the bait and carry it back to the nest. Allow for at least two weeks to go by and let the ants feed on the product.

Step 4 - Treat Cracks and Crevices With Fipro Foaming Aerosol

Fipro is a foaming aerosol that contains the lethal active ingredient Fipronil. It will kill Argentine Ants quickly and the foaming capabilities allow the insecticide to reach the ants in the tightest of hiding spots.

To use, attach the red straw applicator tip to the nozzle and then spray in cracks and crevices where you have seen ant activity. Apply under sinks, in window frames, door frames, and other cracks and crevices you have noticed them and they will die shortly thereafter.

Do not try to clean or apply cleaning products to the areas where Fipro is applied or kill the ants that come in contact with the product.  The point is to let the ants come into contact with the products so that they will bring the pesticides back to the nest.

Prevention

After you have completed treatment and see a significant reduction or total elimination of Argentine Ants, you will need to implement some preventative measures to make sure they don't reinfest. Make sure to reduce food sources like pet food, spills, crumbs, and other food sources Ants might find. Also address water sources such as leaking faucets, parts of your lawn that don't drain well, and clean appliances that might be leaking.

Use caulk to fill crack and crevices found outside of your structure and block their potential entry points into your home. In the yard, remove yard debris like woodpiles, leaf litter, rocks, logs, and general clutter to reduce harborage areas. Trim back vegetation back from the house to discourage ants from coming inside.

And finally, spray Supreme IT every 3 months to maintain a protective barrier around the outside of your property.

Key Takeaways

What are Argentine Ants?

• Argentine Ants are native to parts of South America, but through human activity they have established themselves all over the world and are considered to be one of the worst invasive ant species out there.

How to Get Rid of Argentine Ants

• To get rid of Argentine Ants, we recommend an outdoor treatment of Supreme IT and indoor applications of Ant-Trax Ant Bait and Fipro Foaming Aerosol.

Preventing Argentine Ant Reinfestation

• To prevent reinfestation of Argentine Ants vacuum and clean crumbs and spills indoors and reduce leaf litter and trim vegetation back from the house. Preventative applications of Supreme IT can also help keep Argentine Ants Away.