Pharaoh Ant Control: How To Get Rid of Pharaoh Ants

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

Pharaoh Ants (also known as piss ants) are one of the most common ant infestations that plague households. Pharaoh Ants are prolific breeders and are widespread throughout the entire United States. They get their name due to the belief that the ants were a plague that affected the Pharaohs in ancient Egypt.

Unlike most ants, Pharaoh ants prefer to nest indoors over outdoors. They are notorious for being found in establishments that handle large amounts of foods like hotels, grocery stores, and hospitals. Inside, they nest in warm, humid areas wherever there is plenty of food and water nearby. Their appetite is similar to your typical ant, preferring to eat sweets and sugar-based foods as well as foods that are greasy.

If your home or business has become infested with Pharaoh Ants, our DIY guide can help. Our experts have put together the best-recommended products for Pharaoh Ant Control and the best strategy to tackle these nuisances.

Identification

Before you can carry out a treatment plan, you need to identify and make certain you are dealing with Pharaoh Ants and not some other ant species. Misidentification can lead to a waste of time and money due to using the wrong treatment methods.

Pharaoh ant are sometimes misidentified for other ant species, like Argentine ants, little yellow ants, or odorous house ants.

Here are some identifying traits of Pharaoh Ants to help you wither making the determination:

• Pharaoh Ants are rather tiny, about 1/16th of an inch long.
• They are yellow to a light reddish-brown in color and have dark to black abdomens.
• When crushed or squeezed, Pharaoh Ants give off a smell similar to urine which led to them also being known as "Piss Ants".
• What makes this ant so difficult to control is that they are intuitive and quick in spreading their population and growing colonies. The Pharaoh queen will often leave a well-established nest and take adult workers, juniors and even eggs with her to establish a new colony.

Use the image and description above to help you to identify Pharaoh Ants on your property. If you are not totally sure, contact us and we will try and assist you with proper identification.

Inspection

After you have correctly identified your ant infestation as a Pharaoh Ant, you need to perform an inspection to pinpoint the areas that Pharaoh Ants are infesting inside your home. During the inspection, you will search your home or property for any signs of Pharaoh Activity.

Where To Inspect

Start your inspection indoors. Search around cracks and crevices around the home, especially where food is served, and where moisture collects. Search underneath sinks (where plumbing penetrates walls), near the kitchen, around appliances, in bathrooms, near utility rooms, in wall voids, in electrical outlets, ceilings, and even underneath floors. Outside search near yard debris, close to pavements, under mulched areas, underneath logs, rocks, bricks, woodpiles, and in the foundation of your structure,

What To Look For

You're looking for Pharaoh Ants, their foraging trails, and the food and water they are using to survive. When it comes to Pharaoh Ant control it is extremely important that you identify their sources of food and water. These areas will usually have foraging trails and led to cracks and crevices where they might be nesting.

Simply lay out some sweet food and wait, keeping an eye on the food for awhile and within no time you will see a trail of Pharaoh Ants happily feasting on the food. After taking a few bites, these ants will then take the food back to their nests and this is when you have to stay on top of things. 

Treatment

Once you have an idea of where Pharaoh Ants are active, you can move forward with treatment.  Remember to read all product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

To get rid of Pharaoh Ants, you will need to apply treatment products both indoors with Ant-Trax Ant Bait and outdoors with a perimeter treatment of Spectre 2 SC.

Step 1 - Indoor Treatment with Ant-Trax Ant Bait

Ant-Trax is an attractive ant bait product that comes in a convenient syringe for easy application. Ant-Trax will not be able to resist the formula and will take the bait back to their nest to share with the colony, and eventually the whole population will succumb to the poison.

Apply a pea-sized drop, separated by at one foot, in all the areas where you have seen Pharaoh ants foraging for food and moisture. Apply this product in countertops, in kitchens, bathrooms, near appliances, near baseboards, and in entry points. Most importantly bait close to their sources of food and water, this will ensure that the colonies do not bud and separate.

Allow 7 to 10 days to go by do not kill the ants and their foraging trails or clean or use cleaning supplies in the places where you have applied Ant-Trax. The point is to let the ants digest and carry back to the nest as much bait as possible. Let the ants come in contact and do not kill them for at least 7 to 10 days.

Step 2 - Outdoor Treatment with Spectre 2 SC

After treating indoors with bait, you will need to prevent the outdoor ant population from coming indoors with a perimeter treatment of Spectre 2 SC. This product is a powerful insecticide that is a non-repellent, which is important since repellent insecticides only cause the colony of Pharaoh Ants to bud and separate creating smaller colonies and worsening the situation. This product will be used as a barrier treatment on the outside of your structure, to prevent Pharaoh Ants from coming inside your home if they are nesting outdoors.

Determine how much Spectre 2 SC you will need by calculating the square footage of the area you wish to treat. To do this, measure and multiply the area length times the width (length x width = square footage). Spectre 2 SC can be mixed at a rate of 1.5 to 3.0 fl. oz. per 1 gallon of water. Mix the Spectre 2 SC with water in a sprayer and shake well to make sure the product is well mixed.

Spray the Spectre 2 SC mixture around the outside of your structure, spraying 3 feet up and 3 feet out from the foundation. While spraying in this manner, also spray window frames, door frames, eaves, soffits, rain gutters, garage doors, electrical/plumbing penetrations, and cracks and crevices. Do not let people or pets enter areas treated until 2 to 4 hours have passed. 

Prevention

After you have treated the area and cleared away the Pharaoh Ant threat, you need to make sure they don't make a return. To obtain complete control of Pharaoh Ants and prevent reinfestation, you need to modify your environment to make it less suitable for ants. Here are some steps to take:

• Maintain a regular cleaning schedule by vacuuming, sweeping, and cleaning countertops, and getting rid of spills and crumbs as soon as they happen.
• Fix moisture issues in the building, like broken appliances, leaky faucets, and faulty plumbing, this is extremely important to obtain control.
• Trim vegetation back and away from your building to make it harder for ants to come inside your building or home.
• And finally, seal up any cracks and crevices on the outside of your structure. Use caulk to completely eliminate any small slit, opening, or crack, that can serve as entry points for ants to come inside your structure.

Key Takeaways

What Are Pharaoh Ants?

• Pharaoh Ants are an ant species notoriously known for setting up nesting sites indoors and growing large colonies. They are yellowish colored with dark-colored backsides.
• Pharaoh Ants are also called Piss Ants because of their odor when squished smelling similar to urine.
• A prolific breeder, the Pharaoh Ant is also regarded as a sugar ant due to its intense liking for sweets.

How To Get Rid of Pharaoh Ants From Your Home 

• We recommend treating Pharaoh Ant infestations with a combination of indoor (Ant-Trax Ant Bait) and outdoor (Spectre 2 SC) treatment products.

Preventing Pharaoh Ant Reinfestation

• Prevent a reinfestation of Pharaoh Ants by sealing up points of entry and practicing good sanitation and exclusion measures.