Have you ever wondered what ants are and what kind of damage they could bring to your home? Like wasps and bees, ants are eusocial insects in the order Hymenoptera will cause a commotion if they invade your home.
Most species enjoy invading your pantry or scavenging for crumbs that have fallen from your food. They will eat any sweet, savory, or greasy food that is left out in the open. Their mandibles, however, are not only used for biting or tearing off food chunks; they also have other functions.
Pavement ants burrow into the concrete foundations but do not cause significant damage. These ants are primarily a bother to homeowners and can mostly be found on sidewalks, driveways alongside homes, and unsightly dirt mounds.
Can Ants Eat Through Concrete?
Yes, ants will undoubtedly eat through concrete walls, foam insulation, and other materials to construct their nest inside. Furthermore, these insects will crawl up, down, and across your countertops, floors, and walls if they have a plentiful food supply.
Ants infiltrate your concrete regions if you locate mounds of concrete powder on the floor. However, some ants, such as carpenter ants, dig the material rather than eating it.
Unless these ants started a colony beneath your pavement, treating their nest can be challenging. However, you can use baits and chemical sprays, which do not require any specialized skills or the need to reach out to a professional.
If ants decide to build their nest in a structure and begin eating through concrete, the damage can be severe and must be prevented. Phantom is a substance designed for termites and ants that, when applied, is invisible to the insects in question.
But can ants demolish foundations in the same way? Yes, ants and other pests that infiltrate your foundation can cause significant damage to your house. However, you don’t have to worry because your pest control professional will employ integrated pest management tactics to help eliminate these insects around your home.
That said, the best way you can get rid of a pavement ant nest is to discover and kill the queen. Place at least one Ortho Liquid Ant Bait station around the ants in your home.
However, termites, unlike ants, cannot eat through concrete. They also lack extraordinary jaws capable of chewing through steel. They eat just wood and other cellulose materials, which is remarkable given that cellulose is indigestible to most organisms.
Can Ants Make Holes in Concrete?
Yes, ants can make holes in your concrete and construct a complex network of tunnels beneath the location where you park your automobile. Furthermore, ants dig concrete, though you won’t have to worry about your pavement sinking unexpectedly.
Over time, they can cause the shifting and settling of paver patios, pavement walks, and other structures. These ants seldom cause substantial structural damage to concrete, aside from the unattractive mounds of dug dirt.
Ants can also create a new sort of damage before you take a big calming breath. They also enjoy cereal, grains, pet food, and pretty much everything else that humans consume.
Because of their tiny size, ants can enter houses through the slightest crevices, beneath doors, and even microscopic openings in screen doors.
If there are any crumbs on the floor, they will discover them, and only one tiny ant will inform his buddies, and soon hundreds of other tiny ants will be accumulating leftovers to bring back to the colony.
Can Ants Ruin Your Foundation?
Yes, ants can ruin your foundation, and if they’re carpenter ants, you will be vulnerable to foundation damage. Ants are well-known for constructing nests on wood discovered within your home, making them the biggest nightmare to homeowners.
Furthermore, having ants within your home, let alone in your foundation, may be quite bothersome. For example, if the species invading your area are agitated, you will suffer from ants entering your food or pantry and ant bites.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Concrete?
Ants are attracted to concrete because of the warmth and wetness it provides. These insects can eat away at the concrete in the basement of your house. They leave a large pile of concrete powder on the floor.
Emmets are prone to nesting in unusual places, and you could probably wonder why they chose substrate-like concrete. It could be that cement contains a specific “nutrient” or mineral that the ants like, or it could be that cement attracts and retains precisely the correct quantity of moisture.
Does Vinegar Kill Ants?
Yes, white vinegar kills and repels ants and if there’s an ant infestation, consider using diluted vinegar to clean hard surfaces in your homes, such as floors and counters. Ants may smell the vinegar when it dries, but the aroma isn’t noticeable to most humans for long.
While vinegar does alter the behavior of ants, it does not represent harm to these insects. In other words, using vinegar, unlike pesticides and insecticides, will not kill ants. However, vinegar will repel ants away from your home, avoiding their future infestations.
When eliminating ants using vinegar, fill a misting bottle with basic white vinegar and water solution. In general, you’ll combine these ingredients in equal proportions. After you’ve created your solution, spray it around your home, and don’t forget about your kitchen.
Homeowners who want to be assured that their home is ant-free can spray pure white vinegar all over the house instead of water. The only downside of spraying vinegar is that it produces a more pungent odor that repels ants.
But please note that, like most pest-control treatments, vinegar will wear off over time. Therefore, you should spray white vinegar around your property frequently to ensure that the fragrance is strong enough to keep ants away.
In rare cases, such as during a severe infestation, white cider vinegar cannot be sufficient. Fortunately, you may use apple cider vinegar to create a considerably more robust solution. All you need is a spray bottle, apple cider vinegar, and water for this solution.
Fill your spray bottle halfway with apple cider vinegar and half with water. Then go around your house and spray everywhere. Spray around your window sills and baseboards, both of which are common entry points for ants.
If you have a heavy infestation of ants, spray your apple cider vinegar straight on the ants. However, for long-term prevention, a spray of white vinegar is typically preferable.
Do Coffee Grounds Repel Ants?
Yes, coffee grounds repel ants because caffeine strongly affects them, making them the most ecologically friendly ant repellents. There are no toxic chemicals added because they contain plant-based substances.
Coffee grounds have high nitrogen content and acidic character that can also function as an excellent fertilizer and attract helpful earthworms.
Fresh or recycled coffee grounds will not kill ants unless mixed with other substances such as hot water or borax. To successfully eliminate these pests, pour boiling coffee into an anthill, and the coffee will have a repellent impact on any survivors.
7 Surprising Ways to Get Rid of Ants in Concrete
The most practical and straightforward approach to getting rid of ants residing beneath your driveway is to try to locate the colony. This can be difficult because ants frequently travel great distances beneath concrete slabs before entering a gap within your house.
You only have a few alternatives other than lifting the pavement stones or damaging your driveway. Below is a list of safe and effective ant-killing solutions that won’t harm other insects or animals and that you’re likely to already have in your house.
1. Use Boiling Water
If you can spot where the ant colony is, simply open the lid and pour hot water into it. All of the ants, including the queen, will perish as a result of the hot water. However, You will have to repeat this process several times to ensure you eliminate all of the ants.
2. Shake On Some Salt
Salt kills ants if they contact it because salt dehydrates them to the point where they lose so much water, shrinking them. If you can’t identify their colony, placing a salt path along the existing cracks in their driveway to keep them away.
Ants will continue to survive beneath the ground and will likely exist in every other section of your home. And just like salt, you can also use other common culinary ingredients like cinnamon, pepper, chili powder, or curry powder.
3. Cover The Area With Coffee
When ants are exposed to coffee, they behave strangely by losing their bearings and can’t find their way back to the nest. If the ants’ initial source of sustenance is coffee, they will not return to the nest with food, and the colony will die of famine.
4. Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil
Compounds contained in the cinnamon leaf essential oil, such as trans-cinnamaldehyde, are efficient at killing and repelling ants, especially biting red ants.
Powdered cinnamon is also excellent in repelling ants. All you have to do is saturate cotton balls with the oil and place them where you’ve spotted ants. Alternatively, you can sprinkle the powder on window sills and baseboards.
5. Neem Oil
Ants are poisoned by neem oil, especially when sprayed directly on them. When consumed, it alters the hormonal system of the insect. It is difficult for the ants to feed, lay eggs, or even grow due to this.
Use neem oil to repel common garden bugs such as locusts, beetles, mites, worms, and caterpillars. Termites, ants, and cockroaches are also repulsed by neem oil.
You can also put the mixture in containers and leave it out. Containers should be thoroughly washed after use or discarded.
6. Boric Acid
Boric acid is a toxin that can kill worker ants within three weeks of exposure. This is accomplished by degrading their outer shells and guts.
Boric acid can also be used to make homemade ant traps. Combine the powder with anything sweet that ants find appealing, such as maple syrup or corn syrup. Spread on a flat, disposable surface, such as cardboard, and place in ant-infested regions.
It is critical to keep boric acid away from pets and children and only use it while wearing gloves. The following instructions are included in the most basic boric acid recipes for treating ants:
- Combine 1/2 teaspoon boric acid, eight teaspoons sugar, and one cup of warm water to make a solution.
- Stir until the sugar and boric acid has dissolved completely. Saturate cotton balls and place them in areas where you’ve noticed ants.
- You can also put the mixture in containers and leave it out. Containers should be thoroughly washed after use or discarded.
Boric acid can also be used to make your ant traps. Combine the powder with anything sweet that ants find appealing, such as maple syrup or corn syrup. Spread on a flat, disposable surface, such as cardboard, and place in ant-infested regions.
7. Glass Cleaner And Liquid Detergent
You can deter ants from entering your home by combining spray-on glass cleaning with liquid detergent or dish soap. This is accomplished by deleting the fragrant pheromone trail that they leave behind when they walk.
The first step is to combine the ingredients and spray in areas where ants appear to swarm or originate. After spraying, wipe down the area, leaving a faint residue. While no studies support this cure, anecdotal evidence shows that it effectively keeps ants at bay.