Tiny brown ants in kitchen - too small for baits? - Ask Extension
Hello! We've had a problem with tiny brown ants in our kitchen for several weeks now. They are coming up through a small space between two pieces of t...
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Tiny brown ants in kitchen - too small for baits? #836531
Asked June 19, 2023, 8:03 PM EDT
Hello! We've had a problem with tiny brown ants in our kitchen for several weeks now. They are coming up through a small space between two pieces of the hardwood floor adjacent to the cat's bowl. Based in descriptions, they seem to be either Thief or Pharaoh ants. They climb onto the stone where the cat's bowls are, and have a very well-defined trail around and into her food dish. They are often active in her food. I have tried multiple kinds of baits in the way of their trail: Terro liquid, Raid regular, and Raid Max liquid. The ants seem to be small enough that they walk right under the baits on their path.
Questions:
- Can you help with the identification?
- What can we do to eliminate this interaction?
- Is there a danger to our cat either from eating the ants themselves or if the ants HAVE been in the baits? She is uninterested in the baits themselves, for what it's worth.
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
I am guessing that the ants prefer the cat food to the baits. Move the cat food preferably far away and elevated. Be sure to wash the stone and bowl and the floor where it was. Ants mark trails. Also store the cat food in an airtight container.
The picture is too blurry to accurately identify the ants. Your identification is close enough for ant control purposes. Ant baits vary and some are attractive to different ants. There is no science to it, just experimentation. You might do better with liquid ant drops on cardboard. The ants won’t crawl under it. It can take weeks/months to kill a colony/nest. If you are in a hurry you might want to call a pest control company. They might be able to locate the nest onsite.
For more details see the following website.
https://extension.umn.edu/insects-infest-homes/ants
As far as pet safety, those questions are best answered by your veterinarian. The Animal Poison control center is another resource. They have some information online.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/poisonous-household-products
The picture is too blurry to accurately identify the ants. Your identification is close enough for ant control purposes. Ant baits vary and some are attractive to different ants. There is no science to it, just experimentation. You might do better with liquid ant drops on cardboard. The ants won’t crawl under it. It can take weeks/months to kill a colony/nest. If you are in a hurry you might want to call a pest control company. They might be able to locate the nest onsite.
For more details see the following website.
https://extension.umn.edu/insects-infest-homes/ants
As far as pet safety, those questions are best answered by your veterinarian. The Animal Poison control center is another resource. They have some information online.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/poisonous-household-products
