Citronella Ants | Identification, Prevention & How to Get Rid

Do you know how to get rid of citronella ants? Citronella ants are common ants found throughout the US.

These ants include the larger yellow ant which forms their nests underneath wood, rocks beside foundations, and inside crawl spaces with the right conditions.

These ants can swarm inside of homes and become frequent nuisances for homeowners. In this article, we are discussing how to identify and get rid of citronella ants on your property. So your home can remain pest-free.

 

How to Identify Citronella Ants

The very first step you should take in any pest control plan is identifying what exactly you’re dealing with. Lack of pest identification can lead to wrong treatment methods which will cost you time and money.

Citronella ants are small with the workers growing up to one or an inch in length, their bodies are made up of three segments.

The head, the thorax, and the abdomen and they’re yellow to yellow-brown in color. The compound eyes on their heads are usually very small in proportion to their head size and when compared to the eyes of other species.

When citronella ants are crushed Ville de lis, a lemon-like sense. Hence, their name unlike other ant species such as Elegance will not cause any damage to a home or any other structures.

They also have the ability to sting, though, they won’t cause you or your pets, any harm. However, citronella ants will swarm indoors in areas with high moisture.

Their presence indoors often indicates a moisture problem, which can lead to further pest infestations in the future.

Citronella Ants
Citronella Ants

 

Citronella Ants Inspection

Inspection is the next phase of any good pest control plan, once you know what your pests look like, check around your property to confirm their presence or find hot spots of their activity.

Citronella ants are widely distributed throughout the United States and are known to be active from early spring through to October with peak activity.

During the summer, If you’ve witnessed citronella ant activity inside of your home, you’ll want to check the area for moisture problems and entry points.

Citronella ants swarm in areas with high moisture. So look for leaky faucets, broken pipes, or any sources of standing water.

Citronella ants are nocturnal and feed exclusively on honeydew. Honeydew is the byproduct of insects that feed on plants like aphids, mealybugs, or other scale insects.

So, check plants and shrubbery outside of your home for these pests as well.

Note Any citronella ants, conducive conditions, or other pests. You may have spotted as you’ll use this information to direct your treatment and prevention.

 

How to Get Rid of Citronella Ants

After identifying, your pests and inspecting for activity on your property. It’s time to start treatment before starting any treatment.

Note: Be sure to wear your personal protective equipment or PPE, and remember to keep all people and pets off. The treated areas until dry to get rid of citronella ants on your property.

You’ll need to use a non-repellent insecticide like;

FiPro Foaming Aerosol

FiPro aerosol is ideal for controlling ants because the product will expand to completely cover the cracks and crevices that the ants will travel through.

In addition, ants are unable to detect FiPro’s presence, ensuring they make contact with the chemical unaware and pass it on to the rest of the colony creating a systemic elimination.

How to Use FiPro

To use FiPro;

  • Shake the camp thoroughly
  • Push the included application straw into the nozzle
  • Spray along the lengths of cracks and crevices, where you’ve seen ants travel
  • Allow the foam to expand in voids
  • Spray long enough for the product to expand and cover the entire surface area.
  • After application, hold the can in place for about eight seconds to allow the product and the straw to dispense into the treatment area.

We recommend you apply FiPro when the ants are least active to avoid the colony from budding. When applied properly, ants will travel through the treated areas, without detecting the product, and transfer the poison to the rest of the colony.

Ants affected by FiPro will die within a few hours. You should notice a reduction in pest activity within the next two weeks.

In addition to treating citronella ants, you’ll also want to get rid of their food source. You need to eliminate insects aphids, mealybugs, and other scale insects as they all feed on sap from plants.

 

You’ll need to use a systemic insecticide, like Termidor, Talstar, Bifen, Taurus, Fuse, and Demon WP. When used properly the products will be absorbed into treated plants. Pests that feed on them, will ingest the poison and die.

 

How to Prevent Citronella Ants

Prevention is essential to keeping pests in check. Even after you’ve applied pesticides, the best way to stop pest activity is to make sure it can’t happen to stop.

Citronella ants form inferior structures. what you’ll do is;

  • First, need to address any moisture issues such as plumbing leaks or dampness
  • Fix leaky pipes or faulty air conditioning
  • Citronella ants are attracted to moisture, they will have no reason to invade a structure that’s properly kept dry.
  • Next, break up all structures formed by citronella ants
  • Get rid of leaves and pick up trash and debris around your property
  • If you keep firewood, you’ll also want to ensure it’s stored properly

Citronella ants like to build habitats underneath the debris. So this will reduce their availability. Also, seal off, any cracks and crevices you may have found outside your structure with caulk and copper mesh.

This will prevent citronella ants or any other invasive, pests from coming inside your structure.

 

Conclusion

Citronella ants will swarm and invade structures causing a nuisance. And indicating underlying moisture problems within your home, but there are ways to manage and control an infestation.

Following this guide on how to get rid of citronella ants, you can stop citronella ants from invading your home and business place.

Do you have your secret procedures for eliminating citronella ants? Let me know down the comment.

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