This is how you get rid of the insects

the essentials in brief

• at Ants in the apartment is quick to act
• Feeding traps kill ants reliably, and those who prefer it more ecological can prevent them from entering with scent barriers or powder barriers
• Baking soda must be sprinkled directly on the ants to kill them

Obligations: act instead of waiting

If you spot ants in your home, it could be insects that have strayed or that are specifically looking for new sources of food and nesting opportunities. In any case, you should catch the ants with a glass and see what species it is. Take precautionary measures so that the people do not follow suit.

Trick scout ants

Individual ants or ants in small groups wandering around in the kitchen can be used as so-called scouts. They are looking for food and nesting places. Once the insects have found scraps of food and crumbs, they eat it and start on their way back. This is marked by the release of pheromones so that you can find the place again. Once in the colony, the ants choke out part of the food to stimulate the other insects. You go on a journey and follow the scent trail.

First preventive measures:

• Collect ants so that they cannot leave a scent trail
• Clean the kitchen, seal the food airtight and clean the bowls
• Fill open food into sealable containers with rubber seals in the refrigerator
• Seal joints and gaps on the facade with silicone
• Attach adhesive tape in front of possible entry gates on windows and doors

What helps against ants in the apartment?

Poisonous food traps are a good option for killing an ant colony - when absolutely necessary

If an ant trail has already formed, activities can be disrupted by smelling, oily or dusty substances. Natural home remedies are gentle and have a comparatively short effect. Therefore, they need to be renewed regularly. Since not all ant species are equally deterred by such agents, you should combine several methods if necessary. Once you've discovered a nest in the apartment, an effective means of killing the queen and brood is recommended.

Scent barriers

Strongly scented herbs, oils and liquids confuse the ants, so that they look for other ways. These methods can be helpful if an ant trail has formed from the outside nest to your home. You cannot get rid of entire colonies that live in nests in the partitions this way.

Help against ant trails:

• Lay out fresh leaves and stems of lavender, juniper and tansy
• Place lemon peel and cloves in front of the entrances
• Dust the paths with a thick layer of cinnamon powder
• Fill bowls with vinegar and distribute them on the streets

Digression

Not all ant oil is created equal

Barriers

Ants avoid dusty surfaces. On the one hand, the smallest particles can get into the trachea and block them. On the other hand, dust particles polluted the feelers with which the insects smell, hear and communicate. These functions can no longer be guaranteed if the sensors are covered with dust. Ants therefore clean themselves regularly, which you can use to combat them.

baking powder

Baking soda must be sprinkled directly on the ants to have the desired effect

The raising agent has certain properties that can lead to the death of the ants. However, the insects do not burst after eating the dusty particles. Soda is very basic and ensures that the pH value in the organism changes. Certain enzymes can no longer survive and the ant dies. Precise application is necessary for the baking powder to develop this effect:

• Sprinkle baking powder directly on the ants
• Dust as thickly as possible
• Repeat daily and treat newly emerging ants

The insects clean themselves to remove the dust from their antennae. In doing so, they pick up the particles. Your breathing can be severely affected and you will die after a short time.

Diatomaceous earth or kieselguhr

The powdery substance is obtained from the shells of fossil diatoms, the so-called diatoms. The powder has little disgusting effect on ants. They avoid crawling over a barrier made of diatomite powder. If the insects are dusted directly with the agent, mechanical abrasion will destroy the outer wax layer. Diatomaceous earth has a high absorbency and removes additional liquid from the insect's body, causing it to dry out.

Use diatomaceous earth:

• Sprinkle powder in all entry gates, cracks and crevices
• Apply with a brush into inaccessible cracks
• Sprinkle behind footers and kitchen ledges

If you mop the floor and clean niches with a damp cloth, the powder soaks up with water. As soon as it dries, it forms a firm crust and thus seals the crevices permanently. The actual effect is lost as a result, but ants can then no longer gain access to the apartment.

Ants avoid walking over kieselguhr

Means of destruction

Once it has been ensured that there is an ant nest in your apartment, it should be removed as soon as possible. It doesn't help to just fight the visible workers. The queens live on and can sustain the colony. It is therefore important that you use poisons that have a toxic effect. These are ingested by the foraging ants and fed to the queen and brood in the nest.

Tips for fighting:

• Attract workers with a sugary bait
• Mix the bait with the food poison
• Use food poison with a long latency period such as Fipronil

Where do ants come from in the apartment?

If you suddenly have ants in the apartment, you should investigate the area more closely. When ants are driven from their nests, they look for an alternative nesting option. Methods to scare off neighbors, felled trees or demolished barns can be reasons why ants get lost in your home.

The problem of building materials

If you get a visit from an entire colony, previous damage to the roof beams, partition walls and facade insulation is likely. The ants colonize structures that offer them optimal living conditions. These can be pitted wooden beams, damp insulation material or partition walls near a source of moisture. The building material often resembles natural nesting sites. Aromas from different foods make the environment even more attractive.

Dense vegetation or near forest

There are ants everywhere. They not only colonize forests but also open landscapes. Favorable connections between the home and the vegetation in gardens and beds increase the risk of ants getting lost in the kitchen and bathroom. If the house is in the middle of a natural garden, isolated ants are likely in the apartment. The insects settle in different habitats above and below the ground. Ants nest under stones and pavement slabs or in densely planted beds right next to the house.

Flower pot on the balcony

Ants can get into the house through flower pots

Earth-dwelling ants can settle in flower pots that are on the balcony and terrace. In this way, the insects get into the house unnoticed when the bucket is brought to its winter quarters in autumn. You don't have to worry about these ants settling in your home. The species need soil because they prefer to build underground nests in the substrate. You can get rid of the ants by taking an extensive immersion bath outdoors or swapping the substrate.

What types of ants are there?

There are different types of ants that take a liking to the structures in the home. While large species such as wood ants only get lost in human dwellings and do no harm, there are tiny ants with great damaging effects. Identifying these species takes some practice. Important characteristics are color and size. But the location also provides information on the respective species. Most ants are active in summer, but they can appear in the home all year round when the temperatures are warm.

Mini ants

Very small ants with an amber yellow color indicate the pharaoh ant. While the workers are between 1.5 and 2.5 millimeters tall, the queens reach a body length of a maximum of 4.5 millimeters. These are a little darker than the workers. Only the males appear black. There are two bumps on the connecting stalk between the abdomen and chest. This introduced species cannot survive the freezing temperatures in winter, which is why it hibernates indoors.

Brown and red ants

The line between red and brown colored species is often narrow. The colors can also merge or be differently pronounced. The brown garden ant has a distinctive dual coloration. While the head and abdomen are dark brown in color, the chest with stalks stand out with reddish tones. The workers are between two and four millimeters long.

The species can easily be confused with the two-colored garden ant, because it too has a reddish breast and a dark brown body. Their workers reach sizes similar to those of the brown garden ant, but they are more slender.

Black ants

At first glance, many ants look black. But on closer inspection, fine color nuances and stitches emerge. Some species can be identified by their hairiness, while other ants are strikingly shiny. Often times, the sizes of the workers that can be observed most often overlap.

Typical wood-dwelling species:

• Glossy black wood ant: deep black and shiny, workers 4-6 mm
• Black ross ant: black with dark red legs, workers mostly 9-12 mm
• 'Guy Lipped Ross Ant': shiny black and slightly hairy, workers 6-8 mm
• Brown-black ross ant: black-red-brown, workers 6-14 mm

Ants with wings

Flying ants do not represent a species of their own. There are winged ants in almost every species, which for evolutionary reasons have to increase their range. Male insects usually develop wings because they can reach suitable mating partners from other colonies. This avoids inbreeding. Occasionally queens also have wings so that they can establish new colonies in more distant habitats.

Tenancy law

If you find ants living or dead in the apartment, in most cases there is no need to worry. In any case, the tenant must be informed immediately, regardless of whether the species is harmful or harmless. This is the only way you can benefit from your tenant rights.

Basics

The ant species native to Germany are not dangerous, but they can be a nuisance. Since they occur in a wide variety of habitats, courts see their occurrence as normal. Isolated ants in the home are considered an inconvenience and are classified as a negligible nuisance. No distinction is made between the individual species. It is therefore important to examine the individual case carefully. If it is the pharaoh ant that has been introduced, the apartment is quickly impaired.

Special case pharaoh ant:

• prefer animal protein and are attracted by blood and pus
• survive in rooms with 18 degrees Celsius
• transmit dangerous diseases

Assumption of costs

Usually the landlord pays the costs for the control

Since it cannot normally be assumed that the tenant introduces ants, the landlord has to bear the costs for one-off control measures. It is important that you do not resort to the poison yourself in the event of an acute infestation, but inform the landlord. Careless actions can worsen the situation or create a greater health hazard than would be expected from the ants.

If the apartment is contaminated through the private use of insecticides, the person responsible has to pay for it. If pest control measures have to be carried out at regular intervals, the landlord can pass on the costs incurred to the tenant as ancillary costs.

Rent reduction

A rent reduction can be considered if normal living is no longer possible due to the ants infestation. This is the case when there are ant nests in the apartment area and numerous ants are crawling and flying. An impairment can also be present if it is an infestation by the dangerous pharaoh ant.

Before you can request a rent reduction, the landlord must be informed. He must be given the opportunity to eliminate the plague of ants. Further steps can only be taken if these measures are unsuccessful. How high the rent reduction is depends on the individual case.

frequently asked Questions

What do you do against ants in the apartment?

You need to first find out if the ants are stray or resident ants. Individual insects can be caught with a glass and released outside. If you observe an ant trail, you should close the entrances to the apartment tightly and protect them with scented scents. If the ants have settled in the wall or the attic, usually only food poisons help. It is important, however, that you find out about the respective species beforehand. Not all are harmful and must be combated.

Why do flying ants crawl out of the walls?

Flying ants indicate a nest, which can be in cavities behind ledges and in the wall. When the insects pour out and fly around the apartment, they are looking for a partner. The mating does not take place in the same colony, however. Ants avoid inbreeding and go outside on their wedding flight to find partners from other colonies.

How do ants smell?

The insects perceive scents with their antennae. These have hair-like sensory organs called sensillae. They are easily permeable to fragrance molecules so that they can penetrate to the inner olfactory sensory cells. These cells are highly specialized. Some only react to certain substances such as alarm substances. If the feelers are covered with dust, ants can no longer smell them. Therefore, they clean themselves regularly and dusty substances like baking soda are absorbed this way.

Does the landlord have to pay for the ants control?

That depends on the individual case. If you find one or more stray ants in your home, no control is necessary yet. Nevertheless, you should inform your landlord about this observation in order to be able to assert possible claims later. If you have put the insects outside and the infestation becomes acute after a few days, the landlord is obliged to combat it. It may, however, be the case that this person lists regular vermin treatments under the additional costs in the rental agreement.

Which species are found in the apartment?

There are different ants that settle in houses. The pharaoh ant is an introduced species that can only survive in human dwellings. Native species that settle in wooden beams, insulation material or cavities often belong to the genus of the garden ants. Occasionally, horse ants can also be seen building nests near humans.

Why do ants come into the apartment?

The insects are either looking for food and are attracted by sweet smells, or they peek out new nesting opportunities. If there are beds directly on the base of the house, many ants live in the ground by chance in the living area. Entire colonies can be brought in via flower pots. However, these do not move into the apartment, as they prefer soil nests in the substrate.