This is a rant about ants. Sure, they were cute in the Disney movie Antz and incredible crime solvers in Marvel comics along with Ant-man. They’re hard-working and altruistic, putting the good of their colony ahead of their own happiness.
Many kids love watching ants work and they can teach us good life lessons, like how to work together to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Have you seen ants build a living ant bridge? Pretty incredible.
Ants have been around for more than 100 million years, and if you added up the weight of all ants on Earth, they’d weigh about as much as all humans on this planet. That’s a lot of ants!
But let’s face it: ants shouldn’t be left to chance when it comes to our families, homes, and yards. At best, ants are just a little nuisance. At worst, they can leave itchy stings on the skin, spread disease, and contaminate food. No thanks, ants.
Picture this: a lovely garden wedding in Florida. It was a beautiful, sunny day, the humidity was down, the couple was holding hands, the vows were about to start, and the happy tears were welling up…then, ants! Biting, stinging, fire ants who had no reverence for the occasion decided to attack me and several other guests. Thankfully, we all had a good laugh at the commotion and it’s surely a memory none of us will forget – but one we could definitely have done without.
That brings me to the main point here, Wonder Pack. If you’re like me and want to get rid of ants, there’s an easy DIY way to do just that with Wondercide. You’ll be the hero of your family and feel pretty darn great about yourself too.
Let’s start with the yard, where ants start too.
First, we’ll get set up for success so we can eliminate those ants. We’re going to do two thorough treatments within a few days. Let’s break that down.
1. Thorough means we’re going to go around the perimeter of the house/structure and spray up just above eye level to create a barrier, then cover the grass (lawn), garden (plants, bushes, planters and such), decking, patios, and up tree trunks as far as we can reach with the spray. We’re going to saturate those ant mounds in the yard, so we have to plan for that too.
2. So, let’s determine how much surface area we need to cover. How big is the lot we’re going to treat? If you’re not sure, check out your lot size on sites like Zillow or Redfin or just measure: length in feet x width gives you the square feet of your property. Then add a little extra square feet to accommodate going around the perimeter and up siding as well as tree trunks.
3. Let’s say your yard is 8,000 sq ft, have enough product on hand to treat 10,000 sq ft each time, or 20,000 sq ft total for the two initial treatments.
4. OK! Now we know how much surface area we’re going to treat, let’s make sure we have enough Outdoor Pest Control on hand to get the job done. We can choose a concentrate and use in any hose-end sprayer or a ready-to-use bottle that is a hose-end sprayer and can even be refilled with the concentrate. Here’s how to do that.
Ready-to-Use (RTU) Outdoor Pest Control will treat up to 5,000 sq ft. Outdoor Pest Control concentrate coverage varies by the size of the container. Here’s the coverage area for each with an 8oz dilution:
- 16 oz. Concentrate treats up to 10,000 square feet (or 1/4 acre)
- 32 oz. Concentrate treats up to 20,000 square feet (or 1/2 acre)
- 1 Gallon Concentrate treats up to 80,000 square feet (up to 2 acres)
If your ant presence is particularly high, plan on dialing up the strength of the dilution to 10oz to wipe them out faster.
Tip: if you need to treat a large area (large-acreage lots, farms and Texas-sized ranches for instance) and need more than a gallon, go with a 5-gallon of Flea & Tick Yard + Garden. It’s actually the same formula as Outdoor Pest Control, just labeled and marketed differently to help folks find a solution that meets their needs.
We're ready to get rid of ants outside, so let's go.
1. First, spray the perimeter of your home and up the siding at least to eye level.
2. Work your way into the yard/garden and when you come upon an ant mound, turn the sprayer on the water setting to saturate and draw up the colony (most ants live underground).
3. Now, turn the sprayer to the on position and apply Wondercide fully to the mound.
4. Finish treating the rest of your yard.
We generally recommend two initial treatments 2-10 days apart. What does that mean? If you have a lot of ants and ant mounds, apply the two treatments closer together. If you have just a few ants outside, you can apply the two treatments further apart.
Now that we've protected our home outside, let's get rid of ants inside, too.
Indoor Pest Control for Home + Kitchen is your go-to for eliminating ants inside the home and comes in four aromatherapeutic scents: Cedarwood, Lemongrass, Rosemary, and Peppermint. Choose the one you love best. They’re equally effective.
Have enough on hand to spray on ants you see, the ant trails, around doors, around windows, and wherever you can see that ants are entering the house.
A 32 oz. bottle will treat 400 square feet, while a gallon will treat up to 1,500 square feet. Repeat treatment as needed until those ants are gone.
Our newest product, Ant & Roach Spray, is perfect for when you want to get rid of ants, roaches, and 20 other pests indoors right away with a powerful sprayer. It's quick and easy and only takes a few seconds to tackle those pests that pop up and surprise you in your kitchen and home.
A few added tips:
- Seal all food in pantries.
- Keep sinks and trash cans clean.
- Seal or caulk open areas where you can tell ants will invite themselves inside.
- If you suspect carpenter ants or termites, please call a professional. They can cause damage quite quickly and often burrow deep in walls, where it’s tough to apply Wondercide.
DIY’ing can seem like a little extra work sometimes, but keep in mind that with Wondercide, you’re protecting your family, home, and yard without any harmful chemicals. Way to go!
Tracey’s Bio:
Just like my mom, I’ve never met a stranger. One love, y’all! Speaking of love, I love people for sure, and pets, and the planet, plus the simple things like strong, organic coffee in the morning, sunlight that helps me feel hopeful, and a warm summer breeze. Flip flops make my feet their happiest. I’m a vegan Texan. (Yes, we do exist, especially here in Austin.) My guilty pleasures are good tacos, natural wine, inspired architecture, and thought-provoking arts. Let me travel the world and see the wonders.
