Search
Close this search box.

Best Ant Traps of 2023

Our Top Pick
Liquid ant bait stations by Terro
Liquid Ant Baits (12 Bait Stations)
It’s non-toxic and safe around kids and pets. Highly attractive bait with quick results.

This comparison list shows consistency, main ingredients, and the places in which you can set the trap.

Top 3 Best Ant Traps in 2024 Comparison Chart

PREVIEWPRODUCT
Our Top Pick
TERRO Liquid Ant Baits review
TERRO Liquid Ant Baits
  • Type: Liquid Bait (Tray)
  • Location: Indoor / Outdoor
  • Active Ingredient: 5.4% Borax (Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate)

Check Price
People's Choice
TERRO Outdoor Ant Bait Stakes review
TERRO Outdoor Ant Bait Stakes
  • Type: Bait Stakes
  • Location: Outdoor
  • Active Ingredient: 5.4% Borax

Check Price
Syngenta Advion Ant Gel review
Syngenta Advion Ant Gel
  • Type: Gel
  • Location: Indoor / Outdoor
  • Active Ingredient: 0.05% Indoxacarb

Check Price

Ants are the most problematic insects for homeowners throughout the world. The tiny bugs can invade areas where children play, with some ant species being a big safety hazard. Too many ants are never a good thing and they can cause mild to severe injury very quickly due to their size and invasive nature. They may linger in your front lawn, backyard, and indoors.

An ant colony is very difficult to get rid of without ant baits, which is where the five products reviewed below come in. They are built to end ant problems quickly, containing a perfect mix of ingredients that attract ants and kill them in record time, often by them carrying it back to their mounds.

Once you’re done with the reviews, be sure to read the Buyer’s Guide to get great tips on what you can do to ensure that you end up with the best ant traps for your ant problem.

Top 5 Best Ant Traps Reviewed

Are you looking for an effective way of eliminating ants in your home and the best ant traps to use? After much research, there are definitely some products that stand out more than others. And the winner is TERRO Liquid Ant Baits.

 

1. TERRO Liquid Ant Baits – Best Universal Ant Trap For People With Small Children and Pets (Editor’s Choice)

Terro Liquid Ant Baits are traps you should get when you must set and forget. Eliminates all common household ants, including carpenter ants, fire ants, and sugar ants.

The insecticide is situated in a small tray that can be placed outside or in your home. It’s also non-toxic and very safe around children and pets. While the substance can leak outside of the tray, placing it in areas where it cannot be brushed against will ensure that nothing gets out of it.

Of course, ants may trail the bait themselves in the elimination process, but this is what you want.

If you tend to dislike traps that require lots of preparation, TERRO Ant Baits are a great buy.

TERRO Ant Baits Features

  • Pre-filled and ready to use.
  • Snap-off tab keeps ant bait fresh.
  • Net ant bait contents per package: 2.2 fl oz.

  • The bait station offers a continuous supply of bait to keep ants coming back.
  • TERRO ant bait triggers a slow kill, targeting the ants you see and the ants you don’t.

How to Use

TERRO Liquid Ant Baits are very easy to use. Before placing the bait stations, be sure to remove other sources of food, such as crumbs, sugar, and grease spots to prevent attracting ants elsewhere. Do not place bait where you’ve already sprayed insecticides, as the pests may avoid ant bait stations.

  1. Hold the ant bait station firmly with the bait pack tab facing up. Break off the tab being careful not to spill the bait.
  2. Place the ant bait station label side up on a flat surface near signs of ants. Place additional bait stations anywhere they may enter your home. For best results, use all six stations to ensure a sufficient supply for the ants.
  3. Monitor placements regularly, but do not interfere with the pests or ant bait stations. Replace when the bait is depleted. Complete control may take up to two weeks.
  4. Once ants are controlled, replace ant baits every 3 months to keep them from returning.
Use all 6 ant bait stations for best results to ensure ants receive an ample supply.
Be sure to leave ant baits undisturbed while the ants are actively feeding on them.
Pros
  • Non-toxic formula is safe to use around pets.
  • TERRO Ant Baits are housed in a plastic container, which further prevents unwanted contact with pets.
  • Easy to set, no messy residue to clean after the product is finished.
Cons
  • On occasion, the ant bait inside of the trap may seep out in small amounts.
  • May require more than two ant bait stations for large colonies.
  • The ant bait, which is liquid, can spill easily when brushed against.
 

2. TERRO Liquid Ant Bait Stakes – Best Outdoor Ant Trap For Long-Term Use (People’s Choice)

TERRO Liquid Bait Stakes is a safe and easy way to kill ants. The active ingredient in liquid bait is 5.4% Borax, which targets ants outdoors before they can come indoors.

TERRO Liquid Ant Bait Stakes include a transparent plastic tube that lets you know when it is time to replace the bait with fresh liquid. The stakes have ridges to keep them from being pushed over by animals or blowing away in windy conditions. Plus, these stakes kill not only the ants you see but also any others wandering around nearby. So you can be sure that your ant problem is solved!

The long-term control means that they’ll keep your house, porch, or garden free of ants for months on end. Best of all, they’re so easy to use! Just place liquid baits in an area with ant activity and wait for the results!

  • Kills ants outdoors before they can come indoors.
  • Targets ants with 5.4% Borax.

  • Long-term control.
  • A transparent bait monitor lets you know when it’s time to replace.

How to Use

An outdoor ant trap, TERRO Liquid Ant Bait Stakes, must be placed in the soil close to an ant colony. The ant trap has a little point at the base to make this easier. Just press it down into the ground when you are ready to bait at the top.

  • Longevity is key here, so try this formula when you need something that will last for several months without the need for quick replacements.

  • The main drawback is how the bait may leak when it’s opened, and could get it on your skin when preparing. If you’re concerned with this, use safety gloves when handling the bait.

Still, TERRO ant traps remain a solid buy for those with large yards that need traps that don’t require frequent maintenance and replacements.

Pros
  • TERRO ant trap is very fast and easy to prepare.
  • Will last for nearly one season without needing an early replacement.
  • Most of the time, the ants will disappear on their own, which lowers to chances of needing to cleanup what’s been killed.
  • Has a cap in the center of ant traps that shows the level of bait left inside the pouch.
Cons
  • When twisting off the activation tab, some of the bait may release and drip on the hands.
  • Only effective on ants, doesn’t kill other invasive outdoor insects.
 

3. Syngenta Advion Ant Gel – Best Ant Trap For Indoor and Outdoor Locations

The Syngenta Advion Ant Gel is sold in a tube container and sits at the top as one of the best ant baits that you’ll find anywhere.

The smell is usually mild when the product is used before it expires. It also contains small amounts of sugar in ingredients, which is lures ants to the trap and ensures that they carry some back to their mound. As a result, hordes of ants can be cleared away very fast with just a small string of bait placed in corners in indoor or outdoor locations.

If you need an ant bait that’s easy to apply and won’t leave you cringing from the smell, consider the Syngenta Advion Ant Gel is a must-have purchase.

How Does It Work

Syngenta Advion Ant Bait Gel takes advantage of the natural behavior of ants. Foraging worker ants are attracted to the sweet formula of the bait. After consuming the bait, the foraging ants will return to the nest and share the bait with the rest of the colony, including the queen(s). By ingesting the active ingredient Indoxacarb the ant’s nervous system is disrupted, ultimately ending in death.

Indoxacarb is an oxadiazine pesticide originally manufactured and patented by DuPont. Since Indoxacarb is the only chemical in its class, it offers laboratory-tested benefits that other pesticides simply cannot duplicate. For starters, Indoxacarb remains active even after digestion so it can be passed along to other insects through bait sharing. It is the first pest control bait that scientists have found to remain active after it has been transferred twice after the first lethal dose. Passing poison like this from one insect to another is known as a horizontal transfer.

How to Use

Unscrew the blue tip that comes on the tube of gel. Replace with the enclosed long application tip to assist in applying gel bait directly into crack and crevices. Remove and clean the application tip after use, cleaning as needed, and replace it with the closed cap before storing to keep the gel from drying.

Advion ant gel should be applied as spots of gel or small lines of gel.

  1. Placements of spots or lines of gel should be close to active foraging trails, nest sites, or to areas known to be active.
  2. Apply approximately 1/4″ in. diameter spots (about the size of a pea).
  3. Apply lines of ADVION ant bait gel of approximately 1/8″ wide and 2″ long; up to 3″ long for highly active foraging trails.
  4. Apply as many placements as possible to active trails or foraging areas without disrupting the natural behavior of the ants.
  5. Advion ant bait gel may be used effectively in ant bait stations.
Do not disturb the natural behavior of trailing ants or foraging ants, placements should be made NEAR the ants, but not on them or in the middle of the trail. By disrupting their normal behavior, bait avoidance may occur.
Pros
  • On a good batch, there are no irritating smells when applied; contains no odor.
  • The insecticide is sugar-based, which is highly attractive to ants and other land bugs.
  • Contents will be carried back to ant mounds, where more ants will be terminated in the process.
  • Can clear away hundreds of ants and an entire colony in as little as four days.
Cons
  • Tubes may contain a very unpleasant odor, more so when the product gets closer to its expiration date.
  • Very messy, annoying to clean up.
  • The get-like solution becomes more watery near the end of the tube.
 

4. HomePlus Ant Killer – Best For Small Homes/Apartments

The HomePlus Ant Killer is another indoor/outdoor bait that’s sold in two small canisters. It’s a great way to kill ants fast when the ant infestation is not severe. You will notice results in less than a day after the product is set.

It’s also childproof and safe around animals, a feature that makes it a must-buy for people with large families. And don’t worry about allergic reactions. The formula consists of ingredients that won’t lead to burning eyes.

Just be sure that your ant problem isn’t too bad before you settle with this one, as two may not be enough to handle multiple mounds.

The HomePlus Ant Killer is effective against several species of ants, including:

  • Acrobat
  • Allegheny
  • Argentine
  • Big-Headed
  • Cornfield

  • Crazy
  • Ghost
  • Little Black
  • Odorous House

  • Pavement ants
  • Pyramid
  • Thief
  • White-Footed ants

But does not work on:

  • Carpenter ants

  • Fire ants

  • Harvester ants

Pros
  • When the traps are set correctly, users will notice fewer ants less than 24 hours.
  • Tamper resistant housing; not easy for small children to open.
  • The bait doesn’t cause any nose or eye irritations.
Cons
  • The pods may need to be tried in several spots before the ants become attracted to them.
  • May not be effective at killing some ant species.
 

5. Raid Ant Bait Gel – Best Ant Trap For Walls And Ceilings

Raid Ant Bail Gel is another tube bait with a small guard near the tip of the bottle that serves to make applying a little easier. It’s a good choice for those with severe problems with ant activity indoors. Common household ants, such as Carpenter ants (except Fire ants, Pharaoh ants, and Harvester ants), can be controlled by Raid Ant Gel.

The gel is sticky and won’t drip when placed on walls, so use it if you notice ants near your windows or door hinges. It’s also long-lasting and should last up to a month without needing reapplication.

But be sure to clean it up over time to prevent anything from seeping, as the gel may melt and become messy and difficult to wipe up.

This gel is excellent for people with sensitivity to smell and need ant control products that can eliminate them without a need to resort to sprays.

Pros
  • The bait will work in applied locations for up to a month
  • Its gel-like consistency is viscous enough stick to walls and ceilings without dripping
  • Doesn’t take must force to get the gel out of the tubing, applies quickly
  • No odors will be observed, even if the product is close to its expiry date
Cons
  • The bait’s thickness will dissipate over time and liquefy, an action that could be intensified when stored out in the open

6. AMDRO Ant Block – Best Ant Bait Granules for Your Home Perimeter

AMDRO Ant Block product is meant to be used around the perimeter of your house to prevent ants from getting inside. The active ingredient is 0.88% Hydramethylnon. That kills common household ants, including Fire ants, Carpenter ants, Pharaoh ants, Harvester ants, and other ant species.

They are attracted to the smell of the granules, then carry them back to their colony where other ants will eat them. The poison in the granules then kills ants and prevents them from coming back.

AMDRO 12 oz bottle treats up to 540 ft².

What are the Best Ant Traps in 2024? – Your Expert Buyer’s Guide

Ant traps are sold in a variety of different designs, with each having benefits, and in some cases, lots of things to criticize.

Truth be told, the most popular brands in the categories of insecticides may not always be the best for your indoor ants and outdoor pest problems. With this in mind, you should research those which interest you. This is to avoid frequent purchases of ant traps that claim to do so much but end up being nothing of any major significance to killing ants and their mounds.

This Buyer’s Guide serves to make your shopping easier, whereby you should have a better understanding of what you want when you’re finished going over the tips.

Indoor or Outdoor?

Ant traps are made to be placed in either an indoor setting, outdoor, or both. When either is the case, the brand will usually show to you on the packaging or product description. Most ant traps listen to in the reviews above are made for all three locations, but there are some exceptions.

Ants exterminationWhere are the ants coming from in your residence? Do you notice lots of mounds around your yard when mowing? Or do they tend to linger around your porch and trail past the front door? You may even notice small ants in completely unexpected places, such as your bathroom. Don’t be surprised to see them there, ants depend on what just as much as food, which is readily available in washrooms.

Take a look around your property before you purchase ant traps, and make a note of the surfaces in which they tend to congregate the most. Furthermore, check out my review of the best outdoor ant killer.

Consistency

Most ant traps involve some sort of object that must be applied to a surface or place in a strategic location.

Those which do need to be applied will often consist of a liquid or thick substance:

  1. Sprays are often the most common but those aren’t recommended for any problems because of how quick they dry.
  2. Pastes are much better since the formula will often be made of ingredients that are attractive to the ants, to which they will either eat it on the spot or take it back to their mounds. The downside to this is the cleanup once the ants begin to die or disappear. Clean-up instances could be often depending on how severe your ant problem is. But for most people, a simple application in corners near ant trails could produce results that require cleanup about every week.

Will they Attract Pets?

Of course, whenever you deal with any sort of insecticide, you’ll want to know whether or not the product is harmful to pets.

The best way to prevent any sort of issues down the road is to always keep them away from areas that have been treated, even if the product claims to be non-toxic.

Still, those evaluated above are generally safe to use around most pets. Dogs and cats are very curious though, so don’t let safety claims lull you into a false sense of relief. With that being said, it bears repeating to keep all ant traps away from pets when you can. Additionally, you probably have already kept them away from ant locations, which is where the traps will likely be set.

Children should also be kept away from ant traps. If your ant problem mostly comes from your front lawn, have them play in the backyard until the issue dissipates. But since ants can pose a serious risk to a child’s health if they are bitten, you have probably kept them away from these areas already, especially if there is an aggressive type of ant around such as fire ants.

If you have small kids, consider getting ant traps that keep the insecticide in a container for the duration that it’s used.

To find out the best pet safe ant killer, go here.

How Many to Purchase

One ant trap might not be enough. Your problem could require several ant baits or bottles for the issue to go away quickly.

The positive aspect to this is that many products made for ant elimination-including many of those reviewed-are sold in bundles.

Large yards will probably need to buy more though:

  • When applying ant baits outdoors, try to place them in areas close to mounds, so that the ants will take them back into the pile. If you do this, the queen will likely die soon.

  • At the same time, add additional ant traps around locations where you think they will reappear. That could happen if you don’t have enough ant traps in the first place. If you do this, the ants won’t have the convenience of building another mound when the first is depleted, which will encourage (or force) them off your property for good.

Hard-to-Reach Areas

Ants trailAs previously stated, ants can sometimes be found in unlikely locations that you may not have noticed before. Some ant species are fond of attics, bathrooms, and other areas where water may linger on occasion. If this is descriptive of your situation, consider ant baits that are thick.

Those with a high viscosity will stick to surfaces better, which means that you can apply the insecticide in locations such as walls, ceiling corners, and cracks near window corners and panes. This is also a great way to lure the ants to bait that won’t hard small children. As the ants make note of the “food, ” they will alert others, and they should soon go away altogether.

Odor

Ant traps may have a very unpleasant odor that is dependent on one’s sensitivity to smell.

This is usually due to 3 reasons:

  1. Expiration date. The first is that the product was sold in a batch that’s close to its expiration date. While this doesn’t happen very often, it can take place. Make sure that the product you are interested in has a good reputation with packaging their goods properly, along with sending out items that aren’t close to the date in which they will go bad.
  2. Ingredients. The second is the ingredients. Most of the traps sold are formulated to attract the ants, which means that they must carry some form of scent that will get their attention.
  3. Insecticides. And the third likely cause of the odor, as mentioned, is the consumer’s sensitivity or unfamiliarity with insecticides. Most products on the market will have some sort of smell, but some brands make ant baits that are odorless. If you become annoyed with smell very easily, stick to those that won’t produce any notable smells.

Waiting for Results

Everyone loves insecticide that will get rid of bug problems fast. Ant traps are no exception.

A good product will have you notice results in a day or even less time. But don’t worry if you notice ants a few days after the bait has been set, especially if your home is big or the ant problems are severe. Give it at least 48 hours.

If you see ants in locations, such as on the bait itself, then you know that it’s working. Don’t disturb them, and after a while, you should notice fewer and fewer until they are gone.

The key is to always place your ant baits in places where the ants can get to them easily. Mounds and places where you think mounds are likely to show up are best.

Prevention is often the best cure, so think ahead and don’t hesitate to place ant traps in areas where there aren’t any trails, that could keep them from your home when the weather begins to warm up in the spring and summer months.

Questions & Answers

How Often Should You Replace Ant Traps?

If the bait is needed, and you are using bait stations, replace it every 3-4 weeks. If the bait is not needed or if the bait station contains only a slow-acting poison designed to kill the queen ant, you will need to reopen it at least once per month; more often is even better to catch newly arrived worker ants.

How Many Ant Traps Do I Need?

For bait stations, replace with at least two bait traps for each bait-eating ant; three or more is probably better. With slow-acting poisons, you need only one bait station per infested room or area.

Why Do Ants Ignore Bait?

A bait station that contains bait to which ants are not attracted will be ignored. Ants tend to feed on the same bait for a period of time, months or even more than a year in some cases. If the bait is changed frequently, they have no reason to ignore it.

How to Safely Get Rid of Ants at Home?

If you are in search of ant traps safe for cats and other home pets, as well as for your family, address insect traps with baits that kill not only ants but also crickets and cockroaches that are inside your house. Special baits attract insects to eat foods that contain an insecticide that kills on contact.

To make the traps work properly it is important to keep the areas where all the food is stored clean: when there is no other food around, the insects are concentrated on baits only, and not on other products that they like better.

What is the trick of using such traps? It is in making sure that the ants find the bait, eat it and take some of it back to the queen that is in the nest. Traps are better than sprays, as after sprays many insects die before taking the baits to the nest, thus the efficiency of this method is low, and this is when most users believe that ant traps are not working.

How fast the bait works depends on several factors:

  • on the kind of pesticide in the trap,
  • whether the insect likes the bait’s taste,
  • whether there is other food around.
Are Such Traps Safe?
As the majority of baits are enclosed in containers, pesticides that are inside them are not likely to be exposed. In case you find some of them, leave them alone.
Never move, open, or put them in the mouth.

If it happened so that you have touched one of them, wash your hands with water and soap to ensure that pesticides are not on your skin.

How Do Insect Traps Work?

Though ant traps are pretty effective, they act slower than most dust and sprays. However, they affect distant residents.

Baits don't compete with other foods, forcing ants to feed on baits provided.

There are 4 main components baits consist of:

  • Attractant. This is usually a pheromone or food that makes the bait acceptable and also readily picked up.
  • Palatable carrier. It gives the matrix or physical structure to the bait.
  • Toxicant. It must be non-repellent, delayed in action, but effective over nearly a 10-fold dosage range.
  • Other materials. They are normally added for reasons of formulation, like preservatives, emulsifiers, antimicrobial and waterproofing agents.
What Are Some Alternate Ways to Prevent Ants From Invading My Home Without Using an Ant Trap?

Of course, you should eliminate any sources of ants entering your home. If the bait is not needed or if bait stations are used, be sure to re-open bait stations at least once a month so that newly arrived workers can find it. Pay close attention to cracks around doors, windows, and wherever plumbing enters the house; also look for other possible avenues of entry such as loose mortar joints on brick walls.

Other methods that work in some situations include:

  • Use sticky tape barriers (e.g., Scotch® "Repel" Tape) to prevent ants from walking along ledges, railings, countertops, and floor edges near entrances/exits.
  • Make bait inaccessible by placing bait in bait containers located under the sink or behind the refrigerator where bait-eating ants cannot get to it.
    If the bait is needed and bait stations are used, keep the bait fresh. Do not depend upon slow-acting poisons designed for queen ants to eliminate an entire colony of bait-eating ants – you will need at least 3 bait traps per bait station because workers do not die as quickly as queens.
  • If ant baits containing boric acid are being used, replace them every 2-4 weeks or more often if the bait is eaten very quickly.

Pavement antTake haste and waste no time, take preventive measures for pavement ants destruction. It’s either you or them. This house is not large for all of you.

Are house ants your biggest problem? We know how to help, how to get rid of ants in the house – here is the best info on the web.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have a better understanding of ants traps, the way they work, and the best ant baits for your situation. They aren’t always easy to find and come in many designs that promise lots of results.

These 5 best ant traps shown in my reviews are guaranteed to minimize or reduce your ant infestation to the point where they can no longer flourish. It will make your home safer for pets and your kids.

Out of the fie that were reviewed, there are two which contain the best formula and design to eliminate ants. The Syngenta Advion Ant Gel and TERRO Liquid Ant Baits will produce the results you want fast and are a breeze to set up and mount near trails and mounds.

But don’t take this as a put down to the other three reviewed! They are also well formulated and could help with locations that would be either incompatible or unfeasible in indoor locations. Pick the best ant traps that you know will get the job done as quickly as possible.

RELATED POSTS