Syngenta TRTD11568 Optigard Ant Bait Gel

It’s easy to admire the dogged work ethic of the humble ant — as long as you’re doing it from a distance. It’s a different story when they’ve caught the scent of food inside your house and are swarming in through every crevice to get it.

Against this kind of infestation, bug sprays may offer some temporary satisfaction, but they’re not much help at all when it comes to getting rid of the colony once and for all. If you’ve got a little bit of patience, that’s exactly what the right ant bait trap can do.

Ant baits use a variety of different active ingredients and delivery methods, but they all work roughly the same way. Instead of killing ants on contact, they are actually meant to attract ants. Once they’ve done so, the ants eat some bait and bring the rest back to the colony. There the slow-acting poison starts to take effect, killing the workers and queen, and/or rendering her infertile. If you see more ants a day or so after placing your baits, don’t remove them. That means the traps are doing their job, and you should see the numbers begin to decline in a few days.

Most indoor ant baits are sold in plastic traps, similar to the “roach motels” that work on the same principle. They are meant to be placed in areas where ants are liable to go looking for food. In some cases, you may need to apply the actual bait to the trap yourself before setting in down. That bait can take several forms, and in most cases you don’t need to put it into a trap for it to be effective.

Gel bait can be applied to precise locations such as cracks in the wall or along baseboards. Liquid bait can be spread along a wide surface — as long as it’s not one where your pets are liable to come sniffing for food. Powder bait can actually be spritzed into the walls through the tiny crevices that ant might use as entryways. Finally, granular bait is ideally suited for outdoor use, since it is usually waterproof and won’t harm larger mammals or plants.

In some cases, the active ingredient — the poison — makes up a small percentage of the actual product. The rest is the actual bait; the material that is meant to attract the ants. That active ingredient might vary widely between brands, but common compounds are bifenthrin, pyrethrin, cypermethrin or borate (more commonly known as the all-purpose cleaner Borax). The slower these substances work, the better: Remember that you want the ants to carry the bait back to the colony before they start feeling the effects.

A word on safety for your pets and children. Although many brands may advertise their ant baits as “child-resistant,” that doesn’t mean they’re totally safe for kids to eat or even touch. All it means is that the traps are designed to keep little fingers and paws from touching the active ingredient. But as we all know, kids can be persistent — so place your baits in out-of-the-way areas to be extra safe.