Ghost Ants: Why Spraying Them Is a Huge Mistake
Tiny pale ants in the kitchen? Don't use Raid! Learn why Ghost Ants 'bud' when sprayed and how to use sweet baits to kill the queens.
You see tiny, pale ants on your kitchen counter. They are so small they look like moving dust specks. You grab the Raid and spray them.
You just made the problem 10x worse.
Meet the Ghost Ant. They are notoriously difficult to kill because they are "polygynous" (multiple queens).
The "Budding" Effect
When you spray Ghost Ants with a repellent (like Raid), the colony panics. They detect the chemical threat.
Instead of dying, the queens split up. They take a group of workers and run to different parts of the house to start new colonies. This is called "budding."
You sprayed one nest in the kitchen, and now you have three nests: one in the bathroom, one in the laundry room, and one in the pantry.
Use Sweets, Not Sprays
Ghost Ants have a massive sweet tooth.
You need a liquid sugar bait (like Terro or Optigard). Put a drop in their path. They will swarm it. Let them eat it. They will carry the slow-acting poison back to all the queens.
It takes about 3 days, but the colony will collapse without spreading.