There are many products available for ant control. There is an insecticide for almost any situation. Ant control insecticides are available in the form of liquids, dusts, and baits.
There are liquid insecticides available that are ready-to-use and others that must be mixed. There are liquid insecticides that repel the ants. People use these to keep ants from entering a building. There are other liquids that the ants cannot smell. These are sometimes used when ants have a nest outside but they are coming into a house for food or water. Since these insecticides do not repel the ants, they will walk through the treatment and pick it up on their bodies.
The dust insecticides are effective for treating hollow spaces, like the voids inside of walls. Many people use dust to treat the nests of carpenter ants. The dust remains inside the wall and the ants walk through it. Later, when they clean each other, the ants swallow some of the dust.
Ant bait is a combination of a food that the ants will eat and an active ingredient that will be toxic to the ants. Baits for ant control come in several forms. Liquid bait, gel bait, and granular (chunky) bait are the most commonly used forms. Since ants' food preferences change, it is sometimes necessary to place more then one kind of bait near the ant trail so the workers can choose the one they will accept.
Ant baits are made with several kinds of active ingredients. The most commonly used bait contains a stomach poison. The workers share the bait with the other ants in the nest. As each ant digests some of the bait, it gets a lethal dose. Another type of bait that is widely used contains an Insect Growth Regulator (also called an IGR). The IGR prevents the development of new adult ants. As the older ants die, there are no replacements and the colony dies.
The assortment of ant control products helps assure the treatment works. Since there are many kinds of ants living in many different locations, it would be difficult to get control with only one product. Always follow label directions for mixing or applying insecticides.