Ants in the bathhouse: why these insects appear there and how to get rid of them

A wooden banya is a place of rest and relaxation for people. Many people enjoy steaming with birch birch branches and enjoying the dry or humid air of the banya. Nowadays, one in two garden plots has a banya. The danger is that it attracts all sorts of pests that attack wood. Ants are the most common pests found in banyas, which damage the wood and cause significant discomfort to everyone in the room.

Reasons why ants appear in a bathhouse

Ants, which are a nuisance simply by their presence, are destructive to the structure. Worker insects bring food to the nest and feed the entire colony. Their job is to find a comfortable habitat where they can settle down: warm, comfortable, with food and water nearby. These "bathhouse" insects feed on crumbs and fungi of all kinds.

If ants appear in the bathhouse, they become a source of trouble, so you should deal with them immediately.

So what kind of ants are found in bathhouses? We usually see small red insects in such buildings, but occasionally you might encounter their black cousins, which can cause more damage due to their size. For humans, ants themselves do not pose a significant danger. In rare cases, they may bite, but this will not cause any serious pain (except for the possible occurrence of an allergic reaction).

Ants thrive in damp and warm places, so bathhouses are often their preferred habitat. There are numerous places where they hide and live: under baseboards and tiles, in foundation crevices, and in wooden walls.

Ants are omnivorous insects, and they are attracted to the sauna by the smell that signals human presence. This means there's plenty to eat inside. The wood itself isn't a food source for them, but the rot and mold that develops in the log house due to constant moisture are particularly attractive to them.

It's important to remember: Don't allow mold to grow in your sauna. If it does, ants will come, as they feed on any type of fungus. Keep the sauna well heated and dry!

Another reason ants can appear in a bathhouse is when a building is constructed directly over an anthill. Often, during the construction phase, the insects arrive along with the delivery of building materials.

One of the significant disadvantages of sharing your space with ants is that they create passages in logs to create favorable conditions for the functioning of their nest.This negatively affects the integrity of the building.

Excessive humidity in the bathhouse promotes mold formation: ants love it, so these pests are sure to appear here.

Methods of getting rid of insects

When there are a ton of ants in your bathhouse, any peaceful relaxation is out of the question. The immediate question is: is it possible to protect yourself and your building from these insects once and for all?

An ant colony is an entire structure with its own hierarchy and organization, so only the most effective methods of getting rid of the problem will help. You can't simply repel the insects. Other worker ants will inevitably take their place. It's crucial to exterminate the entire colony, acting decisively and without delay. The queen and larvae are securely hidden within the bathhouse structure itself, and the ants constantly maintain their vital functions. To destroy the nest, you need to choose the right product, which the insects will unsuspectingly bring in as food, thereby dooming the entire colony.

It's important to remember. Completely eliminating an anthill near (or under) a bathhouse is very difficult. Numerous tunnels lead from it, often stretching for several kilometers.

Folk methods

A tried-and-true method popular among summer residents and gardeners is pouring boiling water over the anthill. To completely eliminate the pests, this procedure must be repeated several times, spaced 2-3 days apart. This folk remedy is the simplest.

To completely exterminate an ant colony, using home methods alone will not be enough - you will have to use powerful chemicalsHowever, there are a number of folk remedies that can help repel these insects:

• If you find an ant nest, surround it with tomato tops, garlic, and parsley (the more herbs and vegetables, the better).
• Cinnamon (sticks or powder) can be used to repel ants; place a generous amount inside the sauna. Ground cinnamon can also be sprinkled on the anthill.
• The following bait will kill garden and red ants: one part borax to five parts ground meat. Distribute the mixture among open containers where the ants can easily climb and drink the poison.
• A tried-and-true folk remedy is to pour vegetable oil, shampoo, and vinegar over the anthill. To do this, add a bottle of each ingredient to a bucket of water.
• Ants are particularly repulsed by the scents of basil, wormwood, and mint. Fresh plants or essential oils derived from them can be used as repellent. You can make a repellent mixture of 10 drops of this concentrate, three teaspoons of vegetable oil, and dishwashing liquid per glass of water. This method is safe for use in a sauna (and will also leave a pleasant aroma).

Ants cannot stand the pungent odors and aromas of some plants.

Folk remedies are suitable for repelling ants or controlling a small insect population. In other cases, don't hesitate to use chemical pest control products that effectively combat these pests.

Video: How to repel ants from your bathhouse

Chemical methods

To kill ants, specialized gels, baits, and granules are often used, which can be found in the household and gardening section of stores. Each of these products has its own characteristics and application method.

Among the anti-ant gels, granules and powders, the following are the most popular:

• Great Warrior Gel. It has a contact and stomach effect. This product contains diazolin and chlorpyrifos, which paralyze the insect and cause its death within eight hours. The gel's effectiveness lasts for four days. The population can die within fourteen days. The advantage of the drug is that the ants have time to bring it to the nest and feed it to their fellow ants and the queen. As a result, the entire insect colony dies within a few days. The gel comes in a simple syringe, convenient for applying small drops to horizontal and vertical areas. The entire perimeter of the bathhouse should be treated.
• Clean House Gel. This product comes in a syringe. A dotted line is used to mark the ant habitats, as well as the entire perimeter of the bathhouse. The sweet scent of this bait attracts the insects, which die within two days of consuming it. A significant portion of the colony dies within three or four days. The product's effect lasts up to two weeks.
• Grom-2 Granules. A diazolin-based product. The poisonous granules are scattered where insects are commonly found. The product is dangerous to humans, so take safety precautions: always wear gloves when using it. This product can keep ants out of your bathhouse for 2-3 months.
• Muracid powder. This product dissolves in a bucket of water. This mixture is poured onto anthills and nests. The insects die very quickly.
• Muravyed powder. The manufacturers promise instant ant death when used. The powder is mixed with water and poured directly onto the anthill.

Photo Gallery: Effective Gels, Granules, and Powders

Aerosols against crawling insects

Ant aerosols are used much less frequently because they are less effective than other products, although they are extremely easy to use. They should only be sprayed when the bathhouse is unoccupied and at temperatures no higher than 25°C. ^°WITH.

After application, insects die within two days. During this time, it's best to avoid going indoors, as the aerosol vapors are toxic to humans. Then it is necessary to thoroughly ventilate all the bathhouse premises, and heat up the bathhouse itself without the presence of people..

Aerosols should be handled with caution, as the active substance they contain is dangerous to humans.

Traps

The two most well-known companies that produce ant traps are Raid and Globol. The operating principle and application methods are identical. These are small washers containing entrances for insects. They contain a toxic insecticide that attracts ants by smell or taste. After entering the trap, the insect dies within two hours. One package contains four of these devices, enough to protect a 20-square-meter bathhouse. This method is effective at repelling insects: ants from the colony will be afraid to enter a room from which their fellow ants have not returned.

Boric acid and honey

To kill a large number of ants, boric acid (in powder or liquid form) and two to three tablespoons of honey are sometimes enough.

Boric acid is an indispensable assistant in the fight against ants both in the house and in the bathhouse.

These insects are attracted to sweets, including syrups and other liquids. After consuming bait containing honey and boric acid, the ants die. Following the insects that have left in search of food, their fellow ants return. If they also fail to return to the nest after gorging on the poisoned food, other ants will become wary of your bathhouse and will avoid it. The method does not guarantee that the ants will not return after a certain period of time.

The bait is placed in plates and other containers in several corners of the room. Since the bathhouse is a restricted area for pets and small children, it's safe to leave boric acid mixtures open. It is classified as a chemically weak acid.

Refined sugar and boric acid are an effective ant bait that kills these insects.

Important to remember: Keep small children and pets away from saunas where toxic substances are present.

Sulfur checker

Sulfur checkers and special sulfur-based candles are an effective method of fighting ants.

How to use this medicine:

• securely fix the checker;
• set the product on fire;
• Close the room tightly and leave it.

After a few hours, thoroughly ventilate the sauna and heat it up once or twice without anyone being present. This method helps get rid of ants for good. To be on the safe side, repeat the procedure after a week.

FAS is a sulfur checker with detailed instructions for use, which must be read before use.

When using a sulfur checker, remember to take safety precautions: to avoid sulfur fumes, wear a respirator, and also wear special protective clothing and gloves to protect against burns.

Pest prevention

Consider all safety precautions even during the sauna construction phase. The room must be airtight, with no gaps or compartments in the log structure. These are doubly harmful to the sauna. Firstly, the hot steam escapes, the room cools down, and more firewood is needed to heat it. Secondly, pests are more likely to infest a sauna.

Treat wood (walls, shelves, benches) with special antibacterial compounds. This will prevent the growth of fungi in the sauna, which attracts ants.

Reviews: How people get rid of ants in the bathhouse

I recently had this same problem. I was sitting in the dressing room, and ants were scurrying across the table. I started looking for their nest and found a nest of larvae in the attic, right where water was leaking from the roof. Over the weekend, I bought some kind of granules—I can't remember the name, unfortunately—and sprinkled them on... I'll see what's left in a week. Generally, as far as I know, ants always follow well-trodden paths, so if you can't find the nest, try at least sprinkling some poison on their paths.

You can find special candles against crawling insects, or a firecracker. Light a candle/firecracker under the house, in the basement, or attic, and they won't bother you anymore. Although, ants are certainly a nuisance. I have the same thing somewhere in my house. I need to start looking for this chemical miracle. Last year, I was paneling a room, and one of my logs was so eaten away that my hair stood on end. I used everything I could find. I sprayed a ton of anti-bug product on it. But the best thing that worked was when I bought some American aerosol product. When I sprayed it, they ran away like crazy. Although they didn't run far. That's a big downside of wooden structures—all sorts of things live there.

Searching for ant nests is a thankless task: there's no guarantee you'll find ALL the locations, and sometimes it's impossible to even check conceivable options. Not to mention that life is always ready to throw up the most fantastical possibilities. But, thank goodness, there are excellent, inexpensive, convenient, and quite reliable solutions. They can be called anything, but it seems the first to hit the market were the "Combat" brand. They look like plastic washers, about 50 mm in diameter and 5 mm high, with passages for the insects. They work very simply: they contain bait and SOMETHING that infects the visitors. The visitors return, and the anthill becomes infected, after a while there are no more uninvited guests. These washers are simply placed in areas with the highest traffic of unwanted creatures. Targeted washers (cockroaches, ants) are available, but perhaps there are also universal ones. I change them every year or so; they cost $3 for a six-pack. One is enough for a sauna. Sincerely, Igor.

We also fought ants—sometimes successfully, some less so. I read a lot about ants online and learned that ants feed on proteins and carbohydrates. Including the fungus that forms on wood from contact with water... Our saunas are always rotting from the bottom. So, I got rid of the ants in my house with this recipe: half a cup of very sweet jam or honey, a teaspoon of yeast, and the same amount of boric acid. Mix everything together and place it in saucers and lids near the ants' nests.

A comprehensive approach will help get rid of ants. Choose effective home remedies and chemical ones to control the insects. If you own a public establishment, it's best to immediately call a specialized service that has specialized, effective chemicals. If ants have infested your home's sauna, try using home remedies first.