Best Ant Killer UK - Complete Buying Guide and Review

Ants may be fine in the great outdoors and having a few in your house may not bother you but if they start taking over, then you need to take action quickly.  If you don’t like the sound of this, then just remember, the quicker you act, the fewer ants you’ll end up needing to kill.

If you know you need ant killer then you can head straight down to our ant killer UK review section to see which is the best ant killer available in the UK for your needs.  If you would like to know a bit more about ant killers before you part with your cash, please keep reading.

Dealing with ant infestations

There are basically two ways you can deal with ant infestations.

One is to use a product which will kill any ants you see.  This may be enough if you know that ants are coming into your house for food and you clean up your act, literally.

The other is to use a product which will poison ants slowly.  The idea is that the ants take the poison back to their colony and basically unintentionally kill off their workmates and, ultimately, their queen.

These offer a very permanent solution, but only if you let them do their work, in other words, you’ll need to resist the temptation to kill any ants you see as this will stop the poison being taken back to the colony which is what you need if you want to stop the infestation at source, in other words, kill the queen ant.  In fact, you may see an increased number of ants in your house as they come to collect the bait.

For the sake of completeness, any ant killer which uses poison is a potential hazard.  Be careful when you handle it, ideally wear suitable protection such as eyewear, a mask and gloves and wash your hands after use.

Keep ant-killing products well away from children, pets and general wildlife.  Remember that cats can soak up liquid through their paws and that all animals (and young children) have a habit of cleaning themselves with their mouths and so if you put down ant killer where it might rub off on them, they could accidentally eat it while trying to get it off.

Types of ant killer

There are basically four main types of ant killer.

Ant sprays

Ant sprays either act as a repellent or kill on contact.  They won’t eliminate a colony but they may buy you a bit of time to give your kitchen/food areas a good clean and get rid of whatever’s attracting them.

Ant traps

These are containers of poisoned bait, the idea is that the ants catch on to the fact that there is an easy source of tasty food, eat it, both there and at home and then die a few days later.

Ant granules/powders

Again, this is a combination of bait and poison and the idea behind using it loose is that it gives you more flexibility about how you use it.  While this is true, it does put the onus on you to think about exactly where you put it and, specifically, whether or not it might spread and do unintended damage.

Ant gels

This is another variation of the bait and poison approach.  The idea is that you put the gel into holes and cracks where you see ants and they pick it up on their bodies and take it back to the colony.  Most gels take a bit of time to dry, during which time they can be washed away very easily, so they are probably best kept for the summer, although this is probably the time when you’re most likely to get ants in any case.

Ant killer UK review

Here is our round up of the best ant killers available in the UK.  We’ve picked one of each of the main forms, plus an extra option for people who might need to kill ants outdoors.  Our list is based on a combination of effectiveness and price, in other words, value for money.

Ant Stop! Bait Station

This seems to be a gel in a container and it’s definitely very effective.  The holes are so tiny we don’t see how anything bigger than an ant could get into the trap, but you still want to be careful where and how you use it.  This is advertised for use indoors.  We’ve heard of it being used outdoors but since that doesn’t seem to be its intended purpose, we’ve listed another ant trap option for use in gardens.

Combat Max, Ant Killing Gel

This product is advertised for use indoors and outdoors but with the caution that it can be removed by water.  It’s also advertised as unsafe for use in or on electrical equipment although we’re not very sure why you’d want to do that anyway.

EcoRaider Ant Killer

This product is based around lemongrass and cedarwood oils. It kills ants on contact, plus the smell repels them, although, as we’ve previously mentioned, if there’s food about, that might not be enough on its own so remember to keep everything clean.

From a human perspective, honestly we wouldn’t describe the smell as pleasant, but we would say that it isn’t bad.  We think it’s a definite improvement on products using harsher chemicals and while we haven’t been able to test this ourselves, we can quite believe it’s gentler on people with respiratory conditions such as asthma.  It should also be safer for children and animals although you still want to keep it away from them (or them away from it).

Overall, we think this is a very decent product, with good environmental credentials.  It’s not going to do as thorough a job as products with poison, but as we’ve already mentioned no sprays do.  Its performance does compare very favourably to chemical-based sprays.

Maxforce LN 3 Ant Killer Indoor & Outdoor Bait Station Traps

These basically work along the same lines as the Ant Stop! bait station, but they are marketed as being suitable for use outdoors although not in soil.  We’d say the holes are small enough that you wouldn’t have to worry about bees getting in, but if you were concerned you could put something on top, like a saucer or tile, as an extra precaution.

Nippon Ant Killer Powder

This product is one of the best -known ant killers in the UK and for good reason.  It does a great job, but even though the packaging says that you don’t have to keep children and animals away from it, we still would.  Also, please note that this powder can be dissolved and if it gets into the water supply it’s highly toxic to aquatic life.

Ant killer UK review - conclusions

Basically, there is no one-size-fits-all best ant killer available in the UK.  Different types of ant killer are suited to different situations and so you need to choose the best one for your circumstances.  You may even want to use different ant killers in combination to cover different parts of your home and maybe your garden too.  Alternatively, you may be able to deal with your ant problem without using ant killer.  Here is a guide as to how you might be able to avoid ants coming into your home at all.

Avoiding ant infestations

In spite of everything we’ve just written, we don’t really like killing ants either, so here are some tips as to how you can discourage them from coming into your home in the first place.

Stop leaving food out for them

This is basically the number one tip for just about any form of pest control (there are a handful of exceptions such as bed bugs, but this one works in 99% of cases).  Basically any foodstuff should be in an airtight container and that includes anything you are throwing out.  This goes at least double for sugar and grease, which ants love.  Here are some practical tips.

Any sugary or greasy foods should be kept either in unopened (airtight) containers or in the fridge or freezer (or both).  Ants can easily get into cupboards and if they get a sniff of sugar from a container which isn’t totally airtight then they’ll go for it.  If you buy sugary or greasy foods in sealed bottles and cans you should be fine.  Food in bags is more of an issue so make sure that then goes into an airtight container.

As soon as an air seal is broken (e.g. a jar of jam is started) put it in the fridge or freezer if you possibly can.  Even if you can reseal it so that it is airtight, you’re bound to get some leakage on the outside at least from time to time and this will draw in ants.

Wash anything which has food on it as soon as possible and in this case wash means wash.  Ants can and will find their way into a dishwasher.  Wash food containers before you put them away for recycling and if you have food waste then keep that in an airtight container (at least for as long as it’s in your house).

The foods ants don’t like are acidic ones, so you can try spraying lemon around their entrances.  This may be enough to deter them if they don’t get the scent of food, especially sugar.  Vinegar will also work, but the smell isn’t as pleasant to humans.