Maxforce Ant Bait Stations-1 Bag with 24 bait stations

Last winter, my parents had an invasion of ants throughout their kitchen and a small swarm using an electrical outlet in the living room as an egress. They had contracted a local exterminator to deal with the problem but to no avail--the local exterminator had incorrectly identified the infestation as a colony of carpenter ants. Upon further investigation, I had learned (thanks to a local university, Wikipedia, and a half dozen other sites) that the ants weren't carpenter ants--they were pharaoh ants! Not only had the exterminator misidentified the ants, but they did the worst thing possible for dealing with this species of ant: They sprayed and fogged the house. Pharaoh ant colonies, under stress, will "bud" or spread to more desirable parts of a structure when sprayed only to reappear some months later and typically in greater numbers! In other words, NEVER spray an ant infestation unless you know what you're doing. You might make the situation worse. The only treatment guaranteed to work against ant species prone to budding (and really, most ants in general) is to bait them, and Maxforce products work very well to this end. Within a few days of using this product, the ants were eliminated--and almost six months later, they haven't returned. This stuff really works, but I had to make some modifications. I discovered elsewhere on the Interwebs that Maxforce bait stations aren't guaranteed to work on pharaoh ants 100% of the time because of their tendency to prefer grease, and this product is predominantly protein-based. Keep reading. Before you go about doing your own pest control, it is important to understand that not all ants will respond equally well to all forms of bait. Ant colonies have different nutritional needs from day to day, so if these stations don't work, you may need to try some of the gel baits that contain higher concentrations of moisture and carbohydrates. These stations didn't work for me immediately because pharaoh ants respond better to grease (as mentioned above), but an easy solution in my particular case was to carefully open one of the stations up with a pair of pliers and wire strippers/cutters (the plastic is tough and sharp when cut, so be careful!), poke a few holes into the protein bait with a toothpick (throw it away!) and apply a single drop or two of canola oil. The added grease turned something moderately attractive into a delightful all-you-can-eat buffet for pharaoh ants! So, before you buy this product, make sure you've done two things: 1) identify the species of ant(s) invading your home and 2) research the nutritional needs of these ants. If you cannot identify the ant species, contact your local university or go online. Texas A&M university's biology department has a fantastic site with pictures! Failing that, Wikipedia might be of some use, too--just make sure to check the sources listed for the appropriate page. Worst case, if you're uncertain what the invading ant colony is in need of, you can set up a test with little more than some sugar, a drop of water, some oil, a couple pieces of scotch tape, and a piece of paper. Here's how: 1) Apply one piece of tape to the left-hand side of a standard 8 1/2" by 11" piece of copy paper and label it as "carbohydrates + moisture." 2) Apply a second piece of tape to the right-hand side of the paper from step #1 and label it as "oil." 3) Apply 1/8th of a teaspoon of sugar in a small mound to the CENTER of the left-hand piece of tape. Add a minute drop of water--just enough to dissolve some of the sugar and leave it somewhat moist--but don't let it run off onto the paper. If you do, the moisture will be absorbed and may ruin the test. 4) Apply a small drop of oil to the tape on the right hand side similarly to the sugar mound from step #3. 5) Place this piece of paper near where the ants are entering the structure and observe it. You may have to leave it overnight (and it'll help to add the sugar and oil after you've appropriately placed the paper). If the ants are in need of either substance, they'll be attracted to it. Heck, you might even find a couple of dead ants floating around in the oil. Overzealous, primitive organisms are quite fun, are they not? You can modify this technique to include a small piece of packaged ham broken up into much smaller fragments if you suspect you're dealing with a colony that tends to prefer high protein content foods for which this product is most ideally suited. Just remember, if these Maxforce stations don't work for you, you've probably selected the wrong bait for the species of ants invading your property. I've seen more than a few one-star reviews on other bait products that say nothing more than "It didn't work!" Well, of course not! If you're going to perform your own pest control, remember: The responsibility rests on YOUR shoulders to do the research necessary to learn more about the invaders, their nutritional needs, the effective spread of the bait (protein baits like this one won't work for sugar-feeding ants), and how to SAFELY use it! If the bait doesn't work, you're probably doing something wrong. Research, research, research! As I learned, professional exterminators can be wrong, and their mistakes can be costly--not to mention disruptive if you have to pack up half the house just to have it fogged! Do yourself a favor, do some research, and buy some bait stations. It'll be much kinder to your pocketbook, your life will be less stressful, and if you know precisely what speices of ant is invading your property, you're much more likely to succeed--maybe even more so than an exterminator who'll charge you more than 10 times the cost of this product.

Best stuff fir ants

I was skeptical but after a week of using it. All the ants are gone

Argentine ants: Worlds biggest pest. When they're in a mood to take this bait, it works great! But, they're fickle critters. Many times, they aren't interested. Not as much as they're interested in some scrap of meat or kernel of rice they found on the countertop. At those times, I try a different bait to see if they'll take that. It's said that one can test their mood for protein vs sugar. Put out a dab of unsweetened peanut butter and a dab of a sweet jam and see which they go to.

These ant bait traps are awesome!

Did not work, ants were not interested in this bait. I am not sure if this was expired when I received it. Was difficult to tell what the numbers meant on the package.

I’m battling a few different varieties of ant and not one goes anywhere near these stations. To be fair I’m having a tough time getting any bait station to work.

We had tiny ants that invaded our kitchen each spring, but they never fully went away year after year. This spring they multiplied and found their way onto my countertop and into my butter dish… so I splurged on this product and it worked in 3 days! It was cheaper than an exterminator, so even though it was a bit pricy, it was easier on my pocketbook. This video was taken 12 hours after setting the product near the ant line entrance. It’s hard to see in the video, but there are a few dozen inside the trap. By the next day, we only saw a few lingering about, and by day 3, silence. Yay!!!

Expert used these last year brilliant sorted the little problem out .So glad could buy more

The pack I received did not fit the description provided. Being returned. Bought something cheaper from the UK instead, and it has worked.