Jun 27, 2012 – Meat Or Sugar
QUESTION:
Which ant baits are sweet and which are protein based? Is it based on the formulation, like gels or pastes, or the manufacturer, or maybe the active?
ANSWER:
The active ingredient is not the motivating factor, as some of the boric acid baits are both protein and carbohydrate, such as Drax Gel or abamectin in Advance Dual Choice, although they separate the two bait mixtures from each other. We also find boric acid as the active ingredient in just about any of the bait formulations - liquid, gel, paste, granular.
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Which ant baits are sweet and which are protein based? Is it based on the formulation, like gels or pastes, or the manufacturer, or maybe the active?
ANSWER:
The active ingredient is not the motivating factor, as some of the boric acid baits are both protein and carbohydrate, such as Drax Gel or abamectin in Advance Dual Choice, although they separate the two bait mixtures from each other. We also find boric acid as the active ingredient in just about any of the bait formulations - liquid, gel, paste, granular.
The most important consideration is likely the targeted pest and developing a bait that will be attractive to it. For ants this needs to consider very large species and very small ones. Pharaoh ants are unlikely to carry off large granules, so they are offered gel and liquid baits that are either protein or carbohydrate. Carpenter ants, on the other hand, happily accept granules but also will slip into bait stations for liquid sugar baits. It also is known that most ant colonies require both protein and sugar for their dietary needs, and that this varies from time to time so that foraging workers may more actively be searching for sugar foods at one time and for protein at another. For this reason it is important to offer both and see which one they seem to prefer at any time, and this preference could change mid-stream.
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