Answer
Feb 04, 2026 - 10:50 AM
The reason we say place outdoors is because ants usually feed outdoors. They may be wandering around indoors, but generally - depending on the season - they are feeding outdoors. This is because they will feed on plants, leaves, flowers, organic substances, mold, etc. However, if its winter and everything is snow covered, there probably won't be anything outdoors they can eat. In most cases, ants will survive on foods they have gathered and brought into the nest. This is very common, especially with Carpenter Ants. If you are seeing them indoors and it is snow covered outdoors, it may be they are simply scouting around. Foods they are have in the nest can support them throughout the winter. Most ants will also "cull" the colony and eliminate the older weaker ants. This will help to save food resources. Some ants will feed on the eggs and larvae of their young, sort of a canabilistic approach to survival.
It's difficult to predict what the carpenter ants will do if you place this bait indoors. They have to return to the nest with it. Unlike Terro (which the worker ants can readily consume), worker ants cannot feed on solid baits. Solid baits have to be taken to the colony for processing into a liquid bait they can consume. This is done by feeding solid baits to the instar larvae, which consume it and then reguritate a liquid that the worker ants can consume. It's very fascinating how this works.
Terro is not going to kill the Carpenter ants. Its ingredients are corn syrup and boric acid. That's it. This will not sustain the ants long enough through the winter to kill the entire colony. It's also 5% Boric Acid, which kills the workers that feed on it too quickly.
The best indoor bait for Carpenter ants is Greenway Liquid Bait. It's 1% Boric Acid and kills them slowly. It also contains proteins and amino acids that will sustain the colony long enough to kill it. The problem becomes getting the ants to feed on it indoors. If used indoors, Bugbar Refillable dispensers work well. You can also try Gourmet Ant Gel used in the Bug Bars.
The bottom line is that if using a baiting program indoors, you have to depend on the ants to feed on it. It's 50/50. If you don't want to spend time doing this, and you know where the ants are located, drill the walls, and inject Termidor Foam into them. This will kill the ants on contact and is the fastest way to kill them. But this only works if you know where the nest is located and don't mind using pesticides indoors.
It's difficult to predict what the carpenter ants will do if you place this bait indoors. They have to return to the nest with it. Unlike Terro (which the worker ants can readily consume), worker ants cannot feed on solid baits. Solid baits have to be taken to the colony for processing into a liquid bait they can consume. This is done by feeding solid baits to the instar larvae, which consume it and then reguritate a liquid that the worker ants can consume. It's very fascinating how this works.
Terro is not going to kill the Carpenter ants. Its ingredients are corn syrup and boric acid. That's it. This will not sustain the ants long enough through the winter to kill the entire colony. It's also 5% Boric Acid, which kills the workers that feed on it too quickly.
The best indoor bait for Carpenter ants is Greenway Liquid Bait. It's 1% Boric Acid and kills them slowly. It also contains proteins and amino acids that will sustain the colony long enough to kill it. The problem becomes getting the ants to feed on it indoors. If used indoors, Bugbar Refillable dispensers work well. You can also try Gourmet Ant Gel used in the Bug Bars.
The bottom line is that if using a baiting program indoors, you have to depend on the ants to feed on it. It's 50/50. If you don't want to spend time doing this, and you know where the ants are located, drill the walls, and inject Termidor Foam into them. This will kill the ants on contact and is the fastest way to kill them. But this only works if you know where the nest is located and don't mind using pesticides indoors.
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