They forage and feed on a variety of foods that include grease, sweets and meats. Thief ants that nest in the colony of other ant species will kill and eat the larvae of the other ants. An important step to any ant control program is to remove attractive food. Crumbs, grease, food scraps and other food is sought by foraging worker ants and they will return to areas where food is found. If ant-feeding bait is used as a control, remove other food so the ants concentrate on the bait and not the food.
Most nuisance ants nest outdoors.
To prevent many ants from foraging indoors, apply perimeter treatments of residual sprays around foundations. For more permanent control, destroy nests. Dusts usually are more effective on nests than sprays because dusts, such as hydramethylnon, are more readily tracked into the colony. Slow-acting insecticides are most useful since they allow the forager to return the poison in the food to be fed around the colony, killing queens and young. Several brands of ant baits or ant traps are sold.