If you’re dealing with an ant infestation, your instinct may be to squish every one of the little suckers that you see under your house slipper. But one woman who received expert advice via Ring camera says this is the wrong way to go about it.
In a viral TikTok, Dawn (@dawnthestoryteller) says she was communicating with the pest control worker via doorbell camera because she had to be out of the house for two hours to let him work, so she was at a coffee shop doing some work of her own. When he came to the doorbell, he introduced himself, and the woman gave him permission to enter her home. Then he asked her if she typically squishes ants when she sees them. She tells him that if it’s one or two, she typically does.
“He goes. ‘Ooh, do you know what happens when you squish an ant?’” she says. The woman responded logically, saying, “It dies.”
Technically, this is correct, but it’s not quite what the man was getting at.
Why shouldn’t you squish an ant?
“When you squish an ant, it sends out pheromones and a signal that mean the other ants have to come and get it because they don’t let their dead lie,” she recounts the man saying. “They have to bring the dead ant back to the hive.”
What is the right way to kill an ant?
Dawn says when she sees a large group of ants, she feels a bit guilty killing them (they’re a family, you see), so instead she takes a wet paper towel, gently scoops them up, and flushes them down the toilet, hoping they’ll swim to freedom.
She says the pest control expert told her this was the right way to handle things.
In the comments section, viewers confirmed the information Dawn relayed.
“This is why some people, myself included, can smell ants,” one said.
A second wrote, “True. I saw an ant carrying a dead ant and I followed it like what is going on! All the way to the hole!”
“I have seen this in a pack,” another said. “It was hundreds with the dead ants on their back. It is wild.”
Is it true?
According to Frazier Pest Control, yes, squishing ants can make your infestation worse because of the pheromones they release. Squishing an ant alerts nearby ants to danger, triggers defensive action from the colony, draws a search party of ants to the area for cleanup, and leads to colony splitting or relocation.
@dawnthestoryteller This is what the pest control guy taught me about ants! #pest #ants #love ♬ original sound – dawnthestoryteller
Instead of squishing individual ants, try this
- Clean surfaces thoroughly with a mix of vinegar and water to erase pheromone trails.
- Seal entry points like cracks or holes near windows, pipes, and baseboards with caulk or weather stripping.
- Use bait—which, unlike spray, targets the whole colony by allowing ants to bring poisoned food back to the nest—in strategic areas.
- Call pest control.
The Mary Sue contacted Dawn via email.
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