Your first instinct might be to grab a kettle and scald the colony. I tried it—poured a liter of boiling water directly into the nest entrance. It killed a few hundred workers instantly, and it felt deeply satisfying. But here’s the catch: the queen is usually deep, tucked into a side chamber.
The hot water often doesn’t reach her. Worse, it can scatter the colony into multiple smaller nests, turning one problem into a nightmare of tiny ant cities. Trust me, you don’t want that.