Get the ID wrong and the wrong bait makes the problem worse. Here's the 30-second test to tell Toowoomba's two most common kitchen ants apart.
Why ID matters
Sugar ants (Camponotus consobrinus) and coastal brown ants (Pheidole megacephala) are the two species behind most kitchen call-outs in Toowoomba. They both trail across benchtops at night, they both go for sweet food, and to a tired homeowner at 10pm they look identical.
The problem is they respond to opposite treatments. Sweet gel bait wipes out a sugar ant colony in days; the same bait on a coastal brown ant infestation barely registers because the major workers prefer protein.
The 30-second visual test
Sugar ants: one size, around 7–12mm long, distinctly two-toned (orange body, dark head and abdomen). Slow, deliberate trail. Activity peaks at night.
Coastal brown ants: two sizes in the same trail — small workers around 2mm and noticeably larger 'major' workers around 4mm with oversized heads. Uniform light brown. Fast, chaotic trails. Active day and night.
If you see two sizes in one line, it's coastal brown ants. Every time.
What works on sugar ants
A sweet liquid or gel bait (fipronil or borax-based) placed directly on the trail. Workers carry it back to the nest within hours and the colony collapses in 3–7 days.
Do NOT spray the trail. You'll kill 20 visible workers and the colony will reroute. Spraying is the single most common reason DIY ant treatments fail.
What works on coastal brown ants
A protein-based granular bait around the external perimeter, plus a non-repellent perimeter spray (fipronil or imidacloprid). Coastal browns have multiple queens and satellite nests, so a single-point sweet bait rarely reaches all of them.
These are also the ants that 'budd' — split into new colonies when stressed. Hit them with a repellent spray and you turn one nest into five. Use only non-repellent actives.
When to call
If you've baited correctly for 10 days and trails are still appearing, the species ID is probably wrong or there's a satellite nest you haven't found. A 30-minute service call is cheaper than another month of supermarket products that don't work.