To fully eliminate an entire ant colony, what must be done?

To fully eliminate an entire ant colony, it is essential to kill all the queens. The queen is the reproductive center of an ant colony; without her, the colony cannot reproduce and will eventually die off. Typically, a colony can have multiple queens, and as long as one queen remains alive, the colony can continue to thrive and produce more ants. Targeting the queens directly disrupts the reproductive cycle of the colony and ensures a permanent solution to the ant problem.

While removing food sources, destroying nests, and using traps to capture workers may help in controlling the ant population or managing an infestation, these methods alone do not guarantee the complete eradication of the colony. Food removal may deter ants temporarily, and traps catch worker ants, but neither of these actions addresses the core of the colony's existence—the queens. Similarly, destroying nests can prevent access to certain areas but does not eliminate the reproductive capabilities of the colony when queens remain unharmed. Therefore, targeting the queens is the most effective strategy for ensuring the complete elimination of an ant colony.