Ants are a common problem for homeowners all across the world. They find a way to invade sidewalks, flower beds, outdoor patios, pool decks, and they venture indoors too. But just because ants are a widespread problem for everyone doesn’t mean they should be acceptable or tolerable, especially when it comes to your home.
But how can we get rid of them and prevent them from returning? First of all, it helps to have a thorough understanding of what attracts certain types of ants. For example, carpenter ants, which are pesky flying insects that make a loud humming noise, are attracted to wood.
You’ll notice a saw-dust type of residue if you have a carpenter ant problem. If you have any wet or rotting wood in your attic, you may have carpenter ants.
Another ant attracted to moisture is, you guessed it, the moisture ant. They prefer to be around rocks and logs, but will also move indoors when there is decayed or rotting wood. Fire ants, on the other hand, prefer dry, warm areas. You’ll always find them in sunlight. They prefer dry fields, which could explain their propensity to sneak up on people who step in grassy areas.
One particular ant that likes to be indoors and is attracted to food (human food that is) is the pharaoh ant. These animals are common in areas where there is food and can often be found in the food service industry. They will, however, venture outdoors too, especially for a sweet treat.
Another ant that is attracted to sweet stuff is the thief ant, also known as the sugar ant. These ants are one of the tiniest household pests out there. These types of ants are attracted to human food and can be found in cupboards or if there is a piece of food on the floor that never got picked up.
Acrobat ants are dynamic ants, as their name implies, and can be found both indoors and outdoors. You can find them in cracks of roofing where sunlight can seep through. These ants like old, rotting wood, sometimes so much that homeowners may mistakenly think they have termites.
So now that there is a thorough understanding of the different types of ants and what attracts them, how can we get rid of them? First of all, being a responsible homeowner and taking care of your home will go a long way.
Clean your home regularly, and clean up messes and spills immediately. Make sure to check and replace walking on walls. Checkbook cases and cabinets. Make sure to check windows and areas near windows to ensure nothing is getting through that shouldn’t be.
Next, contact a pest control company that specializes in treating ant problems and can help prevent future ants from coming. In between pest control treatments, you can also use products available at the store, including eco-friendly products that won’t harm you or your family.
The best way for the pest control is the cleanliness of the house. Ants are the most common pests of the home. All types of food particles attract these tiny little creatures which are known as ants. These are the particles on which the ants feed. To prevent your food from ants, you must keep the food in air tight containers. To reduce moisture, leaks should be very well treated. The best way for ant control is to locate the nests of the ants. In this way, a person can kill a large number of ants at the same time. Most of the species do not enter the buildings and make their nests outside the building. Some of the ants also build indoor nests.
There is another way, but it can be a little confusing. It is to keep track of the places where ants are seen. Ants usually follow specific tracks. These tracks must be detected and followed. Another way to follow the ants to their nests is to place some attractive thing like jelly, proteins or any other sweet thing. It will attract a large number of ants and then they can be followed up to their nest. Your children can also be a great help for you to locate the nest of the people. It is because children like to watch the movement of the ants.
Outdoor pest control can be done easily as compared to the indoors. If you see the hills on the surface of the ground, then it means that ants are there and are making their nests. Fire ants are the species which build conspicuous mounds. Indoors, they build the nest in walls or under the house.
Ants can be controlled with the help of baits, crack treatments, indoor space treatment, and outdoor barrier treatment, etc.
1. First of all, you need to get rid of any open containers of food or drink. This can mean open anything from open soda cans to dirty dishes that have sat in the sink for even a short period. Ants are attracted by the scent of the food and will continue to come to the area as long as they can smell the food or drink.
2. The next step in getting rid of ants in your home is to block entrances. You can use caulking on windows where there are openings as well as make sure your doors do not have large openings that allow larger ants to get in. Most smaller ants that are the major problem can get in through just about anywhere so closing the entrances may not be effective for those types.
3. Get the ants where they live. If you see large groups of ants outside you can use different mainstream sprays to kill the ants where they are gathering as well as the most effective way of using traps and especially baits which the worker ants carry back to their nest killing the queen ant and therefore destroying the ants home.
4. Trap and repel the ants if they have already invaded areas. This can be done through many traps that you can find at any home and garden store such as Home Depot or Lowes where the ants are attracted to the smell, and they are killed on contact. There are also many systems where the ants are attracted to the bait, and they will carry it back to the queen ant as mentioned before. You can get rid of ants through natural repellents at entryways by using a combination of 1/2 baby powder, 1/2 chili powder.
5. The last step to take in this is to not only repeat the process for a few weeks but to call a professional if it gets too bad or the problem doesn’t go away after a reasonable time. There are times when even the methods above don’t work for reasons that you can’t see or explain. Calling in people who know what they are doing can knock your problem out for a usually reasonable price.
