You stumble into your kitchen in the morning to put the coffee on and find ants everywhere. It’s enough to send you into a frenzy. The last thing you want to deal with is ants in your kitchen. It’s where all your food is! Effective Pest Services offers helpful tips for what to do next below.
How Do Ant Infestation Problems Start?
When you discover ants in your home, you probably have a nest nearby. Ants will come into your home through tiny cracks and cervices in search of food and water. They will leave trails behind that have pheromones to let the other ants know where the food and water is. Ants live in colonies that can number 300,000 to 500,000 and the queen can live for up to 15 years! These huge colonies are what make ant control so difficult. Most homeowners are unsuccessful in controlling ants because they are only treating the ants they see, not the actual nest. Professional pest control deals with the nest and is therefore more successful.
How Do You Keep Ants Away?
1. Remove what ants are looking for. Ants are in your home because they have access to food and water. Don’t leave food crumbs on your counters and floors and make sure you sanitize your kitchen when you clean. Remove sources of standing water and take out the trash on a regular basis.
2. Mop your floors with a solution of 1:4 vinegar to water. This is the best way to remove those pheromone trails that ants leave behind. When you eliminate the pheromone trails, you’re preventing other ants from finding their way inside.
3. Place bait traps in areas you spot ant activity. Just make sure you use the right baits for the right ants or your efforts will be fruitless. Replace the traps every two weeks. If the traps don’t work, you’ll need professionals to eliminate the nest.
4. Another step to keep ants out of your home is to seal off entry points. Use caulk to seal off any openings into your home. You can also apply an insecticide around the foundation of your home to create a barrier. Make sure the entryways to your home are kept clean for further protection.
5. If you see anthills in or around your yard, use an outdoor insecticide and spray them. Treat any areas again after you’ve done yardwork. Ants will use bushes and trees to get into your home so keep then trimmed around windows and doors.
Ant Pest Inspections, Exclusion, Control, Removal & More in Wellington, Fort Collins, Timnath, Greeley, Longmont, Boulder, Johnstown, Berthoud, Estes Park & Loveland, CO | Northern Colorado
Almost every homeowner will deal with ants at some point, so it’s good to know how to minimize the chances you’ll be dealing with an infestation. If your attempts to keep these pesky pests out of your home have failed, you need to contact the professionals. Proper identification is necessary for effective control and nests can be hard to find and treat. The right tools and skills go a long way. Trust the professionals at Effective Pest Services to rid your home of ants and keep then away for good! Give us a call today!
