Ants are often a problem in the summertime. They can come into your home and infest your kitchen or bathroom, making you want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Here are some tips to help get rid of ants fast!
Ants are one of the intriguing creatures on our planet. Surprisingly, these tiny creatures have a population crossing an enormous figure of 10 billion. A vast sum calls for some essential duties in pest control.
Ants contribute a lot to the environment. They aerate the soils, clean up the organic mess and also disperse plant seeds. However, ants might turn to your homes as uninvited guests, especially in the summertime.
Initially, spotting an ant in your bathrooms, kitchen walls, floors, or maybe in your yard may seem harmless. However, you won’t even realize it, until you see a whole colony of ants established in an area that supplies food.
Ants are highly social creatures, and a single ant can lead to thousands – and serious infestation issues. These issues may prove critically challenging and demanding to manage. Therefore, it is vital to be aware of tips and techniques that help to keep ants away.
Why are ants attracted to your home?
It is crucial to acquire some basic knowledge about ants and what attracts them before attempting to fight the infestation issues.
Here are some key factors that develop attraction among the ants to establish colonies and infest your homes. Let’s have a look at them:
Food
The most important reason when ants turn towards your door is while foraging for food. Ants are attracted to all types of human foods such as sweets, candies, chocolate syrups. Take caution with your hummingbird feeders as well.
Food spills in the garbage bins tempt ants and attract them even more. Thus, you should make sure that you don’t leave food leftovers around your kitchen or in your garbage bins. Make sure to discard it before an ant colony discovers it.
Water
Water is an essential requirement for ants to establish their colonies. This is the reason why you may encounter ant colonies in your washroom on some tiles or near some leaking pipes. The high and steady source of moisture attracts them.
Make sure to fix your leaked or pitted pipes and keep your washroom area dry.
Flora and Fauna
Ants do not necessarily colonize near your house plants. However, the tempting fragrance of flowers and nectars invites them. The wet soil in the plant pots and the debris left by some other pet might also entice them towards your plants. In turn, ants establish colonies near your plants, especially with sweet scents and flowers.
Pesticides
Various pesticides found in hardware stores might succeed in ant removal. However, in some cases, ants develop resistance against some pesticides. Pesticides may prove ineffective after some time, and you may see another colony of ants in your garden or home just after using pesticides.
Our pest control team recommends professional ant baits to get rid of ants. We have a variety of techniques and pesticides that are guaranteed to work. If you have an ant infestation, it is best to call in professionals to get rid of ants.
Where are the ants coming from?
You must be wondering where these ants are coming from? Ants are constantly wandering in search of food and water. The tiny creatures can get on through the tiniest spaces and gaps left. They can easily invade your homes through poorly sealed windows, small cracks in the tiles, or even holes beneath the doors.
Cracks and minor gaps in your walls or tiles are the most common gateways for ants. If you want to track where ants are coming from at your place, you can try monitoring the ant trails. Especially if you notice a colony of ants, make sure you track where they come from and seal the place.
How to permanently get rid of ants?
The first and foremost step to combatant infestation issues would be to eradicate all the things that entice ants towards your home.
Here are some of the basic yet crucial techniques to permanently get rid of ants:
- Eliminate its food sources
One of the essential practices to keep the ants away is to remove the food spills and debris from the kitchen. Properly discard them. It is also necessary; you don’t leave unwashed dishes and plates in the kitchen overnight. Empty and dump the trash in your garbage bins regularly so that ants do not invade through your garbage bins.
It is also essential to keep all your food materials in an airtight container. You might not realize and leave the food containers open, which is a welcoming gateway for ants.
Another way to eliminate the food source for ants is to use ant repellents on the flower pots.
2. Minimize the moisture sources:
We have seen that ants essentially need moisture to survive. Hence, it would help if you tried to cut down all the moisture sources to reduce ants nesting around. It is crucial to fix leakages in your pipes, fill small cracks in your bathroom tiles, etc. It is also vital to ensure that the gutters drain away from your homes.
3. Eliminating entry points
Another tip for reducing the ant infestation would be spotting the entry points and killing them right there. You can also use natural products like turmeric powder, salt, and paprika powder to sprinkle on the entry points. If you spot a colony of ants marching together, you can use vinegar to wipe them off right away. For best results, block their entry points by filling those gaps and cracks.
Once you are done with killing the ants, it would be best to clean the area previously occupied by ants. Clean the area with a strong soap to eliminate the scent trails that ants leave.
4. Ant sprays
Ant sprays can be categorized into the following two types that include repellent and non-repellent sprays.
The repellent sprays might not be great for ant control. With repellent sprays, you end up chasing the ants around. It does not essentially help in effective removal. Moreover, once you have used the ant repellent spray, you may clean the area to remove the residue of sprays since ants have a sensitive and robust sense of smell.
On the other hand, non-repellent sprays might be highly functional in ant control. They cannot smell these sprays. Without sensing any scent, they walk through the non-repellent sprays and take them back to their nest. The active ingredients present in the spray spread like germs in their colony, successfully wiping them off.
5. Professional Pest control
For more effective treatment against ants and pests inhabiting your homes, call our pest control team. Our pest control programs are designed by wildlife biologists to get rid of pest insects. Our team studies the ant species and behavior to better assist with pest control. We perform inspections, baiting, and spraying strategies to wipe out ant colonies.
Since ants are persistent, professional applications and strategies to permanently remove them and terminate their existence are generally the best options. However, the various approaches mentioned above can avoid and reduce ant infestation to a great extent. As long as you carry strict prevention and control activities, you should see a substantial and noticeable difference.