How to Get Rid of House Ants?
Homeowners may see a lot of ants in their properties, and they can result in a lot of trouble. Fortunately, these uninvited houseguests don’t have to stay because they can be a real menace. When you disturb them, they can bite you, and just because they are small, this doesn’t mean that they are not pushovers.
Various reasons exist on why ants are invading the home. For one, there might be bits of food or water in the home that can feed them consistently. They are most active during early summer or late spring, and when dealing with them, it’s best to get rid of the entire nest rather than repelling long lines of ants once because they can come back.
A single colony can contain hundreds or thousands of ant members, and they can multiply very quickly, and it can translate into a nightmare if you’re not careful. Fortunately, there are home remedies and professional pest control that can help you with this.
Finding the Nest
Sometimes, in cases where you’re dealing with the carpenter ant types that can do damage to the foundation of the home, you need to get rid of them as soon as possible because they can affect the structural integrity of your property. Finding out where their hiding place is requires some form of detective work, but it would help to know that they really love damp areas.
They can form nests underneath a roof leak or along your plumbing line. Any signs of water damage should be inspected, and after you find one, make sure to spray it with insecticides like deltamethrin or bifenthrin. Fix the leak or replace any damaged wood, and if you can’t find anything, it’s best to call the experts for help.
If you also frequently see them outside, there might be holes in the siding where they can freely crawl in and out. Any damage on the bricks or stucco cracks can be possible hiding places, and after locating them, you need to spray insecticide to kill all of them. If you’ve done your best, but they still persist, here’s an alternative that you might want to know about.
Why Call the Professionals?
Sometimes, home remedies, traps, baits, and poisons are not effective enough. Fortunately, you can get a long-term solution with the help of Hadlow Pest Solutions, LLC, which will help you not only with a single ant problem but with issues in the future as well. With certified experts, you can be sure that they are going to be dedicated to pest control so you can stop the ants from crawling and stealing your food in time. See more about their information from the map below:
Other Options on How to Avoid Ants
- Placing Traps
One of the cheapest ways to prevent ants from going into your home is by buying small traps and plastics. They can be placed on baseboards, doors, windows, and other places, and you can use them to lure these pests as soon as they enter. Since they are attracted to the leftover smells and other food scraps, you can also place them in a trash bag or on countertops so you can prevent them from making trouble. See facts and information about the ants on this website here.
- Borax
Combine corn syrup, honey, and Borax, and place the entire mixture in a piece of cardboard. This should be visible in the home, and the ants are going to go into them because of the smell of the honey, and the Borax will slowly kill them.
Another alternative is leftover coffee grounds because the odor can be a deterrent to ants. You should also find some spices or herbs in the kitchen and place some cayenne pepper or cinnamon along their trails to deter them. Any citrus rind with lemons and oranges can be acidic, and the oil has an active ingredient called D-limonene that can kill them. Mix it with sugar so you can attract them with your bait and see other pest control in this link: https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/six-steps-to-an-ant-free-home/.
- Keep the House Clean
These pests love food with proteins and sweets, and generally, any delectable stuff that they can find is more than enough to make your house inviting. Generally, this will start with only a few scouts that can bring back a few samples for the queen and the others in the colony. When they like it, hundreds of them are going to line up, and they can call it a lucky day when they see and taste sugary liquids.
It’s best to keep the counters, tables, and floor clean from soda, maple, and honey syrup. Any spills should be quickly cleaned up and wiped out after eating. Any damp spots should also be replaced because the carpenter ant species are going to tunnel through the floors and wood that already has water damage on them. Deck structures should also be kept in shape and made up of quality wood to prevent ants from damaging them further.
