Ants are a very invasive insect and will quickly bring all their friends if they think there is a party that they can all attend.
I’ve highlighted a few techniques to remove these pesky insects from your home. Please keep in mind these are not one hundred percent effective and thorough pest control can only be handled by a professional.
Controlling Ants in Your House
The best offense is a good defense. The single most effective way of keeping your home ant-free is to keep it clean. “Clean” means keeping dirty dishes out of the sink for prolonged periods of time, periodically washing down counter tops with bleach solution and vacuuming regularly.
Another very effective way of making your home pest-free is to stop them before they enter. Sealing up visible cracks in your facade, base boards, or any exterior walls with caulk drastically reduces the likelihood of waking up one day and seeing millions of brand new live-in neighbors.
Oust the ants:
If you were not quick or thorough enough to block the ants’ entry, fear not, there are a myriad of techniques that you can use to evict your new tenants.
If you see lone ants wandering about your residence, SQUISH THEM! These lone rangers are scouts sent out from the mother ship to report back on their findings. If they never get back to their home, your home will remain a secret.
However, these scouts can be tricky and bring back their hard earned information to the colony. Soon after, you may start to see a long caravan of six legged critters meandering over your kitchen floor. One way to cut move-in day short for the ants is to wipe them up with a nice soapy sponge and send them down the drain. This method is safe for both children and pets, is easily repeatable, and most importantly removes the scent trail that ants use to navigate. Another method is to whip out the hoover, and vacuum up any visible ants. Keep in mind that talcum powder is a natural and repellent, so sucking up a bit with your vacuum after the ants is highly recommended. It may also be prudent to sprinkle a bit of talcum powder in your garbage after removing the bag from the vacuum.
Take the fight to the ants:
For those who feel like the ants just will not leave you alone, sometimes the best offense is a good offense. I know this contradicts the first sentence of this article, but eradicating a problem at it’s source is an almost fool-proof way to get rid of said problem. Two of my favorite, most cost effective methods are strikingly simple. When the problem colony is located, I recommend digging down a few inches into the soil. This will expose the colony and provide a nice funnel for the next step. Once this is done, scald them. Pour boiling water into your soil funnel. This will eradicate any ants that come in contact with the boiling water.
If all else fails, kill the queen. Let our pest control pros find your colony and deal with the problem at its source. Without the queen, the colony will eventually fail. While this is not an easy task, it is the most certainly effective.
Please keep in mind that this list of techniques is by no means exhaustive. Completely thorough pest control service can really only be managed by professionals. Contact Fischer’s Pest Control at 702-815-7894!