Ants, unfortunately, are one of the most prevalent and most challenging pests to eradicate from your home. On the other hand, a colony of ants may do a lot of damage. While some ants are just an annoyance, others can contaminate your food or even cause painful bites.
As soon as the weather warms up, especially after a hot wet day, ants decide that staying indoors is a smart idea. Fortunately, there are many simple and efficient ways to keep ants out of your home.
It’s critical to understand what kind of ants you have in your home. So be sure to figure out what type of ant you have.
Carpenter ants
Carpenter ants have dark brown or black bodies and are one of the most prevalent ants. Carpenter ants are the ones to be concerned about since they can penetrate the house’s structural timbers and cause damage. They prefer to build their nests in softwood that is deteriorating due to moisture; therefore, if you can locate the nest, the most effective technique is to remove the wood in which they are nesting.
Pharaoh ants
The abdomen of Pharaoh ants is red and black with a bright yellow body. They will build their nests in well-protected and hidden spots inside a structure, but in warmer climes, they can also make their nests outside in lawns or gardens. The food service sector is frequently infested.
Ants that set fire to things
Fire ants are omnivores, which means they eat both animal and plant matter. Fire ants are sensitive to vibration or movement and will sting if they are attached to shifts. Because fire ants can pose a threat to humans and pets, it’s a good idea to get professional advice on managing them.
Here are several techniques to get rid of ants in your home and avoid an ant infestation:
Keep your home tidy
Sweeping the floor, wiping the worktops, and vacuuming around the house daily will keep ants at bay. Ants are attracted to leftover food and dirty dishes left around the house. Cleaning regularly will make it more difficult for them to find what they’re looking for (food & water sources). Ensure that trash cans are removed and replaced regularly.
Food should be kept in airtight containers
To store your food, use airtight containers or jars. By restricting access to food supplies, ants will be unable to get access, and any other pests looking for a food source at the same time will be repelled. Put away any pet food left out so that ants can’t access it.
Moisture
Any water spills should be cleaned up right away. Ants come into your home not only for food but also for water. Make sure to clean up any water spills or address any pipe leaks you may have around your house.
Points of the entrance should be sealed
Damaged or missing window or door screens, gaps or holes in flooring, around baseboards, doors, windows, broken or missing vents, and around plumbing are all ant access locations that should be sealed and repaired. Caulk the crevices around door frames and windows where the ants are getting in. Inspect your property from the inside as well as the outside.
Chalk contains calcium carbonate, which helps keep ants at bay. Spray powdered chalk in the regions where ants enter or draw a chalk line across the entrance.
peppercorns
The smell of black or red (cayenne) pepper irritates the insects, making it a natural deterrent. You can also make a pepper-water solution and squirt it around the entry regions. The pepper wouldn’t kill the ants, but it would keep them away from your home.
Salt causes ants to dry out, which is especially true if they bring it back to their colony. Salt can be placed around windows and doors and along the inside walls of your home. Although the salt will not kill the ants, they will avoid it.
a pot of boiling water
Pour boiling water into ant holes near your home to kill many ants inside quickly and effectively. On the other hand, the boiling water will not be enough to wipe out the entire colony. Anthills may appear minor, yet beneath them lie massive ant colonies.
vinegar (white)
Killing and repelling ants with white vinegar is a cheap and effective method. It also acts as a natural cleaner. Apply 1 part vinegar to 1 part water to any areas where ants are crawling. Their pheromone trails will be disrupted, making it more difficult for them to return to the water/food source.
Remove all ant trails
If you see one ant, there are almost certainly several more around. Ants leave a fragrant trail that other ants follow. Sweeping or mopping won’t be enough to get rid of the odors. In a spray bottle, combine 1 part vinegar with 3 parts water and spray anywhere you’ve seen ants before. This will keep outdoor nesting ants out of the house while they forage for food, but it will not keep indoor nesting ants out.
Determine the Most Effective Ant Baits: The ants you observe are scout ants on the lookout for food to bring back to the colony. Use these spies to eradicate the colony as a whole—place bait in areas where you’ve seen them before. Ants’ preferences shift throughout the year. In the spring, they choose a protein, but they favor sweets or fatty/oily foods in the summer. Set out sugar or honey, fried food, and peanut butter to see which foods they like. To mix with toxic bait, use whatever meal they choose.
Boric acid
Boric acid is an effective ingredient in ant bait since it is a slow-acting toxin. When it’s mixed with delectable food, worker ants eat it and bring it back to the ant colony to share, killing many ants at once. Wear protective gloves and keep them out of reach of youngsters and dogs.
Combine 1/2 teaspoon boric acid, 8 teaspoons sugar, and 1 cup warm water to make a solution. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Soak cotton balls in water and place them around your home in areas where ants are common. Containers should be washed thoroughly after use or discarded.
Borax
Combine Borax and sugar in a small amount of water to produce a solution, then apply the key to the areas of the house where you have noticed ants.
The sugar will attract ants looking for food, while the Borax will serve as an abrasive, scratching the ants and causing thirst and death. Ants, like boric acid, will carry the solution back to their nest, where it will kill them.
Contact a pest control company
It can be challenging to keep an ant invasion under control on your own. B2B Pest Control has been trained to locate ant nests within your home’s walls. We can help you get rid of ant infestations and keep them from coming back.
