You might have noticed that during a particular time of the year you start to see more ants in your house than the whole year. And it is pretty understandable knowing as ants enter a state of dormancy within their colonies as the temperature drops a few degrees. Therefore, they start to become more active to save food during that time, more specifically during spring and summer.
Your home can easily be their chosen residence for the next few weeks if you are not being careful enough. But as we are here, we are going to tell you exactly how to avoid having an infestation at home. Just follow the article to know more:
Follow the scout
According to experts of local ants pest control, one of the first tell-tale of a possible ant infestation is witnessing a line of scout ants. Once you have seen the scout ants, others from their colony will follow soon. The main aim of these scout ants is to locate enough food sources to munch on during their dormancy state. So, you will start to see more ants around the kitchen and anywhere near where the food is. Once you have witnessed such activities you need to take action as soon as you can.
Keep the surface clean
Well, now that we have established the main attraction of ants or any pest for that matter is food, all you have to do is prevent them from getting any. Well, doing so might be difficult for us as it is very likely to the left of a piece or two while we are eating and ants don’t need more than that. In fact, they can survive on a bread crumb for many weeks as they don’t need to feed often. So by keeping the surface always clean along with sealing the spaces where you store food would be a good way to start. Other than that:
Sweep the surface regularly: Make sure that the surface of your kitchen and dining area or anywhere you eat food is properly clean. Along with that take to wipe the surface whenever you spill food or any sweetening drink as one drop is all they would need to gather there.
Clean the dishes: Leaving out dirty dishes overnight or for long hours is one of the ways to provide a food source to the ants. As said before, they can survive on the tiny bits of food; your dirty dishes would be like having a feast of them. The best thing would be to clean the dishes right after using them.
Clean the common surface: Surfaces like counters, oven, basin and other space where rat can get a taste of food is where they will go every time when they can’t find food anywhere else. Any type of sweet and sticky substance will attract them if not cleaned properly.
Store food properly
We are not talking about storing food in the pantry as rats can easily enter that room from beneath the door. We are talking about using sealed or airtight containers. You cannot seal all the gaps in your home, so you better invest in such containers as they cannot gain access there.
Seal the entrance
Even though it’s next to impossible to identify all the entry points from which ants can slip through, there are some common entryways you can surely seal first. The common spaces like the cracks and gaps under the doors, windows, in your walls screen doors, etc should be properly examined by you. You can also follow the scout ant tracks to locate where the ants are coming in from. Get an expert’s assistance to seal all these cracks properly.
Spray ant barrier around
Insecticide or ant barrier can work wonderfully if implemented properly. Application of insecticide around the perimeter of your home will prevent the ant from entering and steer the scout away. There are many well-known products available that can do the job well, so you need to research properly before investing in one.
Call the professionals
It would be better to seek help from the best ant exterminator if the situation is going out of control. You might too late in controlling the colony from entering if you continue to spend time on the home remedies. Even though you might not think of ants as that much of a threat but if you let them infest in your house for longer, they will surely make your life a living hell.
There are too many advantages of calling in an expert as they will not only get rid of the ants but also ensure that they will not come back again. It will save you from a lot of trouble as ants can easily destroy all your food sources completely.