Homeowner’s Guide To Getting Rid Of Ants

As things begin to warm up, ants are going to become more active. It happens every year. But you don’t have to let them make themselves at home. Here is a quick guide to help you keep those ants from invading. And, how to reduce their numbers in your yard.

Active Ants

All ants are looking for food, even carpenter ants. They can find food in or around your home. Your goal should be to hide the food and give them no reason to come inside. Here is how it works. Ants don’t eat whole food. They are designed to gather what they need to eat and bring it back to their nest piece by piece. When a scout ant finds food it takes a piece and brings it back to the nest, leaving a scent trail as it goes. When a second scout ant smells the scent the first ant left behind, it stops its random search pattern and goes to the food. If it finds food, it will take a piece and bring it back to the nest, following the same scent trail. This reinforces the scent and makes other ants more inclined to follow it to the food. This continues until the food is gone. When there is no food, the ants stop leaving the scent and go back to their random search pattern. If you’re looking to deter ants, this bit of information can help you. Here is what you need to do.

• If you see a trail of ants, you know there has to be a food source. Find it and dispose of it.
• If you see a trail of ants, you know they are traveling to and from their nest. This is the perfect time to figure out where they are coming in. Go outside and look at your exterior walls and basement walls. If you find where they are coming in, seal it up. Make sure to seal the hole on the inside as well.

No Active Ants

If ants aren’t actively coming into your home, there are a few things you can do that will generally deter them.

• Put pantry items into sealed containers. This keeps the smells in and the ants out.
• Clean your shelves and floors.
• Use a caulking gun to seal your exterior walls, and a liquid concrete repair kit to get smaller cracks in your basement walls.

Ants are always encroaching. To win the battle, it is always best to get a professional involved. At Terminix Wil-Kil Pest Control, we have complete home pest control solutions that will protect your food, home and family from ants and other pests that may try to sneak in. Find out how sweet life can be with year-round home pest service. In the fight against ants, it is totally worth it.

Contact Terminix Wil-Kil for more information.