No homeowner wants to be invaded by ants. The only effective approach to ant control is a holistic strategy to prevent an invasion and to get rid of all ants that are presently in your home. If you are looking for ant control tips, it's important to understand how ants function and what attracts them to your home,
Understand the Precursors to an Ant Invasion
Ants are all around us. It doesn’t matter whether you live in a major city or a remote town. Ants are always on the lookout for food and shelter. They will perennially look for anything they can feed on, they will look for provisions so they can stock up for the seasonal extremes when they must hibernate and they would look for safer refuges where they can build their nests.
Homes offer the perfect haven for ants. There’s food for them to feed on and stock up. There’s climate control that protects them from extreme weather. The dark and hard to reach places in a home are perfect for their nests. Those places are also safe for breeding since their eggs would not be targeted by predators. It’s impossible to seal all gaps because ants are so small and can pass through or under gaps we can’t see. Once you understand the needs of ants and why they invade your home, you will be able to take precautionary steps to keep them out.
Ant Control Tips
Keep your entire house clean. You do not need to be impeccable, though it will definitely help. Do not let any dust, dirt, stain or debris to pile up. Make sure all bits and pieces of all types of foods and drinks are cleaned from the carpets, floors, tables, furniture and upholstery. Seal every gap that would serve as an entry point for ants. Caulk windows, vents and the tiniest of holes or cracks all around your home. Do not let any inaccessible area go un-inspected. Inspect the crawlspace, basement, spaces under all your furniture and installations, clean the landscape immediately surrounding your house and do not offer any safe refuge for the ants to build their nests.
There are many organic ant control remedies available today. You can use something as simple as soap and water to get rid of ants you can see. You can use organic sprays or pest control products available at retail stores to kill ants that are hiding inside holes in the walls or floors. However, many of these products will kill ants that you see and deter others elsewhere in your home without solving the problem.
Cleaning areas where ants have been active can also be helpful. This will help eliminate the pheromone trails ants use to communicate to other ants where a food supply is located and then find their way back to the nest. Keep in mind that ants are small and do not require a lot of food. A few small crumbs or water may be all that is needed to attract an ant invasion,
Ant control can be complicated. Once your home has been infested by ants, you cannot be sure if you have killed all of them, if you have got rid of all the nests, if all the eggs have been neutralized, or if you have just pushed them somewhere else. If there are even some of them, they can scout for food and refuge, bring in more ants to strengthen their colony and before you know it, there will be a reinvasion. Keep ants out and do not let them build a nest. Identify the specific weaknesses in your home and remedy them.
When to Call a Professional Exterminator
Professional exterminators such as My Pest Pros® have the experience to know where to look for ants and the experience and products to control them. Many clients turn to a pest control professional because home pest remedies do not work or can even make the problem worse. If you’re tired of dealing with ants and other pests, call My Pest Pros today at 703-665-4455 and We’ll Get Rid of What’s Bugging You!®