Discovering that you have an ant problem in your kitchen, bathroom, or anywhere else in your house can be an immensely frustrating experience. Even a few ants wandering around in your home could be a sign of a much larger infestation, so cleaning up those few pests here and there may not be enough to solve the problem in the long run.
Ready Pest Control’s highly trained and experienced exterminators can help eliminate your ant infestation and protect your home from future pest invasions. That said, there is also a lot that homeowners can do to make their homes less hospitable for ants and pests in general.
Like any animal, ants want three main things out of a place they choose to live: food, water, and shelter from the elements. With that in mind, the main reason ant infestations happen inside private residences is that these pests have snuck in and found all three of those living conditions inside.
Ants eat all kinds of things, but most species are attracted to the same foods that humans eat—keeping kitchen counters and floors clean and storing food securely can be vital to keeping ants away. Likewise, leaky pipes and moisture buildup can provide water for ants—addressing plumbing problems and replacing the water in outdoor water features like bird baths can also prove vital in preventing ant problems.
Most importantly, you must ensure ants do not have an easy route into your home. Consider sealing up any cracks and holes in window frames, baseboards, shingles, or anywhere else that might provide a path from your house’s exterior to its interior. This can sometimes be a DIY project with caulk or expanding foam, but seeking help from professional exterminators is usually the most effective way to ensure that every possible entry point is closed up.
Different types of ants may leave various signs of their presence, but you can often tell where ants are nesting inside your home by following the trail they leave behind. Ants will almost always travel to and from one location, and if you can find that location, you can usually find their nest.
Once you know where ants are living inside your home, it may be possible to deal with the problem using store-bought sprays and repellants. Most often, though, this will only partially address your ant problem and may even cause unwanted damage to your property. Even worse, some store-bought repellants contain hazardous chemicals that could cause harm to those inside your home. The safest and most efficient solution is to contact a pest control professional who can identify the species of ant you are dealing with and address the infestation appropriately.
If you have tried to get rid of ants on your own without success, qualified assistance is available. Ready Pest Control can help determine the exact source of your infestation, eliminate it quickly and effectively, and take preventative measures to lessen your risk of future infestations. Call our team today to learn more.
