Ant Extermination Tips For Keeping The Pests Out Of Your Home
Posted on: 29 November 2022
Ants can be a nuisance since they are so tiny that it's easy for them to get indoors. When they find something to eat, the ants can invade in large numbers and keep a steady stream of new ants marching in and out. Since ants are usually everywhere outdoors, you'll probably always have a few ants wandering around and entering your home searching for food.
Ant extermination might involve killing the ant colony outside and discouraging ants from coming indoors. Here's how to accomplish these goals.
Study Ant Trails That Enter Your Home
One helpful ant trait is the ants tend to march in lines. This allows you to follow their trail to their entry point. If you don't lose sight of the ants when they reach the grass outside, you might even find the source of the infestation when the ants lead you to their colony.
When you know where ants are coming into your home, you can plug the entry point with caulk. It's also a good idea to plug other holes you find so ants can't find an easy alternative way to get indoors. When you know where their colony is, you might talk to an exterminator about the best way to deal with it. Options are to use liquid ant killer on the mound or let the ants pick up poison bait to carry back to the nest.
Don't Leave Food Sitting Out
Ants are out scouting for food all day. When a scout finds a nice plate of dog food or a tasty pie on the counter, they'll put down a scent trail that attracts other ants to get the food and carry it back outside to their nest. If you're diligent about keeping food in airtight containers or inside the refrigerator, the scout ants may wander back outside and look for food elsewhere.
Pet food can pose a challenging problem since your pet needs to have food out to munch on. Consider training your dog to eat wet food at a certain time so you can pick the plate up right afterward. You can also buy ant-proof bowls for dry food so ants can't get inside and ruin the food, and so ants will give up and leave if they can't get to the source of the food odors.
Work With A Professional
If you're tired of seeing ants in your home every day, and your DIY treatments aren't slowing them down, call a pest control company for help. You can discuss ant extermination options with a professional. They can inspect your property, identify the type of ants you have, and suggest a solution for treatment. They might use liquid perimeter treatments or ant-killing treatments on the mound outdoors.
Indoors, they might use powder or bait. Sealing up entry holes along the foundation and walls of your home might also be an important part of their plan to keep ants out of your house.
To learn more, contact an ant extermination service in your area.
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