Get Rid of Those Ants with These Simple Tips
Ants at a picnic can be a nuisance, but when they invade your and home, they can do a great deal of damage. Depending on the size and frequency of the infestation, you may be at your wit’s end as these tiny pests raid your pantry and take over your backyard. Don’t worry – there are plenty of ways for you to rid your property of ants. Here are the top tips for taking care of ants and their colonies for good.
Before you Start
While ants may seem too small to be an issue, they are not solitary creatures. Where there’s one ant, there are many. An ant invasion can eat you out of the house and home – quite literally. The most common ants found in Pennsylvania include carpenter ants, odorous house ants, and pavement ants. These pests can wreak havoc on your home and even cause structural damage. Additionally, should you find your home invaded by fire ants, you may suffer physical harm.
Be careful to identify the type of infestation you have before acting, since some ants, like carpenter ants or fire ants, should be dealt with as soon as possible. Another thing to keep in mind before dealing with these pests is whether you plan to use pesticides or chemicals. Keep in mind how your actions may affect your home. These treatments can be dangerous to children and pets, and they may kill other insects or creatures that are essential to the ecosystem. With that in mind, here are the top seven tips to get rid of ants from your house and yard.
1. Keep the Inside Clean
An easy way to discourage ants from coming into your home is by getting rid of what attracts them. Ants are always on the look-out for a comfortable place with easy access to food and water. Keep them out by taking care of your living space. Regularly clean your cabinets and seal food away in airtight containers. When you finish cooking or serving a meal, clean up any dishes and leftover food. Put away any attractors! This includes any pet food. Be sure to store it in a sealed container. It’s also a good idea to keep food in one room to discourage infestation in any other part of your home.
In addition to keeping your kitchen and dining areas clean, it’s essential to keep other areas clean as well. Try to keep your garbage in a sealed container and empty it often. Eliminate any possible water sources like dripping pipes, pet water bowls, or even wet towels. Any of these could be an ant magnet. Vacuum often and make your home ‘unappealing’ to avoid an ant infestation.
2. Seal Any Entry Points
The best way to stop an ant invasion is by not letting them inside in the first place. Routinely check your windows, doors, and walls for any cracks. Ants don’t need too much space to wiggle through. If you do spot ants in your home, try to find and monitor where they are coming from. Keep in mind what is kept there. Try removing any attractors and seal up any entry points. Regular home maintenance should do the trick for keeping any unwanted visitors, in addition to ants, out.
3. Keep Your Property Clean
If you want to keep ants out of your home, you might not want them infesting your yard either. They can be just as destructive if they inhabit any trees or structures on your property. A way to keep their numbers low is by keeping your yard clean.
Remove any possible food or water sources, like puddles, clogged gutters, or open trash bins. Also, remove any overgrown areas on your property; overgrowth is not only the perfect place for ant nests but many other unwanted and dangerous pests as well. Trim bushes and cut the grass regularly. Also, if possible, reduce moisture retention – don’t overwater your plants or yard. This will discourage ant colonies and other pests from building their homes on your property.
4. Diatomaceous Earth
If you do find that you have an infestation, a natural solution is a diatomaceous earth. It is a soft, sedimentary deposit formed from the fossil remains of diatoms. When placed around entry areas or near colonies, this natural substance acts as a natural pesticide. It dehydrates insects to the point of death. Also, it doesn’t have any known effects on animals and children.
5. Soapy Water
An easy and quick solution to ants can be found in your kitchen. It’s as simple as putting soap in water – because it is. Fill a water bottle with a dish soap concoction and spray those invaders. Soapy water acts as a natural insecticide – in fact, you can take a bucket of soapy water and pour it on anthills in your yard. While this will immediately kill any ants, and a few other insects, if you want to spray them, you must lure them out for this method to be effective.
6. Baits and Sprays
If you’re going to go the chemical route, you can try ant baits or sprays to handle your ant problem. The key to this method is strategically placing bait, traps, or spraying where ants frequent. It’s a better idea to use baits and traps near sinks, by the stove, or kitchen countertops. Sprays are best utilized on door frames, windows, and other entrance areas. Whether you use sprays or baits should be dependent on if your ants have already established themselves in your home or are just finding their way in.
7. Professional Help
Depending on the size and situation, it may be a good idea to seek professional help. If you’ve tried to get rid of ants on your own and they keep coming, the problem may run deeper than you think. Also, if you have pets or children, it might be too risky to handle chemicals or have them around your home. The proper chemicals can harm adults as well. Also, if you have carpenter or fire ants, the problem is no longer ants in the pantry – it could mean severe structural damage and possible harm to your family. Take the time to consider the severity of your ant problem before acting.
Keeping Ants Out
Take a stand against ants today. Whether you’ve just spotted a tiny black ant in your kitchen or you’ve found a colony in your back yard, these tips should provide the help you need to get rid of them for good. Every pest problem is unique, so consider what will work best for your home and family. Use these tips and rid your property of ants for good.
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