More than meets the eye!

Have you ever walked into your kitchen or bathroom and seen a little line of ants marching alone, and wondered, “how did they get in here?” If so, you are not alone. While an isolated appearance of ants may not be a huge pest control problem, they do indicate that ants have a way of getting into your house. Once some ants figure it out, it is just a matter of time before a few little ants turn into a much bigger problem. Killing the ants may solve your small problem, but does not help you prevent the bigger one.

Identify the entry points

The key to understanding how ants got into your house in the first place is to think about their size. Ants are tiny and they travel in cracks and crevices, which means it is almost impossible to completely ant-proof your home. However, they do tend to like certain pathways. For example, ants often use water lines, electricity lines, and appliance connections like air conditioning lines to come into your home. Securing any gaps around those entry points can reduce the likelihood of an ant invasion. Another way to reduce your risk is to ensure that all screens are in good repair, all doors and windows have good weather-stripping, and that you have filled any visible chinks or cracks in your exterior. If you have trees or bushes touching your home, trim them back. Ants use these limbs as bridges to get onto your house, and once ants get onto your home, it is easier for them to get inside of it.

Just like other pests, ants need a water source to survive. If you think you have ants invading your home, check for sources of moisture. Ants are drawn to leaking water pipes, standing water on roofs, and even puddles near gutters and downspouts. Ants also like food, so make sure you have removed any food particles in the kitchen or any other place you eat. You may want to confine food consumption to particular rooms, especially if you have kids in the household, to make it easier to clean after eating. This cleaning serves two purposes; ants use scent trails to find food, so removing the crumbs is not enough to keep them from coming back to search for food.

Going after the colony

Keep in mind that ants are colony animals. This means that the ants you see are only a very small fraction of the ants in an area, and getting rid of them will rarely solve your ant problem. Instead, you need a targeted insecticide that will kill the whole colony. Need help eradicating your ant solution or what an experienced opinion about what exclusion steps you should take to prevent an ant infestation? Contact Flick Pest Control to help