Ant Control in Your Home
With warmer weather comes the inevitable influx of uninvited creepy crawlers that most Granite City, IL, homeowners would prefer to never see again, including ants. Now the number one urban pest in the United States according to the University of Illinois, ants can become a big nuisance once they find their way inside the home.
When it comes to ant control, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; keeping them from invading the home is preferable to dealing with an ant infestation. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to prevent ants from gaining a foothold. Let’s review what homeowners do to keep their homes from becoming havens for these pesky little boogers.
Eliminate Food Sources Helps With Ant Removal
Ant colonies send out scouts, which are lone ants whose only mission is to find food for their comrades. Watch for scout ants, and if you see one, be on alert because that number may increase exponentially in just a short while. Eliminate any potential food source for scouts to find by cleaning up dishes timely, vacuuming and sweeping regularly, and wiping down food or beverage residue from surfaces. When storing food, use sealed containers.
Seal Off Entry Points
Don’t make it easy for ants to get in. Think like a scout ant and search out areas where ants might gain entry into your home. Caulking around doors and windows and in any cracks in the home’s foundation can keep ants out and prevent ant problems from escalating.
Create Confusion
Ants leave behind chemical scent trails that their buddies use to find any discovered food sources. If you have waited too long and ants have already become an issue, then removing their scent trails can help to confuse them and keep out additional members of the ant colony. If you can locate where the ants are coming in, create a vinegar and water spray to apply along the ants’ trail, which removes the scent trail and forces them to find a new way in.
If All Else Fails
If removing potential food sources, exclusion and eliminating scent trails doesn’t work, it may be time to reach out to a Granite City, IL, pest control company. These professionals have several remedies for dealing with your ant infestation, including spray-on ant barriers that stave off scout ants and their buddies from the get-go.
