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Keep ants out with these tips in Glen Carbon, IL

There’s nothing that ruins a good day faster than realizing you are sharing your home (and food!) with thousands of tiny soldiers. And while it is easy for homeowners in Glen Carbon, IL to easily attract house ants, carpenter ants or even fire ants, ant removal can be much more difficult. Once established, an ant colony can thrive for years in one spot. Make sure you take these tips into account when it comes to ants in your home, or contact a local professional to ensure the job gets done right!

All-natural treatments to keep ants out of your home

There are many all-natural methods for keeping ants out of your home. Ants leave a scent trail for their comrades to follow when they find food or any type of sugary substance, so one way to keep ants from invading your house is to keep food and sweets from falling on the floor. If you have kids or messy spouses, this might not be feasible. In this case, you can focus on repelling the ants by messing with their ability to communicate.

Ants do not like the strong aroma of coffee beans, chili powder or cinnamon because they disrupt the pheromone trail that ants use to signal other ants to follow them to food. If you want to keep ants from entering windows or door cracks, spray a vinegar/water mixture or spread baking powder, baby powder or flour along the boundaries. Ants will avoid traveling through the powdery substance.

Common ants and solutions for prevention

The three most common ants found in the Glen Carbon, IL area are the

• Pavement Ant
• Odorous House Ant
• Carpenter Ant

While preventing their interest in your home altogether is preferable, even your best effort at keeping your home clean can fall short. Natural remedies may work to repel ants that are simply looking for food, but carpenter ants don’t just want food, they want your wood, too. In cases like this it is important to remove the problem altogether. Sprays can kill the ants that are currently in your home, but what of the thousands that remain only a short distance away in the colony? And what about the queen, whose only function is to continue to create new pests to aggravate you.

To rid your home of trouble ants, you may need to pass the baton to a professional pest company like Imel Pest Control. They have been dealing with the toughest infestations since 1967.