What To Do About An Ant Infestation In Your Home

An ant infestation can be frustrating. First, the ants can crawl all over your food and contaminate it. They can also be very destructive over time and may significantly impact the overall structural integrity of your home. Therefore, understanding what causes an infestation can help you avoid and resolve an existing ant problem. Here is everything you need to know about dealing with these pests.

Make Food Unavailable to Them

Ants consume a wide variety of foods. Therefore, they will often look for food sources in your home. And once they locate these food sources, they can attract other colonies using pheromones. If this happens over time, your home will have an extensive ant infestation problem. Some of the notable food sources that can attract these ants include sugar, baked products, fat, and fruit juices. Therefore, be keen to store such products carefully and remember to cover food in your kitchen. In addition, you can minimize the chances of an infestation by controlling the amount of food waste in your home. Therefore, remember to take out your garbage bins on time.

Close Off all the Routes That They Use to Access Your Home

Generally, ants will squeeze through the tiniest openings to get into your home. Therefore, the quickest and most effective way to get rid of an ant infestation, especially if caused by carpenter ants, is to find all the access points and block them off. You can follow the track to figure out their origin. Caulking around the entry points and weather strips on your doors or windows can also help keep the ants out. However, you can always contact the professionals if you need help sealing all the entry points.

Eliminate Their Source of Water

Like food, ants can also be attracted to water sources. Because of this, it is crucial to remove any standing water to discourage their infestation. You can start by properly covering drinks and other wet food sources or storing them out of sight. It would also help if you repaired faulty gutters and downspouts to prevent leaks that may be the ideal water source for the ants. A dry environment will often drive them to other water sources, away from your home.

The ideal way to deal with an ant infestation is to hire a pest control expert. They have the right equipment and expertise to locate, eliminate and prevent a recurrence of the problem.

For more information about pest control in your home, contact a local pest control company.