An ant infestation can be one of the most annoying things a homeowner has to deal with. Even though people think of them as harmless, ants do spread bacteria, which is especially dangerous if you have pets and children in the house. Moreover, carpenter ants are known to eat through wooden elements, weakening the structure of the house.

Ant pest control is essential when dealing with an ant problem. However, keep in mind that not all ants are bad. Some of them do more good than harm by living in your yard. They aerate the soil and get rid of pests such as aphids. Hence, it is important to consult an ant exterminator before following any pest control advice.

Identifying Ants In The House

Before you opt for ant pest control, it is important to identify the types of ants in your home. This will help you determine ways to get rid of these ants, along with their nesting habits, and figure out whether they are nesting indoors or outdoors. The best solution to an ant problem is to get rid of the nest. This is especially useful if you have carpenter ants, as you must get rid of them soon before they start to damage your house.

Of course, finding a nest is not easy. Ants breed in damp areas, including framing and flooring that is soft because of a rook leak. You will mostly find ants in those areas that are more prone to water damage. This includes attics, bathrooms, and exterior walls. To look for an ant nest, try to make tiny holes in water-damaged walls. Don’t worry; you are not causing additional harm as you will have to get these walls repaired anyway.

Once you find the ant nest, use a spray that contains an insecticide. The insecticide can be made up of bifenthrin, permethrin, or deltamethrin. Once done, repair the water leak and replace the wood that has been damaged.

To identify an ant, simply snap a picture and send it to your local exterminator. The team of professionals will help you identify the ant you are dealing with and the best way to figure out its nesting area. You may also receive some advice on how to get rid of the ant colony, along with information about the ant species.

How to Get Rid of Ants

When you find an ant, you may want to step on it and kill it instantly. However, before you do that, remember; there may be hundreds of other ants crawling up and down your house.

The ant you probably found scurrying away is a scout ant looking for food to take back to its colony. The best part is that you can use these scouts to wipe out the whole colony of ants. Here are some ways to get rid of ants:

1.    Use Bait to Say Goodbye to Ants

You may be super tempted to use ant sprays, but it is important to resist that temptation. Sprays may get rid of visible ants for a short time, but you will always find more ants coming back the next day. To treat an infestation, the trick is to pre-bait areas you usually find ants. As the year progresses, ants’ tastes change. In spring, they feed on protein and sweets, while in the summer, they enjoy oily/fatty foods.

If you want to attract ants to a certain spot, all you need to do is bait them. Put out some sugar, honey, fried food, Nutella, or peanut butter, and see how ants start to appear. Then try to figure out where they are coming from.

Once you understand what food attracts the most ants, look for specific toxic ant solutions that are known to get rid of these pests. For example, some toxic bait packages include labels like “gets rid of sweet and grease-eating ants.’ You can easily find these at the local store or on Amazon. Make sure that these will do minimal damage to pets and humans.

2.    Get Rid of Ant Trails

If you’ve found a couple of ants nibbling on the crumbs from a night before, you are bound to find other ants eventually. This is because when one ant finds a scented trail, it leaves a chemical path for others to follow and come back for more food. You can mope and sweep as much as you want, but this will not help get rid of the smell that attracts ants.

If you are looking for a safe way to get rid of these ants without harming furniture, children, and pets, you can simply take a spray bottle and fill it up with three parts of water. Add in one part of vinegar and mix up the solution. Use this solution on spots where you usually see ants.

What this solution does is that it stops outdoor nesting ants from entering the house. However, if ants are already nesting inside the house, you will need to call up an exterminator, as you may have an ant infestation that must be dealt with as soon as possible.

3.    Get Rid of Ant Colonies

Once you have set out bait, you will soon see loads of ants scurrying towards it. However, this is a good thing. Your attempt to lure them out from their hiding spot was successful! As more and more ants take the toxic bait, they will find their way back to the colony to share it with the other ants. This includes the queen. If you want to wipe out an ant colony, the best thing to do is to target the queen. Killing the queen will help you get rid of the thousands of ants that you may not currently see.

The best way to get rid of ants that prey on sweet things is to use liquid bait. Even though some ants like solid bait. Start out with using a liquid bait for two weeks, and then move to a solid bait. If this doesn’t work, call up your local exterminator to help you locate) the nest.

As you work to get rid of ants in your home and opt for different ant pest control methods, remember to be patient. Always consult an exterminator so that you can get rid of the ant infestation once and for all. Give Ace Pest Protection a call today, and together, we can figure out the best ant pest control possible to rid your home of these pests forever.