What Can Pest Control Do About Ants? 

Getting rid of ants isn’t as simple as it sounds. They can be very industrious and can enter your home through cracks or crevices where they aren’t usually allowed to go. Once inside, ants can quickly find food sources and create new nests. This is especially true in the late spring and early summer when they’re making nuptial flights for their queens. 

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Fortunately, pest control can help you keep your home free of ants and prevent them from entering your space. These methods include inspecting your home for tell-tale signs of ant activity, using effective baits, and making sure that any entry points are sealed. 

Inspection 

To identify ants, check for tell-tale signs like the presence of a hive, the absence of food, and the existence of ant trails. You’ll also want to search for the entrance to an ant nest and any other potential nesting sites, such as soil, grass, or rotten wood. 

Wipe down counters, sweep floors, and clean up spills to reduce potential and food sources and make baits more effective. Vacuum daily to remove small bits of crumbs, including those you can’t see that might attract ants. 

Seal any possible entry points with a caulk or foaming spray to prevent ants from coming into your home. This can be done around window and door thresholds, in attic spaces, or under cabinets, baseboards, and other areas that aren’t normally a concern. 

Use a non-repellent aerosol such as Fipro Foaming Aerosol to treat any cracks and crevices where ants are likely to emerge from. These non-repellent aerosols don’t deter ants, but instead disrupt their trailing patterns and prevent them from returning to that site again in the future. 

Baits 

If your ant problem is in a location that you can’t effectively treat, a professional exterminator can provide baits that are designed to be taken back to the colony by the ants for re-feeding. This method of treatment is more labor-intensive than spraying, but the results are much more significant since the bait ants take back to their colony can eliminate up to 100 ants in one feeding! 

Baits for ants are specially formulated to satisfy the variety of ant cravings. Some ants may ignore them and try to eat other kinds of foods, while others will eat only the bait, even if it’s not their favorite. If you suspect this is the case, switch to another brand of ant bait until you find the one that the ants are accepting. 

Piperonyl Butoxide 

A common addition to many poisons, this substance makes the pesticide more effective by inhibiting ants’ metabolism. The more this ingredient is added to a pesticide, the faster it will kill the ants. 

While this chemical is typically found in many pesticides, it’s still a good idea to ask your pest control operator which pesticides they’ll be using prior to their arrival so that you can be sure to avoid any unnecessary exposure. 

If you’re having trouble controlling your ant problem, contact Terminix to schedule a free, in-home consultation. Our trained specialists can inspect your property and determine which ant species you have, what their behavior is, and how to best deal with the situation. We’ll then customize a plan to eliminate your ant infestation.