How to Prevent Ants?

Ants are a very insidious home intruder, in the sense that, thanks to their reduced size, they’re difficult to spot. Not only that, but ants are generally pretty harmless, so seeing one isn’t a major cause for concern, for most people. Unlike other pests, such as cockroaches, ants don’t instinctively turn our stomachs, so taking action about an ant invasion may come too late.

Why?

While ants are harmless, they can act as disease carriers and expose you to various bacteria. Not only that, but the presence of ants on your property may also attract other, more serious critters. Spiders, roaches, snakes, birds, and small mammals all feast on ants. So simply having a colony inside your home may be enough to signal to other critters that your home is quite desirable.

So what can you do to prevent ants?

First, be aware.

Ants will never move in all at once because that could prove disastrous to the colony. Instead, they send strategic scout ants to check out a potential home beforehand. While seeing a solitary ant around your home may not be cause enough to panic, it’s smart to stay vigilant. If you’ve detected unusual ant activity around your property, even if it doesn’t look like a full-on invasion just yet, it might be smart to act.

Keep it clean.

One of the ways in which we often get tricked into thinking our home isn’t a pest target is that most of us think our homes are pretty clean. If there isn’t obvious filth, then why would ants be attracted to our homes, in the first place?

The thing is, insects have a different concept of filth than we do, and what to the human eye appears a clean home, might actually appear ideal to insects. So in order to prevent ant invasions, make sure you keep surfaces clean. Scrub them down regularly, particularly dining tables and kitchen countertops, as these are the most likely to attract ants.

Make sure you wash your dishes after a meal, rather than letting them sit in the sink for hours, as the food remnants on those are quite likely to attract ants. Last but not least, clean the floors, sweep, and vacuum the carpets, to ensure you’ve removed crumbs, or other potential attractors.

Hire a professional pest removal service.

It might seem like overkill, if you’re not dealing with an active ant invasion, but hiring a professional pest removal service ahead of time may prove to be a smart move. Why? Because the pest removal pro will be able to spot a lot of warning signs preceding an ant invasion that you will most likely miss. They’ll be able to advise you on the best ant prevention methods, as well as show you how to fix some causes for concern on your property.

Not only that, but sometimes, pest invasions may be located somewhere on the property where you might not notice them, such as underneath, in a basement, attic, or remote part of your shed. Pest control companies will be able to discover them, before the invasion has had time to spread to the rest of your house.

Look for potential entry points.

Ants may be quite sneaky, but even they will need a place to enter your home. Since the invaders we’re looking at are quite small, they don’t need a lot. So be on the lookout for small gaps or cracks in the walls, foundation, or window structures, as these may be enough space for ants to creep through.

Once you’ve identified a potential entry point, you’ll want to seal it promptly, or even replace it (if it’s a roof shingle, door, etc), to block their entry.

Step up your food storage game.

Another common attraction point for ants has improperly stored food, as this provides them with easy treats. When storing ingredients, leftovers, or other food products, we urge that you opt for airtight, sealable containers. 

Try DIY removal methods.

There are lots of potential DIY ant removal methods, like boric acid, Borax, or baking soda, which may be used to poison and deter the ant invasion. However, bear in mind that these may have a limited efficiency.