Squash Pest Control - Ant Control
Ant Control
Do you suspect your home might be run over by ants? Well, the first thing to do is call an exterminator. We’re actually not exaggerating. Unfortunately, as with most insect infestations, the longer you wait, the worse the spread will become. So here’s a page on everything you need to know about an ant infestation. Find out how to identify them, what dangers they pose, and most importantly, how to get rid of ants.
What are the signs of an ant infestation?
The first and most obvious sign of an ant infestation is… an ant. While seeing a singular ant in your home might not be cause for worry, multiple live ants in a short amount of time, or over a closed surface can be signs of an ant infestation.
Even a single ant, in areas where it shouldn’t be, can be a scout from a larger ant colony, searching for a new food source. And when an ant colony identifies a new food source, it’s unlikely to leave on its own.
Depending on the particular type of ants your home has attracted, you might find wood shavings (for carpenter ants, for instance), from their active digging into the walls and wooden structures of your home. Obviously, ants building a colony inside your walls shouldn’t be your idea of a good time, and you should act immediately.
Are ants dangerous?
On their own, ants aren’t a direct threat to your wellbeing and are mostly harmless. However, as an ant invasion grows, it will destroy the structures inside your home, and pose a serious collapse risk. Not only that, but ants can also trigger potent allergies, and spread various unpleasant bacteria. This is why experts recommend swift extermination of the problem.
What attracts ants?
As stated, ants are just looking for a readily-available food source. Your home doesn’t need to be obviously dirty to attract ants, though, since even a few errant crumbs are enough to constitute a hefty meal for an ant. This is why areas like kitchens are big attraction points for ant invasions. Alternatively, the ants will also look for an open-source of water, which is why bathrooms have also often been known to attract the ant colonies.
Obviously, a good first step would be to maintain cleanliness in your home, so as to minimize the potential attraction for ants.
How to get rid of ants:
If, however, ants are already in your home, the best thing to do would be to call an exterminator. At Squash Pest Control, we specialize in the swift and efficient removal of ants, as well as a host of other pesky insects. We’re based in Pierce County, WA, and so if your local home has been run over by ants, we suggest you call us for a FREE QUOTE today at 253-260-4680.
We will examine the premises, to determine the spread of the ant colony, and use that to determine the best possible approach. We will make an ant removal plan, based on your particular circumstances, and then put it into action.
Our pest control experts will choose from a varied selection of ant extermination methods, such as:
- Ant traps are by far the most common, and highly efficient ant removal method. These can come in the form of gels, pellets, or ant baiting stations.
- Repellent dust is for ants that are resistant to ant trapping. In this case, our pest removal expert will follow the ant trail back to the colony and proceed to treat the colony directly, using special repellent dust. Be warned that if the ant colony has formed inside your wall, our pest control team might have to drill small holes into the wall to gain direct access to the colony.
The ant extermination method chosen will depend on your particular circumstances. Personally, we wouldn’t recommend attempting DIY ant removal, as it can be inefficient, especially if there is a large spread, or if the ants are living inside your walls (where you have little to no control).
Instead, call us at Squash Pest Control today. The longer you allow an ant infestation to spread, the worse the damage you’ll be left with.
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.