A sure sign that summer is coming is the increased appearance of ants. Maybe you see them out on the sidewalk, or possibly in your garden, maybe a couple out on the porch, these are all fine. But the ones that get into the house, those can cause real damage.
Ants, one or two is no trouble but they never come as just singles. They are all members of colonies, if you see one, it is likely the whole colony will invade. These ants will invade your food, they could invade your walls and they get all over everything. They are clearly uninvited guests.
Protecting your home from an ant invasion takes proper know how and proactive measures, and sometimes those are just not enough. Some measures you can take include
Preventive Measures
- Caulk All Small Holes and Cracks-This is good advice for all pest invasions. Find the cracks and potential entries for ants.
- Eliminate Standing Water-Pests love water, being extra careful to check under the sink leaks, and left out to soak pans, can help prevent ants from choosing to take up residence in your place.
- Seal All Containers of Food-Ants love food, especially foods high in protein or sugar. This means that you need to seal all containers of food and clean up spills quickly and completely. Ants also love pet food, so keeping that sealed when your pets are not eating is essential as well.
Many people swear by home remedies for ant prevention. The success of these methods is only anecdotal and is nowhere near as effective as a professional extermination service. Some home methods include
- Vinegar-Using a mix of water and white vinegar, wipe down the areas where you find ants. The theory is that ants hate the smell of vinegar, the downside is humans don’t find the smell very pleasing either.
- Cinnamon-A much more pleasant smell for humans is cinnamon. Ants are said to hate the smell of cinnamon and will not go across areas where it is spread. This means having cinnamon around your house in the areas where ants may enter.
- Borax and sugar water-Some remedies call for a mixture of Borax and sugar water, turning it into a paste, the story is this works like ant traps. The ant takes the poison back and eventually it kills the colony. The problem is, this is unsafe, if you have pets or children who might also eat the mixture.
None of these home remedies is proven and most only work on outside ants. The most dangerous of the ants lives inside your walls, the carpenter ant. Carpenter ants chew and discard wood, burrowing their holes and making their colonies inside the fame of the house. This can lead to dangerous situations, like exposed wires and damaged parts of the house. If you see evidence of Carpenter ants, sawdust like droppings, or holes in the walls, call Fillmore Pest Control today to help find out where they are living, and how to get rid of them.