Last Updated on June 19, 2023 by Kravelv
A tiny ant may not seem like a big issue, but the second you allow one into your home, it will not take long before more decide to try and move in as well. When this happens, you could end up with an ant infestation and it can seem hard to get them all to leave. When you are looking for ant removal ideas, you first need to look at ways to prevent ants from getting into your home in the first place. Some of the steps you can take to help with this include:
Watch for Scout Ants
One of the first signs that ants may start to move into your home is when you see scout ants. These are going to be rogue ants that will scout out the home and see whether there is food and water available for the colony. If you notice one of these ants around your home, you need to find ways to prevent them from coming inside. It may be time to call in the professionals to help.
You might also like: Ants in Mailbox: A Pesky Problem and How to Deal With It
Keep Surfaces in the Home Clean
Ants will come into your home because they are looking for some good food to eat. If you hide away all of the food and keep the surfaces of your home clean, then there is no food for the ants to enjoy and they will not move in. While you and your family will need to eat, cleaning up the evidence of the meals will help make it harder for the ants to get the food they need. There are several steps you can take to help keep your home clean so ants can’t get at the food and these include:
- Clean the dirty dishes: Do not leave a bunch of dirty dishes around the home. These are like a welcoming sign to ants and other pests to invite them right into the home. Clean the dishes or put them in the dishwasher right away.
- Sweep and vacuum regularly: keeping your floors swept and vacuumed will make a big difference because it catches all those food crumbs that are easy to ignore.
- Wipe down surfaces in the home: While ants are attracted to the food mostly, they can also be attracted to sweet and sticky substances that come from spills in and around the home. Take the time to wipe down the counters after you eat to avoid problems.
Store the Food Properly
It is not a good idea to store food out on the counters. This will attract the ants and other pests to come right into the home. Instead, consider storing the food in some sealed containers. This will make it harder for the ants to smell or find the food and they may choose another location as their home instead.
Seal off Any Cracks to the Home
Ants are able to fit into very small areas and make their way into your home. Sealing off as many of these small cracks and entrances can make a world of difference. Once you have taken the time to remove all of the food items around the home, it is time to prevent ants from entering the home.
Act like your own scout and look around the home to see if there are any areas where ants can potentially get in. sealing the cracks around the windows and the doors and even the foundation of the home, using some caulk, will help eliminate some of the obvious entrances that ants are able to use. You will need to do this around the home a few times because the sealants will degrade with time and due to the elements. This may not be able to prevent every access point that the ants will use, but it can help out quite a bit.
Remove the Ant Trails
If you notice that there is already a problem with ants around the home, then you need to be more proactive and find ways to prevent more problems than before. You will want to start by identifying where the ants are coming from and then eliminate the trails to prevent them from getting into the home. A simple application of vinegar and water mix placed along the length of the ant trail will force the ants to find a new path rather than heading to your home.
Keep in mind that ants are going to leave some scent trails that are meant for other ants to follow. If you find that there is one trail around the home, then it is likely that there is another one that the ants have done as well. It is important for you to spray down the ant trails and then look to see if any new ones are formed. You may have to keep active with this for a bit.
Deploy Ant Baits in Active Areas
As you go around the home, you may have noticed there are already some scouts all around. This means that you may already have a problem and you need to get ahead of it before the ants take over the home. It is a good idea here to start placing some bait traps in the areas you see most of the scouts.
These bait traps are nice because they do not immediately kill the scouts. They will attract more ants temporarily to the area, but the toxic baits will go back to the colony and will slowly eliminate all of the ants in that colony as well, while keeping them out of your home and ensuring that you don’t get a big infestation.
When it comes to ant removal, you want to make sure that you keep them as far from your home as possible. These pests can easily take over the whole home and it may seem impossible to make them go away. With the right professional ant prevention team to help you out, you can protect your home and make it harder for those pests to get in and cause a mess. Trust our team at Gecko Pest Control to provide the best in ant removal and control for your home, no matter the time of year.
