Once ants establish themselves in your home, it can feel as if they’ll never leave. You’ll often find them in your kitchen or bathroom in tiny lines. Not only are ants in your kitchen unappetizing, but they can get into your food, causing you to have to get rid of packaged goods, and can be a health hazard capable of transmitting food borne disease organisms such as E. coli, and Salmonella. What are they doing and why did they come here? Understanding this may be the first step in sending them on their way. Preventing ants from entering your home in the first place is the most effective way to keep them out of your kitchen all year long.
Closing the Cracks in Your Home The best way to keep ants out is blocking any possible entry point. Finding and closing these potential entry points will also increase energy efficiency in your home. Search for any cracks in your home large enough to allow ants to enter from the outside and seal them using caulk. Look for cracks, crevices, and holes in the foundation and around doors, windows, and other possible points of entry. Due to their small size, looking for every single hole small enough for an ant to pass may feel overwhelming. However, if you are experiencing an infestation, the hive mind of ants will give them away. A pro tip is to simply follow the trail of ants to identify where they are entering from and seal it up.
Spring means it’s time for a deep clean A thorough cleaning of your home is always a good idea. All too often ants will be entering from a crack which is just behind something in your home you haven’t moved in a year. Spring is almost here, so get ready for ant season with a deep cleaning. Move aside clutter and search for possible entry points.
Declutter your home’s exterior spaces Piles of debris such as firewood or piles of bricks is a great place for ants to build their nest. They rarely lay their nests inside your home but simply slip in to take food back to their own home. Finding and eliminating an ant’s nest is the number one way to get rid of the problem. If you’ve found an ant nest and eliminated the issue you are going to want to make sure you don’t have to deal with the issue again. Eliminate these possible nesting areas by keeping your yard clear and storing extra materials in a shed. Stack firewood at least 10 feet from your home and for your garden leave a six-inch gap between your garden bed mulch and the exterior walls of your home.
Clean your kitchen regularly The key to keeping pests out of your kitchen is eliminating what they would be drawn to. Start by keeping your kitchen clean. Wipe down surfaces regularly and keep food scraps and spills from standing too long. Other methods for keeping your kitchen ant free includes:
- Invest in airtight storage containers for all your dry goods. Not only will this keep your food fresh but keep the ants out.
- Sweep and vacuum regularly to keep alluring food scraps away.
- It’s hard to avoid drips on your honey for tea or for a sweet treat. Rinse the jar of honey after use, to remove any drips and store your honey in a bowl of water to keep the ants from climbing up the side.
- Wash all dishes after a meal and never leave the kitchen with food or left-over dishes.
Contact Us at Nuisance Wildlife Services
No matter how hard you try, infestations of ants happen. If you’ve tried everything to keep your kitchen spotless and they keep coming in it’s time to call in experts like us. We know where to look for ants from entry points to nests and have the experience to eliminate them at the source.
Contact us for a free pest inspection and to take care of current infestations rapidly and discreetly. Our technicians are certified to get rid of your problem using family-friendly, pet friendly and environmental ant control methods. When you call us, rest assured that you’ll have an end to your ant problem once and for all.
