Professional Ant Exterminator Services in Charlotte, NC
Ants can be one of the most unpleasant surprises to find in your kitchen, pantry, and home. Unfortunately, they’re also among the most common critters to find. Their small size makes it all too easy for them to enter your house and they can be very challenging to get rid of once they do get inside.
If you live in the Greater Charlotte metro area and you’ve got an ant infestation, contact us online for help or call 704-499-9922.
Understanding Ant Behavior
To understand why ant infestations occur, it’s helpful to know how these insects behave. Ants move around—a lot. Whether protecting their queen or looking for food, they are highly active insects. However, there are numerous ant species, which include everything from carpenter ants to black garden ants. While each species has distinct behaviors and characteristics, they all build their colonies near water and food sources, so they commonly infest residential homes.
A single ant colony can consist of several million members. All ants work closely together to care for younger members and gather food. The three main castes of ants include queens, males, and workers. The ones you might see around your home or on the sidewalk outside are female workers, as they are generally responsible for foraging for food and maintaining the nest.
Ant Pest Control - Keeping Ants Out
Although they can be pretty crafty creatures, there are ways to help keep ants out of your home. Besides keeping doors and windows closed except when absolutely necessary, caulk cracks and holes around them. This includes in window frames and woodwork, as well as in areas around pipes and cables coming into the house. Although some determined ants will still find their way indoors, this can help to reduce their numbers.
Also, trim back trees and bushes that are located close to your home. When they’re up against your house, they can serve as entry ramps for ants.
Although ants enjoy munching on food in your pantry, there are some substances that turn them off. If for example, you spray citrus juice around doors and windows, this can throw off ants’ sense of smell and they may turn around. Or you can use peppermint oil for the same purpose.
You can also place a line of flour, talc, or chalk around windows and doors, or put it in your pantry. This thwarts ants’ ability to create and follow scent trails. Other substances that can do the same: pepper, cinnamon, chili, cloves, bay leaves, and salt.
Indoors, use a mixture of vinegar and water to wipe down kitchen counters, because this can also repel the ants. Sprinkle used coffee grounds in your flower beds and around the home’s foundation and they’ll head elsewhere. If you choose to use one or more of these methods, you’ll need to keep them up. These aren’t one-and-done treatments.
It’s important to make it difficult for ants to find food in your home. Keep all open foods tightly sealed in plastic or glass containers. Scrape and wash dishes when done eating and empty your trash often. To keep ants from heading to your home for water, fix dripping faucets, and eliminate any standing water, such as in sinks.
The Risks of Untreated Ant Infestations: Disease and Property Damage
Ant infestations can cause serious health issues and property damage. Even though ants don't directly transmit diseases, they can still contaminate your food, increase your stress levels, and produce allergic reactions. Ants can bite, which can be a problem for people who are allergic to them. The signs of an allergic reaction include swelling and itching. Bacteria carried in by ants can include E. coli, Streptococcus, Shigella, Salmonella,and Staphylococcus, none of which you want in your food. Although the University of California-Berkely notes that the risk of disease transmission is not large, it’s still much better to not have ants crawling in your food.
As for property damage, the amount depends on the type of ant species that has infested your home. For example, carpenter ants can be particularly troublesome. If they get into the wood structures around your home, they'll tunnel to build nests, which can lead to hollowing. If ants chew through wires or create nests in electrical equipment, your power could shut down.
Identifying Ant Infestations
If you see just a few ants in your house, you may or may not have a true infestation. If, though, you see a trail of ants—with one of them walking right behind another—then you probably do have a problem. Ants are highly efficient creatures. So, once they find a nice source of food, such as in your kitchen or pantry, they’ll leave a trail for other ants to follow. Then, they’ll simply walk between their colony and the food, and back again—with new ants able to follow that same trail to your food.
If you see large numbers of ants near your home, then there is likely a colony on your property. You might see ant piles, which are dirt mounds that could house literally thousands of ants. If these piles are especially close to your home, the bigger the problem you could have.
Also, check in and around your pets’ bowls. You could be doing an excellent job of keeping food sealed in your pantry, but then the savvy ants may simply switch their attention elsewhere, including Fido’s food.
Fire Ant Threat
Fire ants can be downright dangerous—and their stings can be fatal for people who are allergic to them. The South America red imported fire ant can drop an adult male (middle-aged, 250 pounds) in fewer than ten minutes. So, if this dangerous creature is on your property, fire ant control services are crucial.
Over the next decade, it’s expected that the fire ant will become even more of a problem, one of the most challenging pests to control. That’s why we are paying close attention to the fire ant, providing homeowners and business owners with a state of the ant extermination solution.
We leverage the latest fire ant treatments available from our manufacturers and take full advantage of training opportunities to keep our clients’ properties as free from fire ants as possible. In fact, Noosa offers customized fire ant control solutions to ensure that you get exactly the ant exterminator services you need.
The Importance of Regular Ant Control & Maintenance
Ants are minor nuisances that can become major problems if they get into your home and start contaminating your food. They're so small that they can easily get into unopened boxes of cereal and other items in your pantry. With the high costs of groceries, you'll want to do everything you can to avoid throwing away food.
Even if you don't believe that your home is currently infested with ants, any signs of an incoming infestation should be dealt with immediately. By requesting regular ant control services, you can keep these pests away from your home and stop potential infestations before they occur. We also offer inspection and maintenance services that involve looking for signs of ants in and around your home. Don't hesitate to give us a call.
Professional Ant Extermination Techniques
We offer comprehensive ant extermination techniques that are designed to accommodate the specific needs of each customer and household.
Baiting Systems
Baiting systems are a crucial aspect of our ant control solutions. These stations consist of containers that are filled with poisonous insect bait. Once an ant eats the bait, it will take the poison back to the colony or infestation.
Perimeter Treatments
Our perimeter treatments work by surrounding your home with a band of long-lasting protection. The solution we use can eliminate all common ant species and will last for three to six months.
Spot Treatments
If ants are congregated in a single place, spot treatments can be injected into the surrounding area to effectively eliminate the pests without needing to spray too many chemicals. We use residual sprays that can continue to eradicate ants long after the infestation is gone.
Ant Pest Control Services With Noosa
Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Noosa Pest Management is a locally owned and operated company, headed up by Fred Wingate (or, as we like to call him, Chief Bugman!). We are dedicated to providing each and every one of our clients with the highest level of service, guaranteeing immediate response during business hours.
We take a conservative approach in our treatments—meaning that we proceed with great care when it comes to exposing people and the environment to insecticides. Our technicians receive quality training so they are knowledgeable about the latest pests in our area; the newest insecticides; and the best application methods. Our full-sized trucks are packed with whatever our technicians might need to address your problem.
Why do we do all this? Because we consider our clients part of the Noosa family, treating others as we’d like to be treated. Our team will spend as much time as needed to address your ant control situation (and whatever other pest control needs you have), answering all of your questions. If you want access to the company’s owner, just ask! It’s really that simple.
If you need ant control services, including fire ant treatments, just contact us online for help or call 704-499-9922.
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If you see an ant in your home, this doesn't automatically mean that there's an infestation nearby. There are, however, numerous signs that indicate you may have an infestation now or in the near future. For example, if you notice that ants are clustering just outside your home, you should be on the lookout for an infestation in the coming weeks.
When there are numerous ants inside your home, an infestation may have already occurred. If the ants are marching in a trail, this indicates that the colony is being led into your home. Look for ant mounts around your yard. A single mound could point towards a large underground colony. Search for ants around cracks in your drywall and outlets.
Ants don't infest a home for no reason. In most cases, they are attracted to places that offer access to food and water. When an ant detects food or water in your home, it will report this news back to the entire colony, which is when they swarm. Crumbs, dog food, and sugar are the food items that most commonly attract ants. Even if you clean up well and make sure to secure food containers, you may still encounter an ant infestation.
Once you call our ant exterminator, we'll arrive at your home to perform an initial inspection, which will allow us to determine where the infestation is located and how large it is. Our team will then apply the treatment that's right for your home.
If the infestation is small enough, we may be able to eliminate it with spot treatments. A larger infestation might require a more comprehensive approach that includes a combination of baiting systems and perimeter treatments.
Ants exhibit swarming behavior, which makes it challenging to get rid of an infestation. A single treatment may not be enough to eliminate the ants that have entered your home. Our ant pest control services include a combination of baiting systems, perimeter treatments, and spot treatments. With these solutions, we can eliminate any ant problem within a week. Follow-up treatments may be necessary to ensure the ants don't return.
While ant infestations can be difficult to eradicate, there are many ways you can prevent them from infesting your home in the first place. For example, make sure you clean your home regularly and keep it free from crumbs and spills.
If you have any bushes or trees near your home, trim them to make it more difficult for ants to get inside. Any cracks in your windows, foundation, or walls should be sealed as well. When you have leftovers, store them in sealed containers to keep ants away.
Generally, the most effective ant pest control methods are baits, traps, sprays, and certain combination treatments.
However, the most effective method for you depends on the specifics of your situation. These include the type of ant you’re dealing with, whether you’re addressing an indoor or outdoor infestation, and whether you’re looking for a pet-safe option.
If you haven’t had any luck getting rid of your ant infestation on your own, or if you’ve gotten rid of them but they keep coming back, bring in the experts.
Other signs that help is needed include an infestation that spreads to several areas of your home, wood damage (a sign of carpenter ants), numerous trails, or a lot of ants in or around your home.
If any of your family members are allergic to ant bites or stings, or if the ants you’ve seen are harmful or aggressive, professional help can make a major difference.
Ants are resilient. They learn how to avoid pest control products or develop immunity, and red imported fire ants can even survive extreme weather events like flooding. Ants are also small enough to avoid attention and DIY pest-control methods.
Ants form large colonies that grow at a rapid pace. Ants that die are replaced daily, and so getting rid of a fraction of them just isn’t enough.
It can be hard to find a colony or reach it properly. Additionally, even when a nest is destroyed, ants build new homes quickly.
Carpenter ants, odorous house ants, Argentine ants, and fire ants are all common in Charlotte.
The most effective way to control all of these types of ants is by contacting us for ant pest control in Charlotte, NC. Professionals understand the differences between these types of ants and how to address their infestations.
To prepare before an ant extermination visit, tidy up beforehand! Vacuum the floors and rugs, and put away any loose objects like pet food bowls and toys. Clear away dishes from tables and countertops, and put away all food.
Find a spot to keep your pets and children during the appointment, making sure they are safely away from the infested areas. If directed to do so, wear protective clothing, and cover any areas of your home that you do not want treated.
Noosa Pest Control offers green natural pest control services. This approach begins with a thorough inspection and implementation of non-chemical methods like sealing crevices in the walls, doors, and windows.
Next, our pest control professionals apply low-impact botanical insecticides to control any existing pest problems. At times, we also use eco-friendly essential oils like peppermint, tea tree, lavender, and eucalyptus oils.