Ant-ticipating an Invasion? Ant Control Tips to Send Ants Packing

During springtime and summertime, a lot of people are searching for quality ant control in Charlotte, NC. This is because spring and summer are the times when ants are most likely to come into the home.

Ants spend their winters hibernating. As the weather gets warmer, the ants awaken and immediately begin to replenish their food stores. Unfortunately, your kitchen is the perfect place for them to pick up an easy meal. What can you do to stop these creepy critters? Keep reading to discover the most effective ways to prevent an ant infestation, so you can stay one step ahead when spring and summer roll around.

Ways to Keep Ants Out of Your Home

1. Bar Entry

Ants get into your home through cracks and holes. This includes cracks in window frames and woodwork, gaps around the doors and around pet doors, and holes in screens. It also includes holes around electrical wiring, gaps in the foundation of your home, and breaks in sealant around cables and pipes.

Look around your home for these tiny potential entry points. Caulking any gaps won’t stop ants entirely, but it will minimize entry. Using weatherstripping or other sealant materials can also help keep ants out.

Try to keep vegetation away from your house, including any bushes or tree branches that are in direct contact with your home. While roses look lovely around a porch, they also make it easier for ants and other insects to enter your home.

To avoid this, start your garden at a slight remove. If you already have mature plants and trees nearby, keep them trimmed so that branches don’t touch your property. Even a stack of firewood can result in an ant infestation, so make sure not to keep any piles of firewood or debris leaning against your home.

2. Deter

You may be surprised to hear that ants are fussy customers. Just as you’d be put off by garbage piled around the doorway of a restaurant, ants can be deterred by a whole range of different substances.

• Citrus juice confounds an ant’s sense of smell. After you apply it around your doors and windows, they’ll be less likely to come in seeking food.
• The rinds of oranges, lemons, grapefruits, or other citrus fruits can also be used to deal with ants. When you place these near areas of infestation, the acidic D-limonene oil they contain will mask food-source odors and ant trail pheromones.
• Ants hate the smell of vinegar. Vinegar also disrupts pheromone-based communication between ants, eliminating trails that they create for other ants to follow to food sources. Starting at the entry point, use a combination of one parts vinegar and three parts water to wipe down the affected surface. This will confuse ants and make them less likely to come back.
• A combination of glass cleaner and liquid detergent can also eliminate pheromone trails. Apply this to areas where ants are gathering or entering, then wipe down the surface.
• Certain essential oils are very strong, and their powerful smell repels ants. Try using peppermint oil, tea tree oil, grapefruit oil, lemon oil, clove oil, cinnamon oil, or orange oil. Combine ten drops of one of these oils with a cup of water, then apply a few drops around your window and door frames.
• Try used coffee grounds sprinkled around the flower beds and the foundations of your house. The smell is repellent to ants. They will go anywhere other than towards your home.
• Ants don’t like powdery textures, because they can’t leave or follow scent trails through them. A line of talc, chalk, or flour around your windows and doors or even your pantry is a great way to keep ants out.
• Herbs and spices – pepper, chili, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, and salt – can all upset an ant’s ability to follow scent trails, so they’ll usually avoid them.

Note: All of these tactics need to be maintained. One shot of peppermint, lemon, or anything else just won’t cut it.

3. Be Inhospitable

The main reason ants enter a home is to look for food and water. Don’t give them any. If there’s nothing for ants to eat and drink in your home, they won’t come in. The cleaner your kitchen and dining room are, the less appealing ants will find them. Clean them regularly, empty and clean dishes as soon as you’ve finished with them, and wipe down all floors and countertops. Be vigilant when it comes to spills, crumbs, and sticky or sweet residue.

Pantry pests are one of life’s major annoyances. Ants can carry all sorts of bacteria that you don’t want in your home, including E. coli, Streptococcus, Shigella, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus.

If you keep all open foods in airtight pest-proof plastic or glass containers with a good seal, there will be nothing for your uninvited guests to eat. It’s also important to transfer dry pet food from its original packaging into ant-proof plastic containers, since ants tend to love pet food. Additionally, keep ripe fruit in your refrigerator instead of out on the counter.

Since sticky food residue can get on the outside of containers, always wipe them down after use. This is especially likely for soda bottles, honey jars, and anything else with a lot of sugar.

After pets have eaten, clean up spills around the food and water bowls quickly, and don’t leave any remaining pet food out. Make sure to keep the bowls very clean.

Keep your indoor and outdoor trash cans clean and tightly closed, and empty them regularly. Don’t place any outdoor garbage cans or recycling bins near the perimeter of your house.

It’s also important to keep the other rooms in your house as clean as possible, especially right near windows and doors that open to the outside. Vacuum all rugs and carpets regularly, and make sure to sweep the floors.

Houseplants are another potential ant attractant. To prevent this, put orange or lemon rinds in the pots. You can also make a solution using one peeled garlic clove, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, two cups of water, and a tablespoon of non-bleach dish soap. Apply this to the leaves and soil. If you’re noticing swarms of ants, there may be nests under the soil, and it may be time to get rid of the houseplant.

Outdoor areas where people eat or snack, like patios and decks, should be kept as clean as possible. This means cleaning your grills and outdoor tables after meals.

Ants require moisture to survive, so make sure that there are no leaks inside or outside your home, no dripping faucets or leaky pipes, and no standing water in or under sinks. A dehumidifier can help reduce moisture in damp attics, basements, and crawl spaces.

Watch out for external areas where water might pool, and take care of standing water. Maintain your downspouts and gutters to ensure that water is being diverted away from the perimeter of your home.

When an Ant Infestation Happens

When you’ve got an ant infestation on your hands, it’s time to take action. If you’re looking for natural ant extermination methods, there are a lot of options out there.

Borax ant bait stations are a great way to fight an entire colony. Borax gradually negatively affects ants’ digestive systems over the course of one to two days. When ants take the bait back home, they spread it throughout the colony.

Borax bait can be made with a teaspoon of Borax, a tablespoon of peanut butter, and a tablespoon of sugar. You can dip cotton balls in this mixture and put them on pheromone trails and near spots where ants are entering your home. Note that Borax is not safe for children or pets, so be very careful where you place these cotton balls.

Food-grade Diatomaceous Earth is another option for ant control. This product damages the ants’ exoskeletons and causes dehydration. It should be placed near trails, entry points, and ant nests. This organic solution is pet-safe and child-safe.

Cornstarch can be poured over ants to exterminate them. This can be followed by either vacuuming up the ants and getting rid of the vacuum bag or by pouring water over the ants.

Consumption of baking soda is deadly for ants. Try placing a mix of powdered sugar and baking soda near entry points and other places where you’ve seen them.

You can also use a simple solution composed of water and a small amount of dish soap. Using this on ants gives you immediate results.

The most effective way to get rid of an ant infestation is by calling in the professionals. Residential pest control experts can identify the type of ant and use the right ant control method for the job.

Get Rid of Ants Today

Once ants are in, they can be hard to get out. If you have an ant problem now, contact Noosa Pest Management for effective ant control in Charlotte, NC. Contact us online or call our customer service team today to find out how we can make your ant problem a thing of the past: 704-499-9922