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Ant Infestation: What Are The Four Most Effective Ways Of Dealing With Ants?

Ants

Ants may be tiny and pretty common, but do not underestimate the amount of structural damage and health risks that come with an ant infestation. Ants are social insects, meaning they infest in colonies. If you spot one ant in your home, high chances are the rest of the colony is nearby.

The presence of these relentless insects is a serious threat to the structural stability of your home. Usually, ants build their nests on wooden structures by digging big enough holes to shelter the entire colony. Consequently, they weaken supports, causing your structures to warp.

Besides ruining the integrity of your home, these annoying insects have also been known to pose health risks. Ants in the UK are more than just a summer nuisance insect. While they are not known for biting or carrying diseases, they tend to frequent filthy places. One of the major ant infestation health risks includes food borne illnesses. That’s because the ants will transfer pathogenic or toxigenic microorganisms to food and water.

Do you have an ant Infestation?

Ants have a remarkable sense of family, and they tend to live in close communities. They are naturally geared towards working together to provide for and protect every member of their colony. Every ant in the colony has a specific role: the queen lays eggs, worker ants, and scout ants search for food.

If you spot one or two ants in your home, they may not be an instant cause of concern. But it’s likely a sign of a close-by ant infestation as it may be a scout ant in search of food. If the scout ant discovers a source of food in your home, it takes word to the nest, leaving behind a trail (chemical scents) that the rest of the colony can follow to the feast.

If you start seeing ants frequently in your kitchen, pantry, wall voids, near light switches, or in appliances, that’s the biggest giveaway of an ant invasion in your home. Unless controlled quickly, the ant infestation will soon be full-blown.

3 Signs Of An Ant Infestation

Below are the biggest telltale signs of a pest infestation in the home:

Live ants: if you spot two or three ants scurrying on your kitchen floor, they may either be surveying or may be a sign of an infestation. But if you start seeing live ants in big numbers, whether in your pantry or appliances, you have an ant infestation, and you need to find a solution fast.

Ant nests: ants can enter your home through open doors and windows or via the tiny cracks in basement walls and floors. Their nests resemble small piles of fine soil. While some ant species will build their nests in wall voids, others prefer to stay in the dark cool soil.

Ant Pathways: these ever-busy insects will frequently move in and out of your house. Often, they leave pheromones in their path. This way, they mark their routes and can conveniently follow the trail back to your house.

What are The Top 4 Methods For Dealing With Ants?

  1. Keep Ants Out
    The most effective way to deal with ants is to learn how to keep them away from your home. You can achieve this by having a pest professional treat the exterior and interior of your home to deny the pests any entry. The expert will also inspect your home to identify possible pest entry points and seal them off to keep the pests away.
  2. Proper Sanitation
    Scout ants are always searching for food. If they come across even the smallest food particles like sugar granules on your kitchen counter, they’ll send a signal to the worker ants, and soon you’ll be dealing with an ant infestation. By maintaining strict sanitation standards, you deny the pests any access to food, and they’ll look for a meal elsewhere.
  3. Wipe Down Ant Pathways
    The best way to beat ants is by spotting their pathways and wiping them down with soap and water. Often, ants begin their trail from cracks on floors, gaps on walls, or crevices in the foundation of your home back to their nests. Once you’ve wiped the ant trails down, you want to seal all gaps and cracks to deny the pests re-entry.
  4. Ant Sprays May Not Solve The Problem.
    To begin with, over-the-counter ant sprays can expose you and your family to potential health risks if not applied correctly. Secondly, sprays are designed to exterminate the ants that you can see or to deter them. Since sprays do not destroy the nests, the queen lays eggs, and ants will continuously infest. They also don’t eliminate the pheromone trail, and the new ants will follow it into your house.

Professional Ant Control Services

In the face of a full-blown ant infestation, you may need to contact a trained pest expert. Pest professionals are equipped with the right methodologies and equipment to effectively get rid of the ants and protect your home from re-infestations. The experts will thoroughly inspect, find out the exact type of ant causing you problems and tailor the best treatment plan for long-term protection results.

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