Right when the weather warms up, ants crawling down the walls and along counters are a sign that summer’s here. How do homeowners protect their home and family from the need to find a professional ant exterminator?
In the summer, carpenter ants can be infuriating. For example, even when you keep the surfaces and floors clean, these pests still enter. Ants get into your food and attract others to the same spots.
Ant Control, Prevention and DIY Treatment Tips
Often, making an effort just isn’t enough, but before you get an ant control specialist involved, try the following tips to stop an ant infestation:
Soapy Water: Mix liquid soap with water, and spray it on the ants. Wait five minutes for the ants to stop moving, and then clean everything up.
Lemon Juice, Peppermint Oil, or Vinegar: More of a preventative tactic, you can mix lemon juice, a few drops of peppermint oil, or white distilled vinegar with water, and spray it on all surfaces within your kitchen. Target common areas like the counter, cupboard, the floor, and the walls.
Petroleum Jelly: This thick, sticky substance acts as a barrier to keep these pests away. It’s recommended to add it near common entry points and around pet food dishes.
Cinnamon: Multiple experts recommend adding this spice near entry points and on surfaces. While the smell is nice, cinnamon repels ants, so consider spreading it around counters, window sills, and doorways.
Borax and Sugar or Fat: Borax is said to kill the colony, but the trick is getting it back to the source. As a result, experts advise blending it with sugar or fat – two popular food sources – and keeping it inside bottle caps. The ants end up taking the bait back, and gradually, the colony becomes smaller.
Baby Powder: It’s said that talcum powder acts as a natural ant repellant. Just like with cinnamon above, spread baby powder near all entry points.
Proper Storage: On the subject of fats and sweets, make sure all foods are kept in tightly sealed containers – especially sweets.
Block All Entry Points: When ants seem to come through a common location, seal it up. For long-term protection, consider caulking any windows, doors, and cracks that open to the outdoors.
Clean Up Their Trails: How do ants find a common food source? One entering creates a trail of pheromones, which leads other ants to follow the same path. Pretty soon, you find a colony, but before an infestation develops, stop the trail into your home. At the first sign of ants, wash, with soap and water, any counters or walls that could attract future pests.
If you’ve tried these early-stage ant removal strategies with no luck, it may be time for a professional ant exterminator to get involved. In certain cases, the few ants you see crawling across a countertop indicate a colony of tens of thousands isn’t far away – and may already be residing in your home. A quick-fix solution doesn’t address the issue’s core, and professional help becomes the only solution to resolving it.
We provide ant pest control solutions for many types of ants including:
For exploring the full extent of the issue, contact us to schedule a consultation. As 24/7 ant exterminators, we provide the best ant control services at the right price! Call us today at 1.866.802.7378.
