Dealing With An Ant Problem In The Home

Are you worried about controlling pest infestations in your home? Learn tips for working with professional pest control specialists.

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Talking About Pest Control Techniques

Hi there, I'm Margery. Welcome to my site about pest control. Cockroaches, house centipedes and ants all make home life a true disaster upon entering the living space. These creatures can crawl through the food and appear above people trying to sleep in their beds. Many people dislike even thinking about the possibility of pests crawling through the walls or under the floors. I will use this site to talk about how professional pest exterminators control the population of these creatures. I hope you can use the information on my site to keep your home pest-free as well. Thanks for visiting.

Dealing With An Ant Problem In The Home

11 December 2014
 Categories: , Blog

No one really likes having ants wandering around inside their home. If you have an ant infestation, you will want to do whatever possible to get these pesky creatures to leave the premises. Here are some tricks that you can use to have these invaders disappear for good.

Clean All Surfaces

Ants tend to hang out in areas where there are less than clean conditions. If you need to do some deep cleaning, now is the time. Make sure that there are no apparent food sources left where ants can find them. Keep all opened products wrapped and placed inside containers with lids. Thoroughly clean all surfaces with a household cleaner to remove any crumbs or food particles that may be left behind. 

Outdoors

Place gravel against your home instead of having a grassy surface right up against the exterior wall. If you have any piles of vegetation, grass clippings, branches or firewood, move them to an area far from your home so that ants do not wander close to where you live. If you feed any outdoor pets, take up their food dish when they are not eating their meal. Ants and other insects and rodents are attracted to pet food.

If you see any areas of the home that have cracks or holes in the exterior walls, you should fill them in to help keep out unwanted pests. Use some caulk or expandable foam to fill in any of these areas.

Deterrents

You can try to keep ants away by placing cotton balls dipped inside peppermint oil in places where you have seen them walking around. This is a natural deterrent. Ants also do not like the smell of pepper, salt or talc. Sprinkle some of these around doorways to your home to keep ants from trying to come inside.

Killing Ants

You can purchase ant bait traps in your local home goods store. Place them in areas along perimeters of walls and countertops where you have witnessed ants. The ant will take the bait back to the nest to eat and share. You can also try using an ant spray to kill ants. Spray in areas where you have seen them to keep them from returning. If you spray it directly upon the ants, they will die. If you have too many ants to handle, you may wish to call a professional exterminator to remove them from your home.