Ants: We all know what they are: six-legged insects that can get inside your house looking for crumbs and particles of food to take back to their home base. They’re not typically considered threats, but if many of them build a colony near your home, they can show up frequently.
What Attracts Ants?
As with many pests, they are drawn to pleasantly warm air, many sources of food, shelter from rain and safety from other animals. Once an ant finds a great source of food, they will notify the other ants in their colony and plan a great search for it.
There are other ants that should be dealt with by pest control services quickly, such as the fire ant, that can sting anything that poses a threat to their colony. But we’re here to talk about regular ants and what you can do if you see them marching throughout your home.
Believe it or not, there are some scents that ants stay away from. These include chili peppers, garlic, citrus and even chalk. There are many natural ant repellants that you can buy if you do not want chemical-based products. You can also buy traps specifically for ants, but they might not be useful if you have a larger infestation on your hands.
You can also lay out poison bait. Ants see this bait as food, and when consumed, it will kill them. Poison bait can be mixed with food for ants, such as honey or potato chips, depending on if ants crave something sweet or salty.
It should take a couple of weeks for this bait to get to the colony, but what you want to happen is for the ants to carry the poison back to their colony so they can all consume it and drop dead.
Once you have eliminated the ants, you need to clean your floors with a cleaning solution so that other ants do not smell the trail of scent that the previous inhabitants left behind. Then use an insecticide to spray the nest, if you know where it is located, as well as the windows, doors and other places where ants might enter your home.
Germantown Pest Control
Germantown Pest Control & Termite has been proudly serving residents in Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. With over 30 years of experience, we have grown a strong reputation for handling many pests safely and professionally from cockroaches to possums. To leave us a message, or contact us.