Are you concerned about an ant infestation? Even seeing a single ant can spike a cause of concern. This is because eons are typically not loaners. They travel in colonies in preferred stay with other ants around them.
One way to deal with an ant infestation is by preventing it from happening in the first place. The good news is that there are plenty of things that you can do to take action and avoid an ant infestation in the future. Whether you had problems with an infestation before or you are simply curious about how to keep ants away from your home, consider the following advice.
What Kind of Ants Might You Find in Your Home?
Before we discuss how to keep an ant infestation out of your home, let’s talk about the most common types of ants you’re likely to find in your home.
Living in Florida, these are some of the most common ants you will find in your home. You’ll probably find them in your kitchen, but they can’t get anywhere that you find food in the house
Ghost Ants
You might not think your house is haunted by spirits, but ghost ants can certainly be haunting the cracks and crevices of your home. The smallest species of ants, and you are unlikely to notice them if there is only one or two hanging around. However, ghost ants hang out in colonies by the thousands. When you spot them, you are likely to see these ants together in large colonies.
It’s not surprising that most people panic when they see large colonies of ghost ants. They can take over many areas of your home and be difficult to get rid of. But the good news is that they are preventable, but they can also be removed with the help of a professional pest control company.
Carpenter Ants
The carpenter ant is familiar and fairly recognizable. These are large black ants that you’ll find crawling around your kitchen as well as other parts of your home. These are some of the largest species of ants you will find in your home, even if you only spot one or two. However, as we mentioned, there is a chance that there is an entire colony hiding inside the walls if you find a single carpenter ant in your house.
A word of caution about carpenter ants: these ants can cause considerable damage to the structure of your home. This is because carpenter ants like to live inside the walls and chew on the wood. Interestingly enough, they don’t eat the wood itself. But they cause enough damage to where you may pay thousands of dollars to fix the problem, including the fact that you will still have to get rid of the ants as well.
Fire Ants
Out of all kinds of ants to deal with in your home, fire ants are perhaps the least desirable. These are recognizable ants, red in color that leave a nasty bite. You can find fire ants outside as well as inside your home.
Now that you know three of the most common types of ants that you will find in your home, we will not discuss ways that you can keep them out of your home and prevent a future infestation.
1. Wash Your Dishes
If you are in the habit of washing your dishes every day, you are already off to a great start to prevent ant infestations. The truth is that dirty dishes have food particles that are attractive to ants of all species.
Keeping dirty dishes piled up in the sink or on the counter is an open invitation for ants to come enjoy. Get in the habit of washing your dishes after every meal, or by the end of each day. Not only will this help keep ants away, but it can also help avoid other pests such as cockroaches.
2. Clean Your Counters Daily
Take a close look at your kitchen counter, is it clean and clear, or filled with clutter and crumbs? Counter crumbs can act as a magnet to ants, so keeping crumbs off of your kitchen counter is essential.
Here’s a trick to ensure that all crumbs are wiped away from your counter. When you are standing in your kitchen beside your counter, squat down to the counter at eye level. You can see a surprising amount of crumbs in spots that you missed while cleaning. Looking at your countertop after cleaning it, make sure you do the eye level test and get all the crumbs off the surface.
3. Sweep Your Floor
Another good habit to get into is sweeping and mopping your floors on a regular basis. Understandably, you may not be able to sweep every day. But you should at least make an attempt to sweep the floor when you spot crumbs or get into a sweeping routine once a week.
The idea is that you want to keep food off of the floor, and not give easy access for ants to find food. Consider investing in a handheld vacuum to clean up quick spills of dry food and other messes, making it easier for you to stay on top of cleaning your floors.
4. Clean Out Your Pantry
Speaking of cleaning, you don’t want to overlook your pantry. Your pantry can act as a hidden goldmine for ants on the hunt for food. This is because even the smallest food particles can escape from containers, giving ants a feast and a reason for them to stay.
If you haven’t done this in a while, take everything out of your pantry. Grab the vacuum hose and sweep every crack and crevice inside the pantry. This will make sure that all food sources and crumbs are not with access to ants.
5. Invest in Airtight Containers
As you were cleaning out your pantry, you might be wondering about the best ways to store food that keeps ants away. Airtight containers are one of the best items that you can use for food storage.
Any type of Tupperware or food container that is airtight will work. You can store items such as cereal and rice inside of these containers. This will keep ants away, but it will also keep pantry beetles and other insects away as well.
6. Store Bulk Food in Airtight Containers
You now have your bases covered with how to store food to prevent ant infestations. You already know how to store cereal and rice, but what about bulk items?
If you have large bags such as pet food, it is best to store these in airtight containers as well. Sealing the pet food bags will help, but it does not always serve as a top defense against ants. Consider purchasing a large airtight Tupperware container and keeping the cat food inside.
7. Clean with a Vinegar Solution
Are you wondering about the best cleaning solution to keep ants away? Consider cleaning with a 50/50 water-vinegar solution. Vinegar does not necessarily kill ants on its own. However, ants can drown inside the vinegar, which will help kill off ants over time.
Furthermore, ants also do not like the smell of vinegar. Having this scent around your home and kitchen can help keep them away.
8. Watch Out for Leaks
All living things on Earth need access to water to live and survive. However, the fact is that ants need very little water to live. In fact, they can get a lot of their water source from the food that they ingest.
To be on the safe side, you’ll want to check around for leaks under your sink and other areas of your home. While you’re at it, you will want to check for leaks outside of your home as well. Any type of water source attracts pests, ranging from ants to mice and rats, spiders, and cockroaches.
9. Take Out Your Garbage
They are all about cutting off the food source to pests of all types. Your garbage can serves as a buffet for ants, spiders, and any other type of past that you can imagine.
It’s important to take out the trash on a regular basis. Preferably, you will take it out a couple of times a week before trash day.
Meanwhile, you’ll want to make sure the trash actually gets taken away by the garbage truck. The longer that trash sits around inside your home or outside of your home, the better chance that you will attract ants and other insects.
Worried About Ant Infestations?
Even with the best intentions, you may still find yourself with an ant infestation in your home. The good news is that Drive-Bye Exterminators is able to rid of ants of all species, including carpenter, ghost, and fire ants. If you find an ant infestation or you are concerned that an infestation is happening, please get in touch with us today. The sooner the problem with pets, the quicker the ants can be removed and you could have peace of mind with an ant-free home.
