We have all heard the nursery rhyme, “The Ants Go Marching”. Unfortunately for many Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan home and business owners, the song is more than just a fun thing to sing, it is a reality. Ants make for terrible visitors; they show up uninvited, get into everything, and are in no rush to leave. In the warmer months, home and business owners start to have these pests show up, but you can keep ants out of your home or business or get them to march the opposite way and right out of your space. We are here to help.
Getting to Know Ants
There are two types of ants that are most likely to be found in a home or business: carpenter ants and odorous house ants. When their natural habitat is destroyed, ants seek out alternate food sources, which is what brings them indoors. The thing about ants is, once you have them, you likely have a lot of them, and they can be difficult to get rid of.
When it comes to house ants, “The problem is they can really proliferate,” says Jody Gangloff-Kauffman, an entomologist and the director of the Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University. “By the time you start spotting them inside your house, you may already have hundreds.” “The good news is that they’re really considered a nuisance pest,” she says. So while house ants may show up on your kitchen counters or around the shower, they won’t transmit disease or cause any real damage to your home or business (Consumer Reports).
Carpenter ants can cause damage to your home or business. They feed on rotten or damp wood, which can damage windows, doors, or structural framing. Carpenter ants can be found anywhere in a home or business, so if you can keep ants out of your home or business, that is the best solution.
How to Keep Ants Out of Your Home or Business
- Keep it clean: Cleanliness is critical for the prevention and control of any pest. Ants feed on sugar and foods, so wiping up spills, not having dirty dishes laying around, and keeping food in airtight containers can help to keep ants away.
- Remove wet and rotten wood: Check around your home or business for areas that may attract ants with damp spots or rotten wood. Look around showers, windows, basements, decks, etc. for leaky areas. Treat or replace wet or rotten woods to eliminate the feeding area for ants.
- Bait them: Because ants are typically where you eat, live, and work, you likely will not want to spray harmful chemicals to try to get rid of them. You can set ant bait traps that will attract the ants and should eliminate them.
- Use specific landscaping: If ants are attracted to the outside of your home or business, they will be less likely to make their way in. To keep them outdoors, consider the food sources outside the house. Ants feed on sweet substances, and aphids, little insects that live on plants, excrete a honeydew like substance on plants that ants are attracted to. By not spraying or killing off aphids outdoors, you give the ants something to feed off of without needing to come indoors.
- Seal entry points: Ants are tiny creatures and can enter homes and buildings through minute cracks and crevices. To minimize this, seal around windows and doors and all cable, pipe, and wire entry points. Regularly inspect foundations for tiny cracks through which ants can gain entry to your home (thespruce).
You can keep ants out of our home or business by taking some precautions to try to prevent them. The best solution for ant control is hiring a local pest control company to help you keep out and eliminate ants.
At Delving Pest Control, in the last 25 years, we have seen almost everything imaginable in pest removal. One thing always seems consistent. Everyone gets pests at some point. Trust Delving Pest Control to eliminate your unwanted pests discreetly. We offer one-time services or regular maintenance.
Call us today for a free estimate and to keep the ants from marching into your home or business this summer.
