4 Tips for Eliminating Ants at Home

Ants in a home can be a nuisance and unhealthy because they carry bacteria, which might be transmitted in food. Others like Harvester and Fire may bite and sting human beings.

Basically, there are around 12,000 different ants, and it can be a bad idea to have them in your home, especially in summer. If they have infested your home, local ant control and the following tips can help you get rid of them:

1.Identify the Type of Ants

It can be a challenge to identify ants, especially if you don’t have the right experience and equipment. Determining different kinds of ants is important so you can know how to eliminate them, and for you to attain this goal, you may need to put some factors like region, habitat, and appearance into consideration. Ants’ bodies may have one or two nodes on the thorax to help people identify their species, but some vary depending on the color and size. 

For instance, Cremotogaster is approximately 3 millimeters long and has two nodes. Their color varies from yellow-brown to red-black and brown. Other common ants that can invade your home include:

*Carpenter ants

*Pavement ants

*Odorous house ants

*Dark rover ants

*Crazy ants

2.Look for Nests

Every ant lives in nests, complicated systems of tunnels, which accommodate a lot of them. If you have noticed ants around your home or, even worse, in the kitchen, then there’s a possibility that they are just nearby. Ants create scent trails to communicate with others; thus, you might notice a pungent and faint smell. 

Ants can also live in walls and the best way to find them is to hire an expert home inspector that uses thermal imaging. When controlling these ants, inspecting the walls of your home needs to be your priority. Cracked and damaged walls offer a great crawlspace for ants to nest and populate. Although some species build nests outside colonies, walls offer ants an opportunity to look for food sources while living in your house. 

3.Determine a Perfect Bait

Baits are a mixture of toxic chemicals with food items, which attracts insects like ants. Normally, baits are available in different forms, ranging from granules to soft solid materials and gels that can be used in kitchens and other places where ants mostly infest. Baits are more advantageous than other kinds of insecticides. They are less risky to pets and kids and might be effective when you cannot locate nests. 

In addition to that, baits are capable of killing a whole colony. Therefore, effective baits should be attractive and palatable to ants. When baiting indoors and you wish to get rid of ants, you can try to place your bait in a less obvious place like sinks and behind appliances. 

4.Erase Ant Trails

Trails of the ants consist of natural chemicals called pheromones. Once you notice the trails of ants, don’t ease them right away. You will need to set out traps along the trails. Worker ants will follow the trails to your trap and bring food, containing poison, to the colony. After this, clean the trails to eliminate pheromones to prevent them from attracting other worker ants. For you to achieve this, you can use baking soda. You can combine your baking soda with water so you can make a scrubbing paste. It’s also possible to use baking soda in its dry form. All you need to do is sprinkle the soda along the trails and in crevices or cracks. 

Hot or boiling water can also wipe out scent trails left by ants outdoors. The safest and easiest way to use hot water is to work with an electric kettle. Though if you also need more ways to remove trails, you can use:

*Cinnamon

*Vinegar

*Commercial cleansers

*Chili powder

*Lemon juice

*Chalk 

In a Nutshell!

Ants are a common issue for people globally. They’re capable of causing damage to your furniture and can give gardeners a nasty nip all the time. Every ant looks for food sources by following a trail, so the best way to eliminate them is to lay a trap and erase their scent.