Ants come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and smells. That’s right. Smells. The good news is, that most ants in our area are just nuisance pests that don’t present any serious threats to our health. They do, however, pose a threat to our comfort and well-being. No matter who you are, when you buy a home, you expect it to be a place of rest, and comfort from the storms of life. The last thing you want is to have to deal with ants crawling in and out of it, contaminating food, and all around just being pests.
Will They Ever Go Away?
The truth of the matter is, that the further north you live in the United States, the greater the chance you will see seasons without obnoxious ants. Here in South Carolina however, the temperatures never drop low enough to see ant activity come to a stop. This allows these creepy crawly, food thieves, to thrive throughout the year.
How Did They Get Inside?
It turns out that when you are tiny and can scale almost completely vertical surfaces, invasion gets a whole lot easier. All ants need are cracks, or holes, maybe an open window, or possibly a tear in a screen to gain access to your home. This does not mean they are impossible to prevent, however, just a bit difficult.
Is There Any Way To Stop Them?
Ants can be best prevented in two ways, by sealing off potential entry points, and by reducing or removing things that attract them to your property and home. To do this, consider the following steps:
- Remove Food Sources: Anything is a snack for an ant: a pile of crumbs, left-out pizza, or even engine oil (for some ants). For this reason, cleaning, in general, goes a long way in deterring ants. And not just cleaning, but storing food away properly is also key. The more you keep foods in airtight containers and out of the reach of ants, the less likely they will be to find enough food sources to sustain the colony.
- Remove Water Sources: In the same way, ants need water to survive and thrive. Fixing leaks, and removing water sources in and around your home will remove yet another major necessity for ants.
- Blocking Off Entry Points: This step is fairly simple but needs a little thought and effort. Some common examples of this are sealing gaps and cracks found in your foundation using a high-quality silicon caulking gun, making sure window and door screens are in good repair, installing door sweeps under exterior doors, and trimming back branches and bushes from the exterior of your home. Beyond this, the more potential entry points you can find and block off, the better.
- Call A Professional: No matter what you do, all it takes is a single hole or crack left unchecked and a few crumbs left out for ants to find their way inside. With Aiken Pest Control, this isn’t the case. When the professionals at Aiken step in, ants step out. Don’t let ants have free reign in your home, call Aiken today, and find out just how beneficial a professional pest control plan could be for you and your home.