Summer air, ants on my pear
Summer time means picnics, beaches, bonfires and…well ants. While we enjoy the summer sun, sometimes our homes become the special getaway location for ants. Ants are a common occurrence in homes, found all over the home but especially the location that has crumbs and other forms of food.
Ants are no fun so lets discuss a way of keeping ants out, or if they are already in, how to handle it!
First off, keeping them out. The best and easiest method for keeping ants out is simple! Seal all windows, doors, and cable, pipe, or wire entry points around the house! ensure there is no gap in the seals, ants are small and that’s the perfect opportunity for them to get in!
Now, how do we handle them if they are already in?
With these simple steps of course!
- Ants send out workers to gather food for the queen, so the colony may expand in numbers and size. Killing the workers wont solve the problem. Observe them.
- Watching the worker ants after they have gathered a crumb, you can see them take the food back, to a mystical location, their colony! Observe the path they take and make note of it, for this will come in handy when getting rid of them!
- Once you’ve identified the location they come in and out of, you can start planning. Set out ant bait stations along the route(s) you’ve observed with high ant traffic. These stations will attract the workers to the insecticide, which the workers will bring back to feed to the queen, and due to being fed insecticide, will die.
- Don’t clean up the stations until after a couple weeks at the very most. This will ensure all queens (sometimes there are multiple) will be fed the insecticide and you will rid yourself of those pesky summer vacationers!
- If the workers lead you to an outside source that goes underground, use spray insecticide, as directed and with gloves and glasses for health safety, to prevent their use of the exit.
- Now that your ant free, ensure your home doesn’t become a jackpot for ants again by keeping it sanitized. Keep food sealed, swept floors, and clean surfaces! Voila!
