Ants Are Coming, Are You Ready?

Spring is just around the corner and hopefully in just a few more weeks the weather will warm up, the trees and grass will turn lush green, and the flowers will start blooming once again. But, the warmer weather of spring also brings with it ants. That’s right, ants. As the weather warms, ant colonies become more active and will start foraging for food, and if you don’t start taking the proper precautions now to keep them out of your home, you may soon find them marching through your kitchen.

Ants are social creatures and live and work together in large colonies. A colony consists of a queen, or many queens, and the workers. Sometimes there is a large main colony with several smaller satellite colonies. These nests are generally created outdoors. Ants will find their way into homes as they forage for food and water, or when the weather becomes too wet or dry for them to remain comfortable outside. Ants will eat almost anything but are especially attracted to food that is sweet and sugary.

Preventing ants from choosing your home to enter into and march through can be a difficult task but with some tips and guidance from the professionals at American Pest, it can be done quite successfully.

Let’s start with the outside of your home. There are many things that you can do around your yard to help deter an ant invasion.

• Trim back trees, bushes, and other landscaping back away from the exterior of your home. Ants can use their branches to gain access to your home.

• Keep wood piles away from the exterior of your home.

• Outside trashcans should have a tight fitting lid on them and be kept away from the outside of your home.

• Keep a stone barrier between any grass or mulch and the foundation of your home.

• Check your home’s foundation and exterior walls and make sure that there are no cracks, holes, and crevices in them. Be sure to repair any that are found.

Now, for the inside of your home, listed below are some easy things you can do around your home to prevent ants.

• Clean up any water or food spills as soon as they happen.

• Regularly remove trash from your home and keep your home as clutter free as possible.

• Keep food in sealed containers or inside of the refrigerator, not out on your kitchen table or counters.

• Check the screens in your windows and doors and make sure that they are intact.

• Caulk any gaps found around windows and doors.

• Routinely wipe down counters, appliances, and tables to remove grease, crumbs, and other debris from them.

Despite your best efforts, ants can be tough pests to prevent against, so along with taking your own precautions, having in place a year-round pest control plan can greatly help to prevent ants from taking over your home this spring. For more information about ants and how to effectively control them through our home pest control services, contact the professionals at American Pest today!

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