Getting rid of ants is often a difficult task that takes time away from doing things you love. Whether its a reoccurring disturbance in your home or a new issue, there are a few things you can do to keep ants away.
Read on to learn some simple tricks to keep the pests away from your food.
1. Finding the Trails
Figuring to where the ants are coming from is the very first in determining how big your ant problem is. Most people find their problem areas to be near the kitchen, or anywhere that food is present.
Start out by investigating the problem areas in your home, whether it be your trash can or that one cabinet that holds your sugary treats.
Ants are very intelligent insects that setup a trail to let their colony members of a food source.
When you discover their trail, simply eliminating the ants from the trail won’t be enough to keep them from coming back for more. You’ll need to spray and clean the area thoroughly to get rid of the pheromone trail they’ve made.
An easy solution you can make at home is a mixture of water and vinegar. The strong scent will mask their trail making it difficult for them to find their way.
Lavender is also helpful at removing the ants’ scent trails.
2. Eliminating the Source
You may have tried this already, but removing any easy to reach food items that might be attracting pests will help reduce the likelihood of an infestation.
Open fruit baskets and candy jars are an easy target for ants to get to. You may want to invest in higher quality Tupperware or food storage systems that make it difficult for any pests to get to. There are many food storage tricks you can learn to finally get rid of ants for good.
Pet owners might also have a difficult time safeguarding dog or cat food that is openly exposed at all hours of the day. You may want to elevate your pet’s food or place a mat under the food bowls.
Regularly cleaning your pet’s food bowls from any scraps that are left behind will help minimize the presence of ants. Take notice of your pet’s eating habits and try to immediately clean up after their feeding time so there is no exposed food.
3. Finding the Colony
If a simple, easy to make at home solution isn’t enough to keep ants away, you may want to search further and find where exactly they’re coming from.
Purchasing pesticides that ants don’t read as poison can help ensure the solution makes its way back to the colony. This solution might take a bit longer than spraying down a surface, but it has been proven to remove ant problems permanently.
Slow-acting solutions can come in different varieties, but gels are the most popular. The bait is usually loaded with a sugary substance that attracts the ants and is placed in one of their familiar trail spots.
This will ensure that the ants see it as just another food source, and not poison. If you do have pets or children, make sure to get a safe poison, or keep it out of their reach.
Getting Rid of Ants
Ants are pesky insects that can find many ways to enter your home and infiltrate your kitchen. Getting rid of ants can be a difficult task but the steps above will make the process easier.
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