Ants can be quite persistent when it comes to continuously infesting our homes. Hot weather combined with a little bit of rain can mean the population swells and they start making their way indoors. Never-ending ant infestations can occur due to unseen food scraps or a lack of appropriate pest management. Even people who keep their house spotless and incorporate chemical treatment sometimes still must deal with infestations. However, there are some ways to reduce the likelihood of ants being drawn to your home.
What Attracts Ants?
When ants enter your home, they’re looking for two things – water or food. If there are crumbs or food scraps lying around, ants will be drawn to them. This includes pet bowls, compost, minor spillages in your pantry and any mess on kitchen benches and in the sink. Ants are particularly attracted to sugary and fatty foods. Keep these in sealed, airtight containers or jars or put them in the fridge.
Put your pet’s food bowl outside and away from the house if possible. Only feed it what it can eat in one sitting so there isn’t food just sitting there attracting ants. If inside, create a moat of water around the bowl so that ants can’t get to any food or food scraps that are in it.
What Deters Ants?
Ants leave a chemical trail behind whenever they find a food or water source so they can tell other ants where to go. You can break this trail by wiping away the path using an acidic cleaner or lemon juice. Ants do not like acidic things, so you can put them off simply by using lemon or vinegar to clean your benches can put them off.
You should also fill any gaps and holes that you find ants coming out of to prevent them coming in again. Ants also dislike chalky substances such as chalk, baking powder or baby powder. By placing a line of powder around your home, you could stop them entering your home. But the most reliable way to stop them coming back is to kill of the nest entirely.
Killing the Ant Nest
There are a variety of ways you can destroy an ant colony. You can make your own ant bait by mixing borax with sugar or syrup. This will attract ants who will carry the poisoned mixture back to their nest where the borax will kill all the ants. Another classic home trick is to pour boiling water into the nest. However, many ant nests are very deep, and the boiling water may not reach the entirety of it.
Other times, there can be multiple nests, or the nests can be in a wall cavity. In some cases, killing an ant nest using baits can take up to two years as nests can contain thousands of ants. While many die, others will continue to persist and breed. In these cases, your best option is to get in touch with a professional pest control company to deal with the problem efficiently.
Termite and Pest Control in Queensland
If you have an ant infestation or any other pest problem on your property in Brisbane, Redland Bay, Ipswich or Logan, call the team at Critters Pest Management. We use the latest tools and treatments to quickly eliminate ants and other pests from your home or business. Our range of pest control services include getting rid of ants as well as termite inspections, termite treatments and termite barriers.
Call our friendly professionals today on 1300 186 255 to make a booking or contact us online.