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How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Home

It’s pretty impossible to accurately estimate how many ants are roaming around the Earth, but estimates place that number around one quadrillion! If you need help visualizing that number, that would be the number one followed by 15 zeroes. And when you notice them in your home, it can feel like most of them can be found in your own house. This is a problem most homeowners don’t want to put up with for very long. The best way to get rid of ants is to call the experts at Skeeter Beater. Keep reading to find out why ants may be in your home and why do-it-yourself methods won’t be enough.

worker ants

Why Do Ants Come Into Homes?

If you notice these little creatures in your home, you might be wondering what brought them into your home in the first place. Typically, ants will find their way indoors when looking for food or a nesting habitat. Even a small amount of food like crumbs from pet food can sometimes attract huge numbers of ants. The first thing you should do when you see ants in your home is look for that food source. While they will eat just about anything, they usually prefer sweets. Some of their favorite foods are syrup, honey, fruit juice, meat, and fats. 

You may have noticed that ants tend to come indoors more during the warmer months of spring and summer. This is because, like most insects, they are more active during the warmer months. They also sometimes come indoors because they are looking for water, especially if there has been a dry period. When this is the reason, you’ll probably find them in bathrooms or other humid parts of the house. You’ll also want to check common high-moisture areas like underneath your sinks, refrigerators, windows, and doors. If you have a pet or a child who leaves water spills all over the place, make sure to clean them up quickly. The opposite can sometimes be true as well. Ant infestations can also occur if there have been heavy rains that flood their nests, forcing them to relocate to buildings close by like your house.

Why Do Ants Appear in Large Numbers?

If you’ve ever tried to get rid of ants before, you’ve probably wondered why they appear in such large numbers. How do they all find each other? Well, ants are social animals that live in colonies of hundreds or even millions of others. Despite the fact that their brains may be smaller than a grain of sand, they are excellent at cooperation. For example, when some species of worker ants find a piece of food, they place a tiny droplet of pheromone on the ground. They will then leave a trail of pheromones all the way back to their nest. All it takes is for one ant to find the food and lay this trail and then hundreds of others can follow it to find the food.

ants marching in a line

How to Get Rid of Ants

The first thing you should do when you notice an ant infestation in your home is ensure that they don’t have access to food or water. Seal any and all food in airtight containers, so they don’t have access. You may also want to clean behind the fridge, stove, and in the toaster. If you have a pet, try not to leave their food out any longer than is necessary. If you have noticed ants marching in a line towards something, you can try wiping down the surface with vinegar or bleach to counteract their chemical trail.

Overall, you should keep things as clean as possible. Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight and make sure you clean your dishwasher and other appliances regularly. Empty and clean out your trash containers. In addition, don’t forget to clean the areas where you eat while you watch television. Most of us like to snack while watching our favorite shows, which could create a prime snacking spot for ants. Finally, if you grill and eat outdoors, make sure you clean the grill and remove food residue from the area including the tables, deck, or patio. 

Why Call In the Experts

Killing ants is difficult because there are so many different species and each needs a different approach. Prevention and control will differ based on the ant species, locations of the nests, and the ant’s preferred foods. It simply isn’t possible for the average homeowner to have the expertise to correctly mitigate an ant problem. 

Effective Ant Infestation Control

There are a few factors that are essential when trying to get rid of ants in a home. First, correct identification is key since not all ants are the same. Different species of ants have very different behaviors, habits, and habitats. The experts at Skeeter Beater can provide this important identification, which allows the correct measures to be taken to kill the ants.

Next, you should remove and minimize areas of heavy moisture as ants need moisture to survive. Professionals should fix water leaks around pipes or anywhere on the roof. In addition, they should make sure gutters and downspouts are directing rain away from your house. 

Exclusion techniques are also vital to keep ants from getting into your home again in the future. They get into homes through holes, cracks, and gaps in the exteriors of homes. You should make sure to seal places where wires, conduits, or pipes enter your home. Plus, keep tree limbs pruned, so they don’t overlap or touch your house. Ants like to use branches to find their way into homes. 

ants on plants

Why Do-It-Yourself Doesn’t Work

Do-it-yourself solutions for killing ants in Chicagoland are almost never effective. You might notice the problem get better for a short period of time, but they almost always return. The method to kill ants needs to match the specific type that has invaded your space. Store-bought bait may not be the correct kind for the type of ants you have in your home. It may not attract the ants at all let alone fully eliminate them. Save yourself the hassle of the back and forth of getting rid of ants in your home by calling Skeeter Beater from the beginning. 

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