Date Posted: June 14, 2021
Category: Ants
Keeping tiny pests like ants off of your property isn’t easy. They can be attracted by a whole lot of common factors and they can take advantage of numerous ways in and areas where they can nest. Only by acting on pest infestations before they become a problem can you hope to avoid the other problems they cause, and only experts can fully eliminate a pest population once they move in.
What Ants Are In The Area?
The term “house ant” really applies to many different species that invade human homes and businesses. Most are relatively harmless, though they can all contaminate our food and the areas where we prepare and eat our meals. Some, however, can be dangerous and destructive. Learning how to tell these types apart is the first step in knowing what you’re up against:
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Odorous ants: Named for the foul odor that they create when squashed, odorous ants are common invaders of properties. They are small and black or brown and also known as sugar ants.
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Pavement ants: Another tiny, black variety of invasive ant, these guys are known for nesting underneath rocks and cement.
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Carpenter ants: The most destructive kind of ants around thanks to their ability to bore through wooden materials, carpenter ants demonstrate why you should have experts identify an invasive species. They look a lot like other species but they are far more serious.
Why Ants Are So Hard To Deal With On Your Own
Ants are incredibly small, meaning they can sneak inside of a property through access points that other pests can’t easily reach or fit through. Not only are they easy to attract, but ants are also incredibly difficult to completely eliminate. For one, they are subterranean and typically form outdoors before they even invade inside. That means it can be difficult to identify the source of the infestation. For another, the ants you see aren’t the ones you need to address. Instead, it’s the reproductive queens of the colony that need to be targeted and eliminated to truly solve the problem. Those queens aren’t easy to get at without professional means, and incorrect attempts at removal can cause a single colony to split off, or “bud,” into several distinct populations. That’s right, trying the wrong solutions can actually make the problem worse.
Ant Prevention You Should Start On Now
Because they are so difficult to get rid of once they move in, it’s better to prevent ant invasions than try to clamp down on them once they’ve become noticeable. To do that, you need to address many factors that attract pests to your property and the access points they can utilize to hunker down. Here are some steps to take immediately:
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Food storage: Ants are attracted to sources of sugar and protein, which they can detect with their sensitive antennae. Even faint traces of food are like beacons to an ant.
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Trash storage: Direct food sources aren’t the only types of food that ants will be attracted to. Food waste is another common factor that attracts pests, so proper trash disposal and storage are key.
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Crack sealing: Regularly inspecting your exterior walls and foundation for holes or cracks that ants can crawl through, and making repairs, will reduce access points for pests.
Let Big Blue Bug Solutions Help
While there are common steps for property owners to take, even those kinds of preventative measures aren’t guaranteed to keep ants out. For that, you need professional treatments and expert guidance on the many ways that infestations form and grow. Turn to Big Blue Bug Solutions for everything from helpful tips to thorough services that protect your property from ants or any other pests that can cause you grief. To get started on an inspection of your property today, and make sure that ants or the factors that attract them aren’t already forming, contact Big Blue Bug Solutions.
