Ant Control Tips

Ants are one of the most annoying and sometimes destructive pests homeowners will find roaming in their homes. An ant colony can thoroughly infest and consume a kitchen given the right circumstances. To make matters worse, ants are incredibly stealthy, often showing up when you least expect them. Learning these quick ant control tips will help stop ant infestations when they strike.

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How to Tackle an Ant Infestation

If you are struggling with ant problems, it is essential to seek expert advice to ensure that you can effectively eliminate them.

What Animals Eat Ants?

Many animals eat ants in their diets. Some even use surprising methods to devour these tiny insects.

How To Get Rid Of Ants

How to get rid of ants and keep them gone with the help of OMNIS Pest Control.

ant control tips: #1 – Stay Away From Store-Bought Products

Homeowners often buy store-bought pest control products that only provide temporary relief. Store-bought products act as a band-aid to ant infestations, but unfortunately, they are not a permanent solution. Most pest control products in stores act as repellents and do not provide any residual effects.

Ants work in highly complex colonies with survival programmed at the forefront of their priorities. The colony has no problem losing a few ants in the process of harvesting food if it means the colony survives. Repellants merely eliminate the few ants it comes in contact with and pushes the rest away from that immediate area. Ants are highly persistent and will find a new entryway to get back to harvesting a known food source.

Baiting For Ant Control

One of the most effective ways to control ants infesting your home is strategically placing baits near their trails. Ant baiting is not a complex process; it is the easiest and least invasive ant control method.
Baits provide a long-term solution that affects the entire colony. Getting rid of an ant infestation requires treating the colony, but locating the colony is the real challenge. Baiting offers a solution that does not require physically finding the colony but instead making the ants come to you. The idea is to have the ants carry the baits back to the colony and work their magic.

ant trap not taking out the whole colony call OMNIS

To Trap or Not To Trap

Ant trapping is not common practice among pest professionals. However, trapping deserves thoughtful consideration depending on the severity of ant activity. Trapping ants is straightforward and similar to the same approach to trapping animals. No hidden snap traps are necessary; glue boards are more than sufficient.
One of the biggest reasons pest professionals do not resort to trapping is that traps are ineffective at eliminating ants. They do stop the few that can walk onto the glue boards but do not stop the source issue. The most common occurrences to use traps are for massive infestations that lead to ants spreading out of control. A single trail of ants generally can be controlled through other, more effective methods.

Baiting Control Tips

Locate and place a bait station near the entryway where the ants enter. Baiting near the entry will eventually catch their attention early and stop them from spreading.
If infestations are particularly invasive, place bait stations near the source, attracting them in the first place.

Ant control tips: #2 – Cleaning Up will prevent ant infestations

The best ant control tip homeowners can implement right away is by cleaning up the home. Often, ants infest the house because they are looking for a food source. Regular cleaning and yard maintenance will drastically reduce the chances of finding ants inside the house. Cleaning practices reduce the chances of ants finding a prospective food source to harvest. Additionally, cleaning will help wipe away pheromone trails they create for the colony to use during scavenging.

Cleaning Tips

Frequent sweeping, mopping and wiping down counters pick up food crumbs and old spills that will attract ants.
Take the garbage out regularly to reduce ants finding their way inside the trash can.
Weekly vacuuming will pick up small food crumbs and help remove other pests nesting inside the carpet.
Trim any foliage away to reduce the chances of ants crawling onto the home and finding their way inside.

Ant Control Tips: #3 – Control Ants Before They Get In

One of the most common places for ants to sneak inside the home is through unsealed gaps. Since ants are so tiny, all it takes is a few centimeters of a baseboard for them to slip inside. Therefore, an effective ant, and pest, control tip is to inspect the home for any noticeable gaps and seal them.

Simply using silicone or caulking will provide more than enough coverage to build barriers and control ant activity. Sealing up every gap and crack in the home will be near-impossible, but finding the obvious will help. Effective ant control involves taking small steps to reduce or prevent overall activity around the house.

Reduce Moisture, leaks, & spills

Some of the most effective ant control tips involve regular maintenance around the home. Finding and removing excess moisture around the house will help control many other pests, including ants. Most of the time, pests are looking for moisture because they need it for survival. A reduction in moisture will not provide sustainable living conditions for most ants, forcing them to seek shelter elsewhere.

Moisture Reduction Tips

If your yard has a lawn, keep it trimmed so it can adequately aerate.
Trim all the trees and bushes to allow adequate airflow to help dry out moisture-rich areas.
Check and repair any leaks from plumbing lines inside and outside the home.
Ensure crawlspaces are well-ventilated to keep moisture from growing and attracting even more pests.

garden hose attracts insects OMNIS spray keeps them away

Ant Control Is Easier With Help

Ants are one of the most challenging house pests to get from any home because of the large population. Their persistence and stubbornness are the most significant reasons homeowners struggle to control them independently. Even pest professionals can have a more challenging time controlling ants and often require more than one treatment to stifle activity.

Combining the provided ant control tips and hiring a professional pest control company will gain the best results. Working with OMNIS Pest Control will give you deeper insight into the ant activity unique to your home. Additionally, our team will use professional pest control products to provide permanent solutions to ant activity.

Contact OMNIS Pest Control today to learn more about our effective ant control program and schedule your first service!