Ants can be a frustrating summer pest issue. No matter how many times you clean off the counters, wipe down all food particles, and sweep the floors clean, inevitably those tiny, pesky ants find a reason to come in and march across your counters. Here are some tips to try before you call a Weymouth pest control company. Preventing Ants Prevention is the first step in eliminating an ant problem. All food needs to be cleaned up immediately after meals and snacks. Dishes need to be washed right away and not left in the sink or on the counters. Water needs to be wiped up, and all surfaces need to be cleaned and dried regularly. Ants are attracted to anything they can eat or drink, so to prevent them from coming in, you need to eliminate any potential food or water source. It is a good idea to take the trash out daily, sweep the floors after each meal or snack, and keep all food containers tightly covered. If you have ants coming into your bathroom, keep the counter and sink wiped clean and dry each time the bathroom is used. If you can see a line of ants, it is helpful to follow the line and find their entry into your home. You may be able to plug the hole or re-caulk the window frame to prevent their entry, but beware that ants are resourceful and they will find another way in if you do not eliminate their food and water source. Natural Methods There are many different natural methods to eliminate ants. Cayenne pepper is a natural ant deterrent and can be effective when sprinkled near where the ants are entering your home. Likewise, ants will not cross a line of cinnamon, so this can also be used as a natural barrier. One option to try if you cannot find the exact place ants are entering your home is to use cinnamon or cayenne pepper on the outside of your home. Simply sprinkle a solid line of spice against your home’s foundation. White vinegar is another natural ant deterrent and, when mixed with water and a few drops of tea tree oil, can make a safe and effective all-purpose cleaner for wiping down your counters. If you have a place where you can leave a dish out on your counter, mixing a little borax into some honey or jam can attract the ants. When the ants eat the borax mixture, they will take it back with them to their nest and in theory will share it with other ants in the nest and subsequently poison the whole nest. Be careful if you try this as pets and children should not have access to the borax mixture. Commercial Methods You can get a variety of ant sprays, dusts, granules, baits, and more in the store. All have various methods of eliminating ants, but in general they poison the ants in the same way that the borax and honey mixture does. If you choose to use and bait, for example, you will generally be instructed to leave the bait in an area where you typically find the ants in your home so that they can easily find the bait. Within a few hours, you will notice a dramatic increase in ants creating a line to and from the bait. Over a period of time, generally a day or two, the line will slowly decrease as the ants have taken the poisoned bait back to the nest, shared it, and died off. If all of these methods fail, or you simply don’t want to mess with figuring out the best way to get rid of your particular ants, you can call a local Weymouth pest control company to come out and take care of them for you.
Related Articles -
Weymouth, Pest, Control,
|
