Did you know?
With Florida being a tropical climate, we have various types of ants. Certain species of ants can live on the inside and/or the outside of your home, which can make it all the more difficult to know how to control them. The most commonly found ants are Ghost Ants, Carpenter Ants, Pharaoh Ants, Big-Headed Ants, and White Footed Ants. Outside ants, if found inside, maybe just forging in your home and not be nesting which is always good news!
But why…
Many people come to us, confused as to why they have ants on their counter tops when they keep a tidy kitchen or why they find ants located in areas that have no obvious food source for them to be attracted to. But the truth is, if ants are displaced outside due to excess rain or landscaping, they may travel indoors to seek refuge. Even adding mulch can disrupt a colony causing them to start traveling.
How did they get in?!?
You may be wondering, how do these ants even get inside my home? Most commonly, weather is driving ants into the home through cracks around windows and cracks in the foundation. Even roof leaks which are harboring excess moisture can attract certain species of ants. If all of those areas have been addressed and there aren’t other access points within your home, you may want to look at what you are bring into your home. Plants brought inside can carry a significant amount of ants, and next thing you know, you have them crawling everywhere.
Get rid of them!
In order to keep them out of the home, it is crucial to identify which species of ant we are dealing with. This will tell the technician what type of bait to use. Certain species of ants only react to protein-based bait while others react only to sweet-based bait, and only a handful of ant species will react to both sweet and protein based baits. A technician may also use liquid treatments and dust with a powdered chemical to ward off the ants.
Don’t do this…
You maybe thinking you want to try a home remedy, but think twice; they aren’t as useful as you think. You may commonly hear of people putting cinnamon on their counter tops to keep the ants away. Yes, its true, ants do not like cinnamon and will avoid it. Unfortunately, all they do is avoid it. The ants will just find another method to enter the area.
The solution is barriers!
If you have ants in your home, the final solution is barrier protection. Even with a technician putting down various types of chemicals on the interior or finding the source of interest, without blocking them from entering through chemical treatment or by finding the source of entry, they will just keep coming back. Remember, call Your Local Pest Detective for a free inspection!