Total Annihilation Of Ants In Your Home

Numerous homeowners are paying a lot of money just to stop infestation of ants. It is amazing how fast this type of insects breed or increase in number. While fascinating to some, they are still an inconvenience. Fortunately, The Family Handyman does not believe that you need to spend a lot of money on products and exterminators to solve your ant problems. Here are the steps:

1. Know The Type Of Ant

First, you need to know the type of ants infesting your house as well as identify the places they are nesting. Take a picture of the ant and send it by email or snail mail to your local university extension service. To search for your local university extension service in the internet; type in your state’s name and include the keyword phrase “university extension service”.

2. Maintain Cleanliness

Sweeping food crumbs, wiping spills, quickly attending to dirty dishes as well as throwing the garbage can eliminate ants’ food source. To keep ants away from pet food bowls, spray vinegar mixed with water around bowls.

3. Erase Ant Trails

Ants tend to leave scented trails so their fellow ants can follow. To erase their trails, spray vinegar mixed with water over the trails.

4. Wipe Out Colonies

Stepping or stumping every ant you see is just a waste of effort and time. This is because, the ants you see may just be scout ants and there may be hundreds more hidden. You can use the scout ants to eliminate the colonies. Ants’ tastes change during the year such as they prefer protein in spring and sweets or fatty or oily foods in summer.

Once you have identified the preferred tastes of the ants in your home, you then buy and set up an ant bait. Preferably look for an ant bait package that says “controls both sweet and grease eating ants.” Once the bait works, the ants will take the food and share it with their colony thus eliminating the rest of the ants, including the queen.

5. Search For The Nest

This can be a challenge yet you can start searching at damp areas or areas with water damage. The most common places for this are attics, bathrooms and exterior walls.

Once you have found the nest, spray it with insecticide that contains deltamethrin, permethrin or bifenthrin. Fix the water leak and damaged wood after spraying.

6. Spray Entry Points

This is to make sure that no ants enter your home after eliminating the first colonies. To do this, spray an indoor insect killer in areas where ants can enter such as doors, windows, exterior wall holes and cracks in the foundation.

7. Spray On A Barrier

Spray an outdoor insecticide that says “barrier treatment” on the label on foundation walls as well as on and under the first course of lap siding to prevent ants from entering your home.

8. Destroy Exterior Nests

Check your home’s foundation or siding for any ant nests, then spray insecticide on areas where the nests are.

9. Eliminate Ants In Your Yard

Mow your grass then spray insecticide all over your lawn. Also, spray on trees and shrubs. It is recommended to do the spraying in mornings or late afternoons since these are the times when ants are most active.

10. Eliminate Fire Ants using Bait

It takes more than standard insecticides to kill fire ants. Look for products that specifically mentions fire ants in the label. Utilize the granules with a broadcast spreader. The fire ants will carry the granules to their mounds and kill every fire ant they share them to.

11. Destroy Safe Havens

Eliminate the bridges that connects to your home by trimming back trees, shrubs and plants in a way that there is at least 6 inches space between them and your home.

Make sure to read and follow the instructions of the products you use, since ant poison can also harm pets and humans. via [The Family Handyman]