An ant infestation at home is never a welcome sight, but unfortunately, it is pretty common across homes in Australia. Most indoor ants do not cause much damage, except for carpenter ants that can burrow their way through and damage structural wood. However, seeing a trail of tiny black ants heading toward your pantry to eat your delicious food is annoying. Sealing off your home from these tiny insects can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. The first step toward ant control is understanding why you have an ant infestation, as discussed below.
You Might Be Leaving Food Out
Ants need food and water to survive. Therefore, they look for easy-to-find food sources, which is one of the main reasons why ant infestations are common in the pantry, kitchen, or other places where there are food residues. If you have an ant infestation in your bedroom, stop eating on your bed, as food crumbs might attract ants to the room.
To avoid an ant infestation, you can store dry food in airtight containers and keep fruits and other wet foods in the refrigerator. Ensure that you clean up all food spills and wipe off all bottles and containers that contain sweet, sticky food items like jams or honey. Thoroughly clean all surfaces around your stovetop after cooking to get all the grease out. Another effective ant control method is to use an insect killer formulated from natural ingredients that are safe around food.
You Might Have Leaky Pipes Or Faucets
Some ant species, like sugar ants, require a source of water to survive. Unlike most other animals and insects, they don’t drink water as and when needed, but they take water back to their colony and store it for future consumption. When ants find a reliable water source, they leave a scent trail to alert the rest of their colony.
Broken pipes, leaky faucets, and stagnant water bowls for pets can attract ants. So, ensuring that all your windows and doors are well-sealed and closed during the wetter months of the year is essential. If you spot a trail of ants in your bathroom, carefully inspect the pipes and sinks to ensure you don’t leak. You can also consider investing in an automatic insect control device that can repel ants as they make their way through your windows or other access points.
You Might Have Decaying Wood Around Your Home
Ants are small enough to find a warm and cosy shelter anywhere in your home and build a colony. This holds especially true if the wood on your patio or elsewhere in or around your home is moist. Moist, rotting wood can make the perfect hiding spot for a colony of ants, which can then find their way into your house through access points like an open window or a crack in the door.
The best way to avoid an ant infestation due to this reason is to replace any rotting wood and clear out branches and tree stumps in your backyard. If an ant colony has already built a nest, you can use a fumigation product that contains an Insect Growth Regulator. This will break the breeding cycle of the ants and stop the infestation once and for all.
Wrapping Up
There are several reasons why you may have an ant control ant infestation. It is essential to identify the root of the problem before adopting measures to create an effective strategy to eliminate these pests and keep them at bay forever.
