What Causes An Ant Infestation?

What Causes An Ant Infestation? Tips And Tricks To Keep Them Away

There are around 10,000 trillion ants in the world. One wrong move, and it might seem like every single one of them is in your kitchen.

In this blog post, we’ll go over what causes an ant infestation and how to get rid of them. We’ll also go over how to prevent them from ever coming back after you’ve finally gotten them out of your home.

Read on for helpful tips and tricks to reduce the number of ants in your home, and to keep them outside, where they belong.

How Do Ant Infestations Start?

There are many ways ant infestations start, and not all of them are your fault. While there are some preventable things you can do to keep them out of your home, you’re not always able to do so to perfection.

Ant infestations can start for a variety of reasons, and some of them can include cracks in the foundation. You may notice ants coming in and parading around in a room that doesn’t have food in them. This can be because they’re coming in through a certain spot.

It can also be weather-related. During the rainy months, ants search for ways to protect themselves from the storms. Often, they’ll find shelter in your home. This is especially true if you’ve got a crack in the wall.

They may also seek shelter from warm months. Your home is likely cooler than the hot ground, especially if you live in an arid climate. As such, your home is the perfect place to burrow–and for them to bring their pals along.

What Other Ways Do Ant Infestations Start?

You may get ants into your home for reasons that are totally preventable. Many people with young children or pets often find that they attractants in their home because the child or pet may not know better.

If your teenager, for example, leaves an empty or half-drunk can of soda in his or her bedroom for a couple of days, you may find yourself with an ant infestation. This is because they’ll be attracted to the sugar, and tell their friends to come along for the party in the soda can.

If you or your child drops crumbs or leaves unwrapped sweets lying around, this can also cause ants to march in and feast on the sweets.

As you can see, ants definitely have a sweet tooth and are often attracted to sugar.

If you have a lot of dirt around your house, ants may come in with it. So, it may be time for you to have some serious cleaning done in your home to ensure you don’t attract more pests.

Cleaning Up After Other Pests

If you’ve recently had your home fumigated, or you have mouse or rat traps in your house, believe it or not, this can also cause ants. Ants are attracted to dead animals, and anything that’s not properly disposed of is going to be great fodder for them.

While it is a little bit gross to think about, the ants are basically the clean-up crew after something has deceased.

What to Do If You Have an Ant Infestation

What to do depends on how serious the infestation is. If you can easily spot what the ants are attracted to, like a can of soda, get rid of it. If the ants persist, try and follow them to their nest and spray insecticide in it.

Some people recommend using coffee or chalk to draw a line you don’t want the ants to cross. You can try these out at first and see if they’ll do the trick.

If your ant infestation is more serious, or more mild methods won’t work, you should call an exterminator. They can help you permanently deal with the problem so you won’t be worrying about ants coming and going–or following them to their underground lair.

How to Prevent Ants from Returning

Once you’ve taken care of the problem, it’s important to make sure you don’t allow the ants to return. There are a few ways of doing this.

The first thing is to ensure that you keep all foods wrapped and clean up any crumbs in your house. Remind your children to clean up after themselves and put any cans in the rubbish bin when they’ve finished them.

Don’t store your ripe fruit outside in the open, but rather put them in the refrigerator. This keeps ants from making their way to them and munching on them when you’re not looking.

You should also keep all other food in airtight containers to make sure they don’t find their way into your fridge as well.

If you have structural issues with your home, you may want to consider repairing them. This can be as simple as filling up a hole in the foundation that allowed the ants to enter.

Clean your home regularly and do not let dirt build-up.

Dealing with an Ant Infestation

No one wants to deal with an ant infestation. It never happens at a convenient time, and always seems like a much bigger problem to deal with than it is. Remember, keep calm and breathe, and then worry about the problem.

If you can’t get rid of the ants on your own, give Safeguard Pest Control a call. We can help you rid your home of ants once and for all. Contact us today to get started and see exactly how we can help you

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