The best way to stop an ant problem is to nip it in the bud. Ants want inside your home for a few reasons: they’re looking for water, they’re seeking food, or perhaps the climate outside has become inhospitable. Whatever the case, making your home undesirable to ants is a good start.
It’s important to ensure all the openings of your home are sealed tight to prevent ants as well as other pests. Use caulk to seal windows and doorway thresholds – you’ll save money on electricity, too!
Once you’ve sealed your home up tight, it’s a good idea to create barriers to entry for curious ants. Wives’ tales suggest using salt, talc (found in baby powder) or even essential oils like peppermint around doorways and windows to deter bugs. Be aware that these substances may pose as irritants to pets and children.
Finally, move all food products in pantries and cabinets high up off the ground so they’ll more difficult for ants to detect. Always strive to keep your home clean and wipe up any food spills immediately.
Ants usually move inside looking for better conditions, moisture, food, shelter, favourable temperatures and shelter. Word spreads quickly around the ant colony, and soon you could have a tiny army following the scent trail into your home. However, because the kitchen is a food-preparation area, you’re likely to be reluctant to use pesticides or sprays to get rid of ants, for fear of contaminating your food. By taking practical steps to eliminate the ants and then ensuring you prevent a re-infestation, you can soon take control of the problem.
Little black sugar ants typically nest in woodwork or masonry but sometimes come indoors and they are known to nest in the soil and under yard debris. Inside the house, little black ant infestation is usually the result of improper food storage.Little black ants prefer to live outdoors in decaying wood, but will also build their nests in cracks in walls or cement.
Ants are certainly a nuisance, but are they dangerous in any way? For the most part, if you have a few little ants in the house, it’s not really a big deal, but certain types of ants can cause real problems if left untreated.
Ants can contaminate food with bacteria, damage structures by hollowing out wood for nesting carpenter ants
The ants we consider to be sugar ants are actually pavement ants or pharaoh ants both common household ants. Pavement ants are black or reddish brown with pale legs while pharaoh ants are yellow or light brown.Sugar ants also come from existing nests inside your home. Their nests are typically in undisturbed spaces, such as inside walls or in basements.Before getting rid of sugar ants, first locate and then follow their visible trail as far as you can this will help you determine their entry point into your home and give you a starting point for remediation. After locating the trail and entry point, decide which type of natural or chemical method you want to use.Most sugar ants come from outside your home. They have about four to five times more odor receptors than other insects, and can smell food and follow scent trails through cracks, crevices, vents, and other openings in your home and foundation. Only one ant needs to find an entry point. Once an ant finds a food or water supply, it lays a pheromone trail a basic scent trail for other ants to follow.Little black ant colonies can house several thousands of individuals and are located primarily in dark, protected areas. Workers forage in trails and are frequently seen along sidewalks and foundation walls. Indoors, the little black ant can be located in wooden items as well as in walls and the junction between the carpet and walls.
Little black ants prefer to live outdoors in decaying wood, but will also build their nests in cracks in walls or cement. Outside, they establish their nests under rocks or stones and in rotting logs, gardens and other open areas. Their nests can also be located within small craters of very fine soil. Indoors, the insects build their nests in voids and cavities such as wall voids.
Little black ant colonies have moderate to large populations, with two or more queens in one colony. Little black ant winged swarms are common from June to August, during which time mating occurs. After mating, both males and females shed their wings and the males die soon after mating
Learn how ants enter your home, how to quickly get rid of an ant infestation fast, and prevent these pests from coming back.