Fixing the issue early is key to enjoying an ant-free summer.

Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and ants are everywhere. It must be spring time! There are a lot of things to enjoy about spring, but an overabundance of ants around your home is definitely not one of them. There are more than 50 different species of ants that regularly infest our homes, and they can be more than just a nuisance in our daily lives. Ants can destroy goods and property, and they can even pose a health risk by contaminating foods. Although it may not be possible to prevent ants from entering your home without professional help, you can reduce your chances of an infestation by following a few useful steps.

Ants invade your home in search of three things: food, water and harborage. Eliminate attractive food sources by immediately cleaning up food spills, not leaving dirty dishes in the sink and storing food items in the refrigerator or in sealed containers. Foraging ants often attack homes from colonies nesting outside. Minimizing resources around your yard is equally as important to slow the invasion.

Start by removing overgrown foliage, brush piles and excess fallen leaves to eliminate harborage or nesting sites on your property. Keep trees, shrubs and bushes trimmed back away from any structure to prevent ants from using branches as a sky bridge into your home. Keep waste containers clean and stored away from the home. This eliminates food sources that may attract hungry ants.  Lastly, fix leaky pipes, AC drip lines or over-irrigated areas of the yard that could serve as moisture sources.

Common pest entry points include poorly sealed doors, windows, and plumbing and utility penetrations.  Many of these access points can be corrected by replacing worn out weather stripping on doors and windows, or by using an appropriate sealant to fill other gaps. Failing to identify or correctly seal all access points may still give ant’s free access to forage and nest inside your home.

Call us today to inspect your home, and to provide a detailed assessment of how we can protect your family from ants.