HomeTriangle Guide to getting rid of an Ant Infestation

Ants are the most common and the earth’s most abundant insect species. So it should not be a surprise when you find a few of them marching around your home carrying food crumbs. But you should be alarmed when you see some of them stationed at a particular spot for a few days, or when troops of ants are marching into mystery holes in your home.

Why all this Ant Hate?

We don’t really have anything against ants personally, they even do their tiny part in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem, so why? All’s well when they are in their natural habitat, but when they are in yours it’s not all well.

Here’s why you need to be cautious of them-

Ants Are Great At Disintegrating Stuff

Ants are known as very good builders, but here’s the thing- they are equally good at taking apart things too. You must know what’s gonna happen when you leave a block of wood to termites. Ants are capable of doing the exact same thing, well not all of them, but some types of ants can make sawdust out of your wood.

While termites eat wood, ants don’t, a type of ant called the carpenter ants tunnels through the wood to make its nest. The next time you find wood shavings be sure to investigate, as confirming carpenter ant infestation is hard. The damage they cause is enormous and it is often too late when they are discovered. One way to find them is by the sound they make when moving through wooden structures, or when you spot a couple of them together.

There are other kinds of ants that dig at the edges of tiles or doorframes to build their nest. These are relatively easy to spot as small piles of fine dirt are found at the crime scene.

It Isn’t Fun Getting Bitten

You certainly must have experienced getting bitten by an ant at least once, it is certainly not a nice feeling. Some ants are harmless, yes, but fire ants are not one of those. Their sting will make you yelp out in pain. They may even cause swelling in some cases, and if many of them bite you at the same time, then... God save you.

Not getting bitten should be a nice incentive to get rid of those ants, unless you are into some weird stuff.

Insects Attract Insects

It is exactly as the title says, bigger and nastier insects will appear to prey on the ants. Apart from spiders, it seems that bats find ants tasty too. This information should be more than enough to act on.

The Anti-Ant Strategy

Don’t Bait Them

Don’t leave stuff that ants love in the open, like sweets and other food items. Put them in airtight containers so that the ants don’t find any gaps to slip through. If you own any pets and if their food bowl is being raided by ants then create a water moat around it, the ants haven’t invented boats yet.

It’s Sealing Time!!

Find the gaps and entrances that the ants are using to infiltrate, some should be relatively easy and obvious to find. The not-so-obvious paths can be found by stalking the ants. Once you find them, seal them all away.

You can pick from a wide range of sealants available in the market according to your requirement and budget. Alternatively, you can always use HomeTriangle's service, sit back and relax.

Draw The Line

This is somewhat of a temporary solution, but it gets the job done. Various substances repel ants, some can be found lying around your home, while others can be bought that are specifically made to counter ants. Some are so powerful that they outright kill ants.

Pick your poison, the ant’s poison I mean, and get drawing. Cover the entry points and disrupt the flow, the ants should leave you alone, at least till the next ant explorer rediscovers your home.