Ants – Get out of my house!
Whether you live in Bakersfield, Ventura, Tehachapi or Camarillo, you will sooner or later have ants in your house. So it’s a good to know that if you’re in Bakersfield and need a pest control company, we can help! Ants are one of the most common household pests we experience, indoors and out. And, while it’s easy to kill ants, it’s not actually very easy to get rid of the entire colony of ants.
In fact, only using one method usually does not work – and not all ant pest control methods work on ants. But that doesn’t mean you have to live with an ant infestation in your house – it just means there are few things you need to know about how to get rid of ants and why they are there.
First, did you know ant infestations are often related to the weather?
When it’s cold and wet, ants will come inside to find food, heat, and avoid flooding. When it’s dry and hot, or for example, when we are experiencing California drought conditions, ants will try to make their way inside to find water, food and cooler temperatures. This presents a case for ant problems in Bakersfield and Ventura for a couple of times during the year. This also means you can be very clean and still have ants. Keeping a clean kitchen and house alone is not an effective strategy in preventing ants because weather often plays such a large part in the problem.
Second, did you know spraying store-bought insecticide is rarely effective with ants?
Spraying ants with pesticide only kills the ones you can see, and leaves the nest safe – where most of the ants reside. Bait works better as the workers will take the bait back to the nest for others to eat. However, this is not a fail proof method, and you should consider hiring a pest control professional to ensure your problem has been resolved.
Third, the best way to get rid of ants is to avoid an infestation to begin with.
This includes the usual things like:
- Keeping a clean house; especially the kitchen and bathroom
- Cleaning up crumbs and spilled liquids, and throwaway rotting food
- Store items like sugar and honey in well-sealed containers, and wipe down any stickiness on the outside
And other things you might not have considered, like:
- Checking for any water leaks or places where water pools around faucets and sinks. These are considered good water sources to visiting ants.
- Do an interior and exterior perimeter check and caulk holes or cracks where ants may be getting in. Also make sure to replace torn screens or weather stripping.
- If you do see an ant, kill it and clean the area around it so that other ants cannot follow its trail. If you can find the trail, clean this area as well to prevent future ants from using the trail.
The last thing you should know about how to get rid of ants is that you will never be able to kill all of the ants – they will always make more. The best thing you can do to get rid of ants is to follow the steps above, and to have a regularly scheduled pest control service in place. If you aren’t currently using a pest control service in Bakersfield, give us a call today for a free inspection and let us help your ant infestation become a thing of the past!
