Finding creepy crawlies in your home is a highly unpleasant experience. Most people loathe the sight of an unwanted spider scurrying across their living room floor. Although spiders are pretty common, a more unwanted pest is undoubtedly the ant.
Ants are very common insects that can make an unwelcome appearance in your residence at any time. You may see one or two tiny creatures in your home one day who will quickly set up home and breed, leaving you with a more serious problem.
These seemingly inoffensive little bugs can actually pose a health and hygiene risk to you and your household. They are very adaptable and resourceful pests who will find their way into your cupboards and lay claim to your open food boxes.
You may then unwittingly consume the food along with any ant waste. Although this will not cause too much of a threat to a human adult, small children and babies could become quite ill if they ingest any contaminated food.
There are two main types of ant in the UK. The Pharaoh ant is the smallest, around two millimetres in length and yellow in colour. These ants mainly live in drains and sewerage systems before entering the home. The more common Garden ant measures five millimetres with a black-segmented body.
Once you are aware of an ant problem, there are a few different ways to alleviate the invasion. You won't be able to tread on every ant or spray each one individually with insect repellent!
However, there are quite a few good products on the market that will successfully kill off an infestation. Firstly, you need to find where the ants are coming in from and if possible where their nest is.
You can spray the areas where you believe their nest to be with an ant killing formula. It is also best to treat the areas where they may have entered your domicile. There are various ant foods you can buy which they will eat and be poisoned.
If you do happen upon the nest, the easiest way to kill the queen, workers and any eggs is to pour several kettles of boiling hot water into it.
Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that kills ants by pulling all the moisture from their body. Although quick and highly efficient in disposing of these vermin, it is not safe to young children or pets. Cornmeal is also supposed to kill them off. Once they consume it then drink some water, the cornmeal swells inside their bodies and they die quite rapidly.
There are also ant poisons available to buy. The bugs will take the toxin back to their nest and spread it, causing the whole colony to be poisoned. However, this may take a number of weeks so isn't the quickest method.
Deterring these creatures is the next step once you have managed to evict them from your home.
Plug in ant-repellents can be very expensive but are excellent at keeping them at bay. The device releases an odour that the ant will detect and be repelled by. Ant pens are also a good way to prevent them gaining entry and the bonus, to the ant anyway, is that it will not kill them.
You can spray the perimeter of your house with insecticide to deter them from entering. Seal all ground level gaps and crevices, particularly near doors with caulk to block any potential access holes.
All sugary food should be sealed in an airtight container. Clear up any food spillages immediately to stop potential debris attracting the insects inside. Always ensure you rinse out containers before disposing of them in the garbage. This will reduce the chance of an opportunist ant seeking out any of your leftovers.
Keep your sink clean and try not to leave dirty dishes or standing water for them to drink from. Wipe down all surfaces and sweep, mop and vacuum regularly
Place pet food bowls in a slightly larger bowl filled with water. By creating this 'moat' you will deter the bugs from trying to get to the pet food inside.
A couple of tried and tested homemade remedies are also worth trying to keep the pests at bay. Ants supposedly hate cinnamon so sprinkle it at entrance points to stop them getting in.
Peppermint oil is another substance these creatures allegedly detest. Mix several drops with some water in a spray bottle and clean you work surfaces with the concoction on a weekly basis. Not only will your home smell minty fresh but also you will hopefully keep these pesky beasts at bay.
Ants are resilient creatures that are always on the lookout for a tasty and continual source of food. As long as you are prepared and ready, you will be able to keep your home ant free at all times.
Visit our site to learn more about insect control and find out more about ant repellent.
Ways to Naturally Prevent Ants From Invading Your Home
Depending on where you live, ants can be a problem all year round. For others, spring time brings an open invitation for those tiny ants to make their way into your home, more specifically into your kitchen. There are easy steps to take which can help to prevent ants from wanting to get into your home and kitchen.
Ants work by smell. So if they don't smell anything sweet or greasy then chances on they will look elsewhere. What this means for you is:
1. Sweep up and wipe down the floors more often than usual. Even the smallest crumb can attract A LOT of ants, so you may have to add some extra sweeping time to your daily routine.
2. If you store food on your counter (such as coffee, tea or flour) then make sure you store it in air tight containers.
3. Don't keep any food or dishes on the counter for even short periods of time. This is especially important overnight as ants like to come out in the dark and will have a great time on your dirty dishes. It's worth it to make sure to wash it all up before heading off to bed.
4. Keep pet food bowls clean and replace food often.
5. Clean up spills quickly. If you have young children around then you'll probably find yourself spending a lot of time wiping up small juice spills, especially during the spring time. Juice is a big ant attractor, so make sure you wipe it up with some water and them some mild dish soap. Ants don't like dish soap, so cleaning up little spills with it can only help to keep them away even more!
6. Make sure your garbage can stays clean of crumbs or any spills.
Natural Ant Repellents:
Food Products:
* Garlic is a natural repellent for ants. Sticking a few cut up cloves between the cracks of your deck is a great way to keep ants away which will help prevent them from getting close to the interior your home.
* Cayenne pepper
* Cinnamon
* Citrus oil
* Coffee grounds
* Cucumbers
* Mint tea
* Lemon juice- Try leaving a cup of lemon juice out on the counter, it could help keep the ants away. Just make sure the juice doesn't have any sugar as that could cause the opposite effect!
Plants:
Some plants have been known to repel ants. If ants are a real problem in your area then consider planting the types listed below around the house or in pots and then use the leaves in sachets or rub them around areas you want ants to avoid.
* Atlas
* Cedar wood
* Basil
* Bee balm
* Camphor
* Clove
* Citronella
* Chili peppers
* Cumin
* Eucalyptus
* Garlic
* Geranium
* Lavender
* Lemon balm
* Mint
* Pennyroyal
* Peppermint
* Spearmint
* Rosemary
* Thyme
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