How To Avoid Ants In Your Home This Summer
Got an ant problem? You’re not the only one!
Ants are looking for two things: food and water.
Even the cleanest of houses can have ant issues.
As soon as the weather turns and we start to have clear dry days – the ones perfect for a day at the beach – you will start to see ants roaming in and around your home.
They will appear in your home’s wet areas – bathroom, toilet and laundry. This is because there is a constant water supply, however, the kitchen is where you will find them most often, as it has everything they are looking for.
They will find the tiniest crumb or smallest smear of something sweet and sticky and then they tell all their friends and the next thing you know there is an invasion!
Tips for deterring ants around your home
There are a few things you can do to reduce the number of ants walking across your benchtops.
- Ants are drawn to sugary and fatty foods, so keep your syrups, sugars and anything that attracts ants in airtight containers or put them in the fridge.
- Create a moat of water around pet food bowls so the ants cannot cross the water to get to the food.
- Put outside pet food bowls away from the house and only feed your pet what it can eat in one go.
- Ants do not like acidic things, so using lemon or vinegar to clean your benches can put them off.
- Ants leave a chemical trail behind when they find a food or water source to tell others where to go. Wipe away an ant trail with something like lemon juice to break the chain.
- Fill any holes, cracks or gaps that you find, as these may be letting ants get into your home.
- Ants tend not to like chalky substances, such as actual chalk, baby powder or baking powder. A line of powder can stop them from entering your home.
Killing off a nest is the only way to get rid of them entirely
Dealing with the few ants you see in your home is a completely different task from exterminating an entire nest, which is often the root cause of the issue. The nests can hold tens of thousands of ants, there can often be multiple nests and sometimes the nest are even be located in a property’s wall cavity.
A professional pest control provider such as Dawson’s Australia will have a better understanding of the ant’s behaviour and the right products to get rid of ants in your home this summer.
