Similar to humans, ants are attracted to easy to access food, water, and convenient living spaces. As the weather warms up in the spring and summer seasons, ants will begin to forage for food and water. If you’re wondering why you keep having ant infestations, it’s most likely because the resources ants need to survive are most likely easily accessible in your home.

When ants forage for food and water, there are no boundaries while they’re on their mission. Ants will feed on a wide variety of food, but take a particular liking to sugary substances. This is why homes are vulnerable to ant infestations because even a small spillage of juice or cake crumbs on the counter is enough to attract ants into your home. 

Easy to access food, water, and convenient living spaces can attract ants into your home. Learn about how to prevent ants in your home today!

How do Ants Get Into Your Home?

Since ants are tiny in size, they do not need much space to crawl between gaps and get into your home for food and shelter. Even with all the doors and windows shut, ants can get access to your home through cracks in the foundation, gaps under the doors, and poorly sealed windows.

Keeping ants out of your home is a tall task, especially in hot and dry weather conditions. However, some general home maintenance can help reduce the chances of an ant infestation. For example, sealing cracks and crevices in doors and window frames is a good starting point. With that said, the most effective way to prevent an infestation is by eliminating access to what attracts them in the first place.

How to Prevent an Ant Infestation?

Understanding why ants may be infesting your home, and preventing access to the resources that may be attracting them is the best way of prevention. Some basics are, keeping your home clean, cleaning spillage right away, and cleaning food preparation areas like countertops. Many people keep their fruits and vegetables in bowls on their countertops, so throwing away rotten fruits and vegetables is critical as well. Sugar based products, such as jams, cakes, and candy should be sealed and out of reach. 

Once ants have established a presence in your home, scooping them up or killing them won’t deter more from coming due to the scent trails that are already laid. Whichever method you choose to remove ants is up to you, however the area they’ve been around will need to be cleaned thoroughly to remove the scent trail. 

You may also notice ants are commonly found in bathroom sinks or showers. This is because water may be dripping from the sink or shower and is providing ants with the water source they desire. When the sink is used, be sure to wipe up water spilled on the counter top. Also, damp clothes and towels shouldn’t be left on the floor. Ants will try to chew on these items to get the moisture out of them.

Specific insecticides for ant removal can be sprayed around entry points to provide a temporary solution. However, if there’s a large trail of ants, insecticides may only provide short-term results. Instead, it’s better to focus on what the root cause is and eliminate it. If this doesn’t work, contact a professional pest control company before the ant problem becomes worse. 

How Long Does it Take for an Area to be Covered by Ants?

The timing of an ant infestation can be different for each situation. If a home has cracks in the foundation already and ants are lurking around, an infestation can happen fairly quickly if water and food are readily available for them. If ants are not yet in the house but are waiting outside, it can take hours or a few days for an infestation to take place. 

Unfortunately, ants will continue to return to the same spot once they’ve established it’s a good source for food and water. Once this happens, it can be very difficult to remove the ants for good.

Contact Stomp Pest Control for Ant Exterminator Services

If you are aware of an ant infestation in your home and have taken the preventative measures to stop the infestation but ants continue to appear, you may need to contact a professional pest control company. Stomp Pest Control has years of experience in ant removal services in Raleigh, NC. Contact us today at (919) 231-3292 or fill out the form below.