Is there anything more enjoyable than a buffet? Especially when they have a wide range of quality choices to pick from. All you have to do is grab a plate, grab some food, and eat to your heart’s content. This is what your home feels like to ants. The second they walk out from a hole in your wall or gap in your floor, infinite possibilities await them. Maybe they’ll find crumbs under your couch, or perhaps a whole pie on the kitchen counter. Whatever it is, they will have enough to eat to their heart’s content. What can you do to stop them? Here are a few things our experts recommend.
Common Ants Around South Carolina
Ants are all around us, and no two species are the same. Here in South Carolina, we have 4 specific ant species that are known for causing homeowners trouble, fire ants, carpenter ants, argentine ants, and little black ants.
Some of these ants just want to scavenge food from your home. Little black and Argentinian ants are a prime example of this. They will establish outside or within the walls of a home and scavenge food wherever they can find it, including inside your kitchen.
Fire ants on the other hand rarely enter into homes, but cause trouble in a different way by biting, stinging, and destroying landscaping. Having these pests around can make even the toughest individuals feel threatened in their yards.
Finally, we have carpenter ants. These wood-destroying pests not only scavenge for food inside homes but also use the structure of homes themselves to build their nests. As carpenter ant nests grow inside homes, severe structural damage can occur.
How To Deter Ants From Your Home
Two things can be done to deter ants from your home. The first is exclusion, and the second is necessity elimination. Here are some practical ways you can implement these prevention strategies around your South Carolina property.
- Use a caulking gun to seal up gaps and cracks around your home’s exterior.
- Keep tree branches and bushes trimmed away from your home’s exterior.
- Repair or replace water-damaged, rotting, or decaying wood around your home.
- Make sure all of your screens are in good working order.
- Fix leaky pipes and fixtures in and around your home.
- Eliminate sources of water build-up.
- Clean inside regularly, making sure not to neglect large appliances and furniture.
- Store leftover foods and beverages inside airtight containers.
- Pick up and clean out pet food and water bowls each night before going to bed.
- Clean up food and drink spills around your home as they occur.
- Limit the number of rooms in your home where you eat to just one or two.
One thing to keep in mind is that ants are a million times easier to prevent than they are to get rid of. If you have an active ant infestation causing trouble inside or around your home, your best option is to seek professional help.
The Best Way To Deal With Ants
Keeping ants out of your home is a delicate process. If even one hole is missed, or a single scrap of food isn’t picked up, your problem may not be solved. To ensure ants stay out of your home for good, we have detailed solutions for you here at The Original Bugman Pest Elimination, Inc. Our team of skilled pest technicians has the tools and treatments needed to protect your home from a variety of different pest invaders, including ants. To find out what our pest control plans would look like for your home, give us a call today.
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