How to Keep Ants Out of Your House

Walking back and forth between the kitchen and the grill on the outdoor patio is a common pathway where spills occur. Do you know who loves these types of spills? Ants! With the grilling season ahead of us, here’s how you can keep those pesky ants out of your home.

Keep Your Home Tidy
The days of eating snacks without a plate or casually using your sock to mop up a spill should be left in the past. If you’re looking to keep ants (and any other pest) out of your home, your cleaning skills should be well-developed. Keep all food in the kitchen, use plates (every single time), clean spills immediately, and do a routine cleaning of the entire house on a weekly basis. Otherwise, any crumbs or spills that have been sitting might as well be welcome mats for ants.

Seal the Envelope
Once you have your cleaning methods down pat, the next step is to cut off access to your home. Inspect your home by keeping an eye out for cracks and crevices that lead to the outside world and seal them up wit the appropriate caulking sealant. If you currently have a problem with ants in your home, watch where they are walking to — but more importantly, where they are walking from. Observing the ants you discover in your home will tell you which entrances they are currently using.

Create Roadblocks
When ants find a food source, they alert the rest of their colony by leaving behind a pheromone trail. That’s why you need to immediately wash the areas you find ants in with a soapy water and white vinegar solution. This will remove any pheromone trails and prevent any more arrivals from using this exact trail. If you find ants and what to prevent them from coming back after spraying this solution, consider leaving out citrus juice, cinnamon, peppermint oil, cloves of garlic, lavender oil, or chili powder.

If you’re walking through the kitchen and you see an army of ants marching by, chances are you’re doing something wrong. When you need an ant infestation removed from your home or business, contact Knockout Pest Control. To learn more or to schedule an inspection, give us a call at (800) 244-7378.

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