Strategies For Controlling And Eliminating Ants In The Home

Ants are among the most populous insects on earth with more than 12,000 distinct species, so it’s little wonder that they often cross paths with humans in ways that are less than ideal. These problems can range from ants getting into human food, or even causing painful bites such as those of the fire ant.

When ants become a nuisance, there are many options available to remove the pests. Because of their incredibly adaptive nature, eliminating an entire colony of ants is a difficult if not impossible proposition; therefore any ant control program should be focused on keeping them out of human dwelling spaces and controlling those parts of colonies that encroach on human activities.

The first step in controlling ant problems is not unlike that for most other pests. And that is to remove anything that might be making your home an attractive spot for ants. They are generally attracted to sweet foodstuffs, although any exposed food can make be an attractive reason for a colony to spread into a home.

An ant colony operates by sending worker or drone ants into a space to search for food, once found they will take the food back to the nest and their queen, who continues laying eggs and increasing the size of the colony. Once the original attractant is removed or eliminated, the work of control and eradicating the infestation can begin.

The primary product in ant control supplies is bait that is seen as food by the ants but contains a pesticide that is intended to be spread among the colony. These sorts of baits usually contain some type of desiccant such as boric acid that serves to dry out and kill the ants by causing cracks in their exoskeleton.

Products such as boric acid are generally safe to use around children and pets, which is one of their great advantages over more potent chemicals. Because of the social structure of ant colonies, an effective method to ensure their eradication is to find and kill the queen of the colony, however this can be difficult due to the vast nature of ant colonies.

In addition to placing bait that will kill the worker ants and be taken back to the colony in combination with attempting to locate and kill the queen, it is important to guard the exterior of your home with a pesticide to make it an unattractive location for any ants in the future.