Ant Problems
While a kitchen crawling with ants poses no danger to human health, it is extremely irritating.
Ant colonies can contain thousands of ants, which explains why “do-it-yourself” ant control methods aren’t always effective.
Because of their size (typically between six and nine mm), ants are able to get into human habitats via small cracks or holes, which means that it’s almost impossible to prevent them from entering your home.
In the eyes of an ant, your home is a “one-stop-shop” – a place filled with delectable food for the entire colony. In order to avoid advertising your home as a hotel for ants, regularly wipe down your kitchen surfaces, refrain from leaving pet food out and clean dustbins frequently.
Worker ants are tasked with finding and obtaining food for the rest of the colony, which is why they’re running around in your kitchen or garden in the first place. They are in search of either sweet based food or protein/grease based foods. Once they find a food source, ants will leave a pheromone trail for other ants to follow. While worker ants go about their day, the rest of the colony is kept busy reproducing, maintaining and cleaning the colony and feeding the larvae.
Ants have been known to nest almost anywhere – including lawns, foundations and walls. Nests are typically far away (in ant terms) from a food and water source, and usually in a quiet area. This means that areas underneath paving, foundations or eaves are all attractive spots to nest in.
To to get your ant problem under control find the ant nests by following their trails.Inside your home, inspect along the carpet edges, doors, windows, and all areas of the kitchen. The easiest way to find a trail to the nest is to watch where ants go after reaching the food source. The trail must then be picked up on the outside of the home, inspect around foundation walls, areas of vegetation, and mulch. Any vegetation found near patios and walls may hide some ant nests or their trails. Check under any item that is on the ground. Some ant nests are well hidden. If you succeed at finding the nest then treatment can be rendered.