As we start to get just a hint of warmer weather, we have begun to get calls from our clients noticing pesky ants starting to make their way into their homes, and more specifically ants in their kitchens. This is no coincidence, the springtime is when ants become more active and begin to look for new food sources to help feed their growing colony.
But why are they making their way into your home out of all places? What do they ever have against you? What are they even eating? Today we’re going to explore those questions exactly!
Where are these ants coming from?
With spring (almost) officially here, it means that the warmer weather is here to stay! That also means that the ants will now be coming in from outside, probably not coming from the walls like before during the winter. The ants have been sleeping underground for a while and you may have been lucky enough to have not had them visit your home during the colder months, but now with the company of the warmer weather, they are in your kitchen.
We know what you’re thinking. Your kitchen is so clean, why are they coming in? Your kitchen may appear to be super clean without food on the counters, but there is tiny food that we miss that ants don’t. They are experts at finding the tiniest bit of crumbs.
Ants often find little crumbs under our stoves, around the trashcans, and sticky messes that we wouldn’t even notice. Before you vow to yourself to clean MORE please know it is impossible to keep our kitchens clean to the point that ants wouldn’t find a crumb to munch on. So while it may not seem like there is enough to eat in your kitchen, to a tiny ant there is more than enough, and in a lot of ways, there is much you can do about it.
Should I treat for ants myself?
When you see ants scurrying around your kitchen we understand the temptation to start spraying them with pest killer, vinegar, or whatever type of solution you have heard can get rid of them in your home. In truth, spraying them will often kill them on contact, but that may not be the smartest decision.
Ants are obnoxious creatures that no one wants to see all over their kitchen counters. However, spraying on contact with pest control spray is only going to kill the ants you see currently and not affect the colony that is living outside. This is going to reduce the ants in your home at the time of treatment. So you absolutely can kill the ants on-site in your kitchen if there are so many that they are becoming a bother.
However, if it can be avoided there are better treatments available to reduce to the total ant colony and prevent them from sending new worker ants into your kitchen to replace the ones you just killed.
Better options?
So what do the ants in your kitchen do once they find something delicious to feast on? Well, after they chow down, they head back to their colony and share it with their ant pals in the grossest way possible – via regurgitation. Could ants be any worse?
The best way to treat ants and ensure that they won’t continue to make their way into your kitchen is to reach that colony. A slow-acting treatment is the best treatment to kill the whole colony. Basically, the ants will bring the slow-acting treatment back to their colony not realizing what it is. That chemical compound will kill the worker ants and all the other ants who come in contact with it, drastically reducing the numbers. Eventually, the colony will be no more.
Should I Treat for Ants Outside or Inside?
Ants in the kitchen during the spring are most likely coming from outside. Therefore treating your yard is going to make a greater impact. When you treat your backyard, your pest control company is able to use a much stronger product than indoors which will protect your home against ants for much longer. This product is slow releasing and continuously keeps the colony from being active for up to 2 months.
In addition to the treatments that you can receive for your yard, you can also do a little yard maintenance to keep those ants at bay during the year. A yard full of debris is just asking ants to move in, so try to keep your landscaping in good shape this spring. Make sure to also pick up any items that may accumulate moisture like toys in the yard because ants will be attracted to these. Not only will this cut down on the ant population, but your yard will be looking fabulous as well!
So what about the inside of your home? Well, when you treat inside, the pest control product that is used has to be much milder because you are living in your home constantly. You don’t want to spray anything in your home that would be unsafe in food areas. These treatments don’t last as long either. We always want to make sure that you and family are protected.
How can we help?
Kapture offers a protection plan where we treat your yard every 3 months. If you are starting to see an ant problem in your kitchen now, chances are you will continue to see an ant problem in your home year round. Those ants aren’t going anywhere.
The best protection to keep ants out of your kitchen is a full yard treatment. If you have any questions about ant problems in your home, offer FREE phone consultations and are always happy to help!
Contact Kapture for a No-Obligation Phone Consultation and Quote:
Call 1-888-811-5813 or schedule online now to start protecting your home and family today!
