The last thing homeowners in Toronto and across Canada want to see in their home is a cluster of ants around their kitchen or any room in the house. Not only are they unsanitary, but they risk inviting additional pests into your home.
Keeping your family safe and ant-free is easier than it may seem. Follow these three tips for effective ant removal solutions.
Identify Any Nests
Knowing which type of ant is in your home is key to solving the problem. Black ants are often seen in clusters and near any food source in the house. If you’ve found a nest, you’re likely looking at carpenter ants. These particular pests find themselves around wooden areas — commonly on the home’s exterior, they may find themselves inside searching for food and water.
Since carpenter ants, in particular, pose a threat to the home’s structure, you may want to look for professional services. Accessing carpenter ant exterminators in Toronto is the next step for many local homeowners. An experienced company will have the tools and insight to ensure your home is rid of ants for good.
Spraying Entry Points
The entry points of your home are often susceptible to ants and small pests, mainly if the house is an older construction. These homes, unless newly renovated, likely have gaps around the windows and doors of the home or exposed pipes that ants can easily access.
Before taking any action with your spray bottle, use a moisture-resistant caulk around those spaces to seal any holes. From there, you can use an insecticide to deter ants from your home further — bifenthrin, deltamethrin, or permethrin chemicals are common choices. You’ll want to spray enough to dampen the surface.
Keep Your Home Clean
One of the simplest ways to prevent unwelcomed ants or small pests in your home is by regularly cleaning the surfaces of your household. Ants require food and shelter to survive, which means denying them these things is more likely to keep them out of your home and search elsewhere. The biggest culprit is the kitchen since that’s where your meals are prepared. After every meal, sweep away any food particles and nop your floors weekly — this ensures the ants cannot find any food sources and create their nests in your home.
Choose the Right Bait
No matter which type of ant, there is a type of bait that will help, if not wholly, rid your home of pests. A trap with a poisonous chemical inside is a favourable choice for black and brown pavement ants, as they’ll take the bait to their colonies and will eliminate the cluster upon digesting the bait.
Carpenter ants are far more stubborn, and their DIY method of removal is less concrete. In older Canadian homes, the first step is to find their nest. This can be achieved by placing minute dabs of honey, corn or maple syrup in areas where you’ve seen the ants.
To ensure swift cleanup, place the drops on masking tape stuck to your floors. The ants will likely leave trails that you can follow to determine where they’ve established a nest. Once this has been established, you can decide how best to seal the entry point.
