Why do I have ants?

Like most other creatures, ants really like to eat. While they do so mainly to survive, that doesn’t mean they will settle for whatever is available outside. If  they can find a way into your kitchen to enjoy some tidbits of the desert you had for dinner or that leftover fruit you forgot to put away they will move inside.

What kind of ants are they?

Knowing what kind of ants you are dealing with is important, because knowing your enemy will always help to defeat them.

For example, if you see tiny black ants, they most likely came inside because they were attracted to sweet or starchy foods you might have left out on the counter or dropped onto the floor. Even meat will entice this type of outdoor ant to come inside.

Carpenter ants, which are the bigger, more common ants, are much more dedicated and therefore harder to control. They prefer moist wood, which can help you single out trouble areas.

Carpenter ants build nests within the wood and cause damage. They are attracted to kitchens because of wet areas, especially around the refrigerator or sink. Of course, this also means that the outside walls and foundation of your kitchen are susceptible to carpenter ants.

What stops ants from coming in my kitchen?

For smaller ants, you can seal off entry points into your home so that future ants cannot get in, however, it also prevents them from getting out.

The best way to get rid of ants is to learn how to prevent them, as they will eventually learn to look elsewhere for food and stop coming back. Staying consistent with your cleaning and hygiene will really do wonders.

Another big help is to make sure you tightly seal all bags and boxes, because ants do have the skills to climb in and get at food. You might want to invest in plastic containers that provide a strong seal to keep your food from becoming a temptation.

Of course, in an ant’s world even a singular crumb is a meal fit for a king.

Unfortunately, unless you are willing to vacuum every surface of your kitchen on a daily basis and remove all trash immediately, it just isn’t possible to prevent each and every ant from entering your kitchen.

Can I Treat Them Myself?

You can, if the problem isn’t that bad. However, you have to be diligent.

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture explains: “The mistake most people make when attempting to control ants is only spraying the ones they see. This approach usually fails because the ants seen foraging over exposed surfaces are only a small portion of the colony. Typically, there will be thousands of additional ants including one or more egg-laying queens hidden somewhere in a nest. Eliminating queens and other colony members within nests is often the key to effective ant control.”

There Are a Lot of Ants Here

Large-scale infestations do happen, but they absolutely require assistance from a pest control professional.

We work to address the problem by locating the ant colony. We do this by laying bait, in the form of poisoned food, for them to find. When they find the bait they will take the food back to their nests. Once we find the nest, we use a variety of chemical sprays to eliminate ants completely.

Call Us Today

While it is nice to imagine a world where ants just stay outside where they are supposed to be, the truth is that ants are always going to be a part of our indoor lives. Constant vigilance is required to keep ant infestations at bay.

The only true solution is to have a pest management professional come out and treat any infestations and continue with follow up prevention. Sticking to a schedule and getting on top of the problem early is really the best way to handle any ant problem.

To make sure that your home and property stay free of ants, call Patton Termite and Pest Control here in Wichita. We provide timely and reliable results, turning your ant problem into a lasting solution that rids your home of ants.