Keeping Your Home Ant-Free When Nice Weather Returns
Posted on: 21 January 2016
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During the winter, most people do not worry about insects as they are not in view due to cooler temperatures. When spring and summer arrive, ants will re-emerge, hungry and looking for a meal after their long winter cooped up underground. Taking steps to prepare your home before an infestation occurs is best. Here are a few tips to follow in an attempt to keep your home ant-free when winter is over.
Keep The Interior Clean
Do your best to keep your home as clean as you can. Ants, other insects, and rodents usually stay in areas that are not kept in the best of conditions as there are usually crumbs to eat among the debris. Make sure to vacuum every few days so crumbs are removed from carpeting. Cleaning your kitchen is of the utmost importance as this is where crumbs can be left behind. Clean counters and your stove top with a mild detergent daily to remove any food scent from the area. This will eliminate food odor. If an ant walked across your counter, it will mask any scent they leave behind for other trailing ants to follow to food.
Check Exterior Entryways
If there are cracks in your exterior siding, ants can use these to slip into your home. Fill in all cracks with caulk. If your home has any damaged siding, have the panels replaced so ants do not make their way underneath. Smaller holes in wood siding can be patched temporarily by using a piece of steel wool to plug up the area. Cover it with a piece of flashing to keep intruders out of the area.
Check around your doors and windows for cracks where ants can get inside. Fill any gaps with caulk or weather-stripping. Doors often have a gap underneath where ants can get inside easily. Consider drawing a line of chalk on the floor at each entryway. Alternately, talcum powder can be sprinkled across this area. Most ants will not cross a line of talc or chalk, making it a great way to keep them on the outside of your home.
Tend To The Outdoors
If you have an area set aside to pile wood for burning, make sure it is an ample distance from your home. You may have to walk a few more steps to gather wood when needed, but it will help keep ants from walking toward your home if they end up in the pile when wood is stacked. Check each log thoroughly before bringing inside and burn it immediately so any ants harbored under the bark will not slip out into your home. If your home has grass around the perimeter of the foundation, ants are likely to crawl onto your home's exterior. If you place crushed gravel around your perimeter, ants may stay away from your home. They tend to stay away from rocky areas.
If you are concerned about ants, contact a business such as Suffolk Pest Control.