As you look for more and more home décor tips, you’re sure to find a variety of things that will spice up your home’s structure. However, one thing you might not find is one of the best tips for making your home more beautiful: pest control tips. As beautiful as your home may be, a pest infestation will definitely make it less beautiful. How can you more effectively handle ants in your home? Keep reading to find out more.
Ant Facts
To start, you may want to learn a little bit about the ants that are most likely to be in your home. There are more than 700 types of ants in the United States, which is why different types of ants may respond better to different prevention strategies.
Additionally, millions of ants can live in a single colony. This is why it’s so important to stop ant infestations at the source — you probably won’t be able to kill all the ants in a colony, so you should instead stop ants from coming inside at all.
The Most Common Places for Ants to Hide
Where are you most likely to see ants? These are the top locations for ants to hide.
- Kitchen
If you’re going to find an ant infestation in your home, chances are it’s going to be in your kitchen. The kitchen is where ants are most likely to find food, which is one of the main things ants are looking for at all times. Even just a few small crumbs can be enough for ants to invade your home looking for more. That can spiral out of control very quickly.
- Bathroom
Another common place to find an ant infestation is the bathroom. Bathrooms have water, which are another vital thing for ants. Just like any other living thing, ants need water as well. The main difference is that ants are so small, even a very tiny leak can become a viable water source. It’s important to remove all water sources to fend off an ant infestation.
- Basement
The main reason your basement could be perfect for an ant infestation is that basement walls often have cracks in them. Ants are burrowing animals and can easily burrow through the ground and through the small cracks in your walls. Plus, because many people don’t go in their basement very frequently, ants can live down there for months without you ever noticing.
How to Keep Ants Out of the Home
With all this information about ants, you’re probably wondering how you can make sure ants don’t get into the home, plain and simple. Here are a few of the best methods of avoiding an ant infestation.
- Seal cracks and holes in walls
- Ensure windows and doors have a strong seal
- Fix leaky pipes and faucets to avoid puddles
- Seal food in airtight containers
- Wipe down kitchen counters
- Empty trash frequently
- Stack firewood at least 20 feet away from the home
- Repair cracked pavement and foundations
Many of these are very simple. Remembering to wipe down your kitchen counter is astoundingly easy. However, some of them are more difficult, like repairing your home’s cracked pavement. These are equally as important as the others. Even if you need to call in a basement repair expert, it’s important that you keep ants away from your home.
Conclusion
Ants are certainly a frustrating pest to deal with, but you can handle these pests in a variety of ways. Whether it’s as simple as tightening some pipes or as complicated as replacing cracked pavement, these steps toward better pest control will definitely benefit you. Take some of these into account and you’ll be more than ready to have a truly gorgeous home.
