HOW TO GET RID OF ANTS FAST?

Ants are very common pests in homes, especially in summer and spring. They are sometimes transient but can also multiply to form a colony, difficult to destroy. These pests are mainly attracted to food and moisture. Sometimes they also seek a safe shelter to live in. The sooner you have detected their nest, the sooner you need to proceed with ant extermination because the task becomes more complex when they have regrouped in a colony. Discover our experts’ advice on how to identify, eradicate and prevent the appearance of ants in your home.

 

Why do ants get into houses?

A colony of ants can count up to 10,000, 20,000 or even 50,000 ants for the largest ones. These bugs live both inside and outside the premises. There are several reasons for their abundance. Here are some of them:

• Food: ants have a bad habit of feeding on almost any food, even if they are particularly attracted to sweets. A drop of honey, a pacifier or jam residue in the hallway are excellent sources of nutrients for them. Once a single ant has identified this source, it will take with it a whole olfactory lineage (pheromone trail) that will lead to a rapid infestation of the premises.
• Moisture: water is also an important source of food for ants. They even take some back to their colony for future consumption. So if you have puddles, potted plants, broken pipes in your house and they identify them, they will leave a scent trail to attract the colony.
• Shelter: it is true that ants can live anywhere and everywhere because of their small size, but they are especially looking for a warm and comfortable home. Their access point is usually the result of poor exterior caulking of the building envelope.

 

Signs of an ant invasion?

The presence of ants in one or more rooms of your home is a sign that you need to take control and fight them as soon as possible. In the event of an ant invasion, these insects are most often present in threads inside and/or outside the home. Such proliferation may mean that these bugs are moving from a food source to their nest.

 

Why proceed with ant extermination?

The damage caused by ants is so great that no one would like to experience it. For example, the carpenter ant can damage the structure of your home while the paving ant destroys gardens, lawns, flagstones, flower beds, etc. The most harmful species can even dig into the sand between paving stones or the joints between bricks in a house.

Once installed, these ants can cause irreversible problems to the structure of the house. This is why it is more than urgent to intervene for an ant extermination as soon as you find even a dozen ants in your house. It is better to anticipate if you do not want to suffer the damage of these small devastators.

 

Ant extermination: how is it done?

The extermination of ants is a complex exercise that requires the intervention of a professional in the field; especially when the infestation is high. The best way to get rid of them completely is to kill the queen or queens so that the ant farm can disperse. Here’s how to do it:

 

Identification of the type of ants

After identifying the ant, the exterminator assesses the situation and treats the infestation according to the type of ant involved. There are 5 most famous varieties of ants in Canada:

• Carpenter ants: commonly found outside the house, they excavate tunnels in the wood to build their colonies; so that they can be seen in the garden, on the deck or even on the siding of the house. More active in the evening, they feed on treats, proteins, human food and even pet food.
• The black ant (pavement ant): it makes its nest in the empty spaces of lawns, woods, bricks, logs, loose soil and rocks. Sugar, fatty foods, sweets, butter, crumbs will attract them to your home, even though they feed mainly on insects and pollen. Most often, they become embedded in food and make it inedible.
• The odorous ant: it likes warm and humid environments and is attracted by meats, vegetables, dairy products, crumbs and sweets. In addition to their unpleasant smell, they contaminate food. Their ability to reproduce several times in a single year makes their infestation truly uncontrollable.
• Silver ants: light or dark brown in appearance, they measure between 2.2 and 2.8 mm long. They take refuge in fibrous materials such as debris, wood, mulch from trees or shrubs. A single colony of this species is made up of several nests and may have as many as 100 queens, so the type of infestation here is really important. Since they are aggressive, these ants will destroy the nests of other ant species nearby.
• Pharaoh ants: more difficult to control, they are the smallest species of ants that exist. They nest in any place and stay there as long as possible, as long as nobody disturbs their activities. Their favorite foods are sugars, fats and proteins, although they may also eat insects and other foods.

Ant extermination: what solution to adopt?

Depending on the species and nature of the infestation, the exterminator can use a variety of natural methods to destroy ant nests.

• Diatomaceous earth: safe for humans and animals, it kills ants effectively by dehydrating them. Only drawback, very dirty.
• Pepper: sprinkling ground black or red pepper on the ants’ highways will deter them from entering your home; especially since they are very allergic to its pungent smell.
• Essential oils: lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon, peppermint, lemongrass, thyme… all natural ant repellents.
• White vinegar: both a repellent and an exterminator, it leaves a persistent scent that ants absolutely cannot stand.
• Baking soda: ants need only consume the borax or baking soda + powdered sugar mixture to die.
• Ant traps: they prevent ants from escaping and can kill them if the exterminator puts poison in them.

 

Why call an ant exterminator?

The certified ant exterminator has all the tools to eliminate ants in a responsible and safe manner. He inspects the premises, analyzes the degree of infestation and implements solutions adapted to the species, the season and even the location of the house. Basically, it treats the problem at the source and provides sustainable solutions.

 

Ant extermination: how to prevent ant invasion?

Since ants are attracted to crumbs and food scraps, be sure to keep your kitchen and utensils clean. Caulk entry points through which they can sneak in. You can also use our commercial or residential protection services.