How to Keep Those Pesky Ants Away!

You open your eyes. The sun is shining brightly. The kids are impatiently knocking on the bedroom door saying, “ Mom, Dad, we’re hungry!” So you do the things you need to do to get up and get moving, like wash your face and brush your teeth. As you walk into the kitchen to get breakfast started, you  are shocked – to say the least – as you notice on the kitchen floor a bunch of tiny moving creatures: ANTS!

You  start thinking and then remember that, the night before, one of the kids ate a bowl of cereal and left crumbs on the floor. As you bend over to examine the situation from a closer perspective, you see two ants working in tandem, dragging a cereal flake from one location to another. The nerve! What audacity! What will you do?

A major (and extremely important) first step is to make sure that your home is clean. That means sweeping floors after meals, snacks, and any other occasions which would require food to be consumed and eaten.  Pay particular attention to sweeping right before going to bed; ants love to come out and scout when the lights are out and all movement has ceased. An additional help is to mop floors frequently, at least once a week, if not more. Using a solution of ¼ cup bleach to 2 cups water will be very helpful in deterring future visits from ants. If you have wall-to-wall carpeting, be sure to vacuum those areas every day. The less food that’s left on the floor, the less chance that the ants will be tempted to return.

If, however, your cleanliness is not deterring the ants from returning, more drastic steps must be taken. The next step is to purchase an insecticide spray for your particular house pest. When the ants return, spray the insecticide directly on the ants, being sure to cover the areas that they use to enter and to exit. Don’t forget to open all windows in the house so as to not breathe in more chemicals than necessary. After spraying, take a paper towel and remove the dead ants. You may want to mop the floor to get rid of excess insecticide, but be sure to leave corners, floor moldings, and the like untouched.

An additional safeguard is to spray outside the home. This will definitely be beneficial if the room that has the ant problem has no barrier other than the exterior wall to keep ants at bay. Pay particular attention to any cracks or crevices that may be apparent; this may require caulking or other measures to make sure you seal up any areas that ants could use as an entrance to your home.

Finally, if this step doesn’t work, you should definitely call the exterminator. Using insecticides often does the job, but if the ants continue to pay leisurely visits, you will have to enlist the help of a professional. Be prepared to leave the house while he sprays, as he will be using more potent chemicals to rid your home of those pesky little ants. It might not be a bad idea to plan to take the kids to the park for the day or possibly meet a friend for a pleasant lunch. Additional time may be required after the spraying to minimize the chemical inhalation and to allow fresh air to enter into the rooms. Be sure to follow all instructions that the exterminator gives to prevent future visitations from the ants; your adherence to his advice just might be the final touch that spells out your victory and the ants’ defeat!

Ants are definitely hard workers, but they’re not unbeatable. Follow these instructions, and those pesky little guys will stay out of your home and out of your life (at least until you decide to go to a picnic!).