How To Safely Get Rid Of Ants In Your Home

Ants can be a huge problem for homeowners. They may not destroy the actual physical structure of your home, but they do bite, and they do get into your food supply. Your first reaction to the problem may be to purchase and use a spray to get rid of ants, and this will work. Unfortunately, this is not a very safe option for the people and pets living in the home. There is a much safer way to get rid of ants, and you will find that this method has longer lasting results.

The first thing you need to do is to determine where the ants are coming from. This means that you need to find their anthill. In most cases, the ant hill will be located outside, but close to an outer wall of the home. When you find the nest, drench it with boiling water. You can also use gasoline or diesel, but this isn't advised, as it isn't very healthy for the environment as a whole. Normally, the boiling water will do the trick in terms of taking out the ant hill.

If you cannot find a nest or ant hill, the ants in your home are most likely Pharaoh Ants or Argentine Ants. The nests do exist, they are just harder to locate, and often look like small piles of dirt, and less like normal ant hills. You will need to look inside and outside of the home for these nests.

For those ant hills that are located outdoors, the next step is to determine how they are getting into your home. Follow their trails from where the ant hill was to the house to determine this, and on the interior and exterior of the home, place ant bait, such as Terro Ant Bait at those locations. These ant bait products attract the ants if they are placed close enough to the trail that the ants are using, and they are very effective at killing ants. Some products allow the ants to live long enough to make it back to the nest, so that the queen ant gets the poison as well.

To prevent future ant infestations, be careful not to leave food or dirty dishes out on counters, and wipe all of the surfaces in your home down with a cleanser. Additionally, you can treat the area where the ants were coming into your home with baby powder or other products to prevent more ants from coming in. Common areas where ants come into the home are through baseboards, electrical outlets, and windows and doors that are not well sealed.

You should also make sure that you keep an eye on your yard, including areas that are not close to the house, and get rid of ant hills as you find them. Even ants that are currently located in the far corners of your yard will eventually make their way into your home if you don't stop them in their tracks. There are many environmentally friendly products on the market today that can be used to treat your yard, making it unattractive to ants.

About the Author:
Emily Taylor is a kindhearted individual who loves the outdoors; she spends most of her time lately working in her yard and tending to her garden if she isnt writing for Vulcantermite.com. Vulcan Termite and Pest Control Birmingham is a family owned business in Alabama specializing in getting rid of those unwanted house guests.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-To-Safely-Get-Rid-Of-Ants-In-Your-Home/4081145

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