Nobody likes finding ants in their kitchen. As a place where you and your loved ones like to gather and eat, ants can really take away from your peace of mind.
Unfortunately, if you’ve ever dealt with an ant problem before, you know how quickly one ant can become many. A single ant can quickly be followed by many more and soon you’ll be spotting ants all over your counters and floors.
For that reason, you might be looking for information on how to get rid of ants in your kitchen.
With some solutions in place, you can get an ant problem under control…and even prevent them in the first place.
What Causes Ants in the Kitchen?
Ants live outside and build colonies full of workers. Ants that make their way inside are primarily in search of food. These ants will forage for the tiniest crumbs, so it doesn’t take much to draw them in.
If you’ve spotted a single ant in your kitchen, this is most likely a scout ant. Scout ants have a focused goal…to search high and low for food.
Once the scout finds food, it will release a pheromone that invites other ants to join it.
While people are often not worried about finding a single ant in their home, it could be an indicator that more are soon to follow.
How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Kitchen
If you’ve spotted some of these pests, you probably want to know what is the fastest way to get rid of ants in the kitchen.
One step that you can take on your own is to keep your kitchen tidy. Make an effort to clean up crumbs, keep food in sealed containers, and bring trash outside.
But as we’ve mentioned, ants will forage for the tiniest of crumbs, so even a clean home can still wind up with an ant problem.
The best way to get rid of ants is with professional pest control services. A pest control expert can perform a thorough inspection and determine how ants are getting inside. It is often a small crack or crevice…after all, these are tiny creatures.
A pest control expert can apply a bait product that will be taken back to the colony. This will address the primary source of the problem (the colony outside of your home).
While there are DIY pest control products out there, there are a lot of reasons why these aren’t a good idea. If you have an ant problem, you want to get it under control quickly and effectively. A pro will be best set up to help.
How to Prevent Ants in the Kitchen
As we’ve mentioned, cleaning up your kitchen is one step you can take to deter ants. Don’t let spills linger and vacuum up those crumbs. You also want to make sure that you regularly take garbage out and cover any food that’s left out.
Since ants are usually in search of food, sometimes it’s outdoor parties or picnics that initially draw ants close to your home. If you are serving food outside, still make an effort to clean up any spills and bring all food inside when the party is done.
You can also make an effort to seal up cracks and crevices where ants or other pests might be coming through.
All that being said, since these pests are highly opportunistic, they’re often going to make their way inside, even with your best efforts to prevent them.
That’s why there is simply no substitute for professional pest control.
Professional pest control will help to keep ants out in the first place.
With proactive, quarterly treatments, you can keep most pests out. If you have an existing problem, that will be addressed first. But going forward, the focus will be on how to prevent ants in the kitchen from the start.
Choosing Pest Control Services in Southern NH, ME, and MA
At Seacoast Turf Care, our pest control services cover not only ants but most of the other common household pests, too. That also includes stinging insects (typically found outside, but that may accidentally come in). And it covers mice.
If you truly want peace of mind that you’re keeping pests away, investing in professional pest control is a wise choice. By taking the right steps, you’ll be able to get back to enjoying life as usual.
Want to learn more about how pest control services can protect your family and give you peace of mind? At Seacoast Turf Care, we service NH towns near Stratham, North Hampton, Exeter and many more. Get pest control pricing for your Southern NH, Southern Maine, or Northeastern Massachusetts property.
Image Source: Ants on candy
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