Ant Control
At your picnic. In your home. In your pants. These tiny workers, ever so dedicated to their queen, are literally everywhere, and we’re guessing that the latest place that they’ve shown up is somewhere that’s got you at your breaking point, whether it be in, on or around your food, water or kitchen area. While they may not be as burly looking as other pests, they’re still much more than a nuisance because they are better organized and bigger in number than most labor unions.
Why do I have them? Truthfully, ants, due to their miniscule size, essentially will go where they please, when they please. The main reasons they’ll enter your home is in search of a delightful vacation home, usually near sources of heat, food or moisture, which explains why you’re seeing them in your master bathroom, the kitchen windowsill or underneath (and sometimes, inside) your dishwashing unit. They’re very interested in things in your pantry as well, so don’t be surprised to find them scoping out a quick fix from the sugar bowl or the other snacks you have stocked away!
I’d really rather not have them, so how do I get rid of these things? Well, ants, you see, tend to be very stubborn once they’ve found a nice place to live. So, in the sense that you’d call the cops on a neighbor that has broken into your home, call Budget Pest Control to bring down the swift reign of justice on your ant issues with our state of the art equipment, vehicles and treatments. We have family and pet friendly ant control treatments for your home to turn your pesky ants into smart bombs, traveling deep into the heart of their own nest. This will take care of not just your home invaders but their cousins outside.
Call Budget Pest Control 24/7. Our Friendly informative office staff are here to answer all your questions regarding ant control, provide you with an estimate and if you wish have one of certified experienced field technicians out to your home 7 days a week!
Stats
Ants are a very common insect that can be found anywhere in the United States. They can range in size from the tiny pharaoh ant to the much larger carpenter ant. These species usually vary in color from black to yellow to red to brown. Ants come in two major groups of homes; some species have singular queens that the whole colony is loyal to. Other separate species have multiple queens, which can lead to the budding of separate colonies and trickier control.
Did You Know?
- There are about 12,500 known ant species in the world.
- Some ants are capable of carrying objects that are 50 times their weight. That means if an ant were the same size of the average American male it could lift about 8,750 pounds!
- The biomass of ants is roughly equal to the biomass of humans.
Myths & Facts
Myth: Drawing a chalk line around the entrances of homes prevents ants from entering your home.
Fact: Ants travel using pathways of pheromones that guide other ants to the quickest route to an object of interest. So, a chalk line will temporarily disrupt this pheromone pathway but is by no means a permanent solution to the problem.
Myth: Ants live in isolated colonies that seldom communicate with one another.
Fact: Ants can be considered to be part of a super organism. Argentine ants have recently been discovered to have an identically colony identification pheromone in Europe, North America and Japan. This means that all argentine ants living in these areas belong to one giant “super colony”.
Signs of An Infestation
Different ants have different signs that they have infested a structure.
Seeing ants in and around your home is a strong indicator that you have any kind of ant problem.
Frass or wood shavings around wooded areas of your home may be an indication of a carpenter ant problem.
Little mounds of dirt in the cracks of sidewalks or and kind of cement is a tell-tale sign of pavement ants.
FAQ
How did I get Ants?
Any home can have entry of a few Ants. If they stick around it is usually due to poor sanitation is the primary cause of ant infestations. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink, food residue on countertops, crumbs on the floor and trash not frequently emptied provide food sources for meal-seeking ants. What starts with a few foragers entering a home can become a major problem if ants establish colonies in walls, lawns, or under home foundations.
How serious are Ants?
- One of the biggest problems related to ants in the home is food contamination. Ants carry bacteria on their bodies, which spreads when they crawl in pantries and across countertops. Entry: Ants can enter through even the tiniest cracks, seeking water and sweet or greasy food substances in the kitchen pantry or storeroom areas.
- Some species like carpenter and fire ants can cause additional problems. Chewing tunnels through wood beams (carpenter ants) – fire ants sting and cause pain and allergic reactions to those hyper-sensitive to them.
How can I control ants?
- Ant control can be difficult, but there are some things you should know about how ants’ behavior can lead to big headaches for you and your home:
- Scent trails: Ants leave an invisible chemical trail which contains pheromones for others to follow once they locate the food source.
- Nest locations: They can nest about anywhere in and around your house; in lawns, walls, stumps, even under foundations.
- Colony size: Colonies can number up to 300,000 to 500,000, and whole colonies can uproot and relocate quickly when threatened.
- Colony Lifetime: A colony can live a relatively long lifetime. Worker ants may live seven years, and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
- Do it yourself effectiveness: Most do-it-yourself ant control approaches kill only the ants you see. Some truly effective treatments can penetrate and destroy nests to help prevent these pests from returning. Also, home remedies don’t account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments.
- The good news is that our professional treatm nt will flush the ant colony and effectively rid your home of the pest. We use a combination of bait and spray.
What can I expect at my treatment:
- Your technician will contact you when on the way for the treatment.
- Your technician will meet with you prior to the service and perform a quick inspection. Your technician will answer any questions that you may have and settle payment.
- Your technician ill perform a chemical treatment potentially with a combination of bait and spray (dependent upon the technicians findings).
- A focus of treatment will be in areas of activity, including kitchens, bathrooms, pantries, basements.
