Steps To Take If You Find Ants In Your Home

Pests are one of the last things you want to have to worry about when you are a homeowner. However, they can become a significant problem at any given time. A common misconception is that pests infest a house because it is unclean. While an unclean home can be a more welcoming environment for pests, pests can infiltrate any home, even the most pristine one. So, if you find ants in your home, do not assume that your housekeeping is at fault. It is better to focus on removing the ants. Get to know some of the steps you should take if you find ants in your home and start getting rid of those ants right away.

Spray Vinegar Around the House

Vinegar is one of those household items that has a thousand and one uses. One of those uses is to get rid of the chemical trails that ants leave behind when they travel along a path. If you keep seeing ants walking across the counter by your kitchen sink, for example, this area likely has a trail. 

Spray those areas that you see ants frequent with white distilled vinegar several times throughout the day. The vinegar wipes out these trails which can deter ants from continuing to take those paths. While vinegar does not kill the ants in your home, it can prevent new ones from coming in. 

Use a Borax Solution to Kill Ants

Another way that you can get rid of ants in your home is to make a Borax solution to leave around for them. Borax is another one of those common household items that can help you out in several ways. In this case, it is a poison to ants that consume it. 

Make a mixture of three parts powdered sugar and one part Borax.Place that mixture in small containers. This can be something as simple as an old lid from a peanut butter jar or something like a small spoon rest or tiny plate. 

The powdered sugar works to attract the ant to the mixture. They will then begin to carry the Borax (and the powdered sugar) back to their nest. The ants in the nest as well as those who carried it there will eat the Borax which will kill them. In this way, you can wipe out all or most of the nest with little effort. Of course, you will have to let the ants travel to and from this mixture in order to achieve this effect so you will have to practice patience. 

Contact a Home Pest Control Specialist

If you find that your ant colony is particularly stubborn and does not react to your natural treatments, you will want to go ahead and call a home pest control specialist. They will be able to assess the situation and most likely find the colony nest. 

Once they have made their assessment, they can decide on a course of action. This can include poisoning the nest, spraying around the house, or potentially doing a whole-house bug bombing to ensure that all pests are eradicated. 

Now that you know some of the steps to take if you find ants in your home, you can start dealing with the problem right away with DIY or professional home pest control.

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