How to Protect Against Ants This Spring
March is here, and the warmer temperatures of early Spring have started to arrive. Unfortunately, as most homeowners know all too well, as the temperatures begin to rise in Northern Virginia, the yearly ant infestations are not far behind. Ants become far less active during the winter, as these ectothermic insects are heavily affected by the temperature change. Ants will typically close the entrance to their nest and conserve their energy during the colder months, but as temperatures rise, these nuisance insects will get active again, and begin invading your home en masse to feed on any crumbs or spills in your home. If you are in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Stafford, or anywhere else in Northern Virginia, and you are dealing with an ant infestation you just can’t get rid of, contact the experts at Summit Environmental Solutions today for safe, effective ant control treatments. Our team offers FREE estimates, so give us a call today to get on the schedule at 703-520-5868!
What Attracts Ants To My Home?
The first step in protecting your home against springtime ant infestations is identifying WHY ants are coming to your house in the first place. Ant colonies send out several scouts to locate sources of food, and once a scout locates food, it returns to the colony, leaving behind a trail of pheromones for the rest of the ants to follow. It may only take a single scout ant to leave your home swarming with ants. Ants are attracted to crumbs and spills, especially sweets, starches, meats, and liquids. There’s a common stereotype that ants are only attracted to sugar, and while ants do love sugar, any type of food spill can attract ants. Even bowls of pet food that have been left out can end up swarming with ants.
Food isn’t the only thing that can attract an ant infestation to your home. Ants need water like every living creature, so any source of moisture in your home can attract ants. Leaky pipes, condensation, groundwater in your crawl space, even bowls of water for your dog or cat can attract ants. While ants often just forage in your home and then return to their nests inside your yard, sometimes ants will invade your home to set up a colony inside attics or wall voids, underneath heavy kitchen appliances, behind window frames, and inside crawl spaces.
Ants are obviously very tiny, and therefore are able to slip into your home through the tiniest openings. Ants may enter underneath doors, through gaps around windows, through cracks in your foundations, or even utility line penetrations. Some ants can even hitch a ride on houseplants or packages.
Types of Ants in Northern Virginia
Virginia is home to several different species of ants that can cause trouble for you in your home or yard, including:
- Odorous house ants: these tiny, black ants produce a rotten coconut odor when killed.
- Pavement Ants: these medium sized brown/black ants are named for the nests they build inside pavement, but they will happily nest inside your home as well
- Carpenter Ants: these large, black ants are infamous for destroying wood as they build their nests, and can cause significant damage to your home
- Fire Ants: more common in the southern half of the state, these red ants are extremely aggressive and will sting without much provocation
- Argentine Ants: these shiny brown/black ants can form massive colonies with hundreds of queens
How Effective is DIY Ant Control?
You’ve probably heard the old trick of sprinkling cayenne pepper around the entrances to your home in order to keep ants out. While this may be effective in the short term, eventually the ants will find another way inside your home. Unfortunately, DIY ant control methods that involve natural repellents are mostly ineffective. They may stop ants from entering around a certain area, but if ants want to get inside your home, they will find a way in. Over-the-counter insecticides and repellents can be effective in the short term, but the only way to truly eliminate an ant infestation is to contact a licensed pest control expert. Pest control experts have more effective, professional-grade pesticides that can be safely applied without danger to non-targets. Ant Control Services in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, and Stafford
The most effective way to comprehensively eliminate ant infestations is to contact a licensed pest control expert. If you need ant control services in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, or Stafford, Summit Environmental Solutions can help. Our team of ant experts will carefully inspect your property, locate the site of the ant nest and what is attracting them, and then begin carefully targeted treatments that comprehensively eliminate ant populations without posing any danger to children or pets. Contact our team to get started today with a FREE estimate at 703-520-5868!
Preventative Ant Treatments
The best way to deal with an ant infestation is to prevent one from happening in the first place. You can take several steps to make your home less attractive to ants. To start, sealing off as many entry points as you can find and installing weatherstripping around doors and windows can help prevent ants from getting inside your house in the first place. Making sure you clean up all spills and crumbs immediately, emptying your trash regularly, and not leaving pet food out can lower the likelihood that a scout ant will find food in your home. Ants need moisture to survive, so repairing leaks quickly and ensuring proper drainage around your foundation can help prevent ants.
Summit Environmental Solutions can also help prevent ants in your home with our regular pest programs. Our pest control programs, typically done on a monthly or quarterly basis, are effective at preventing ants from infesting your home. Our pest control programs are also effective at preventing other pests like termites, cockroaches, silverfish, spiders, and more. Contact our team to get started today with a FREE estimate at 703-520-5868!
