How To Get Rid Of Ants: Techniques That Actually Work

Noticing ants crawling around your home can be stressful, and what starts with only one or two can soon turn into a whole colony.

That’s because ants use pheromone trails to inform others that they’re in a house with food and shelter, so the others can come and help them take meals back to the nest.

At BH Pest Control, we have extensive experience providing expert ant control for homes and businesses throughout Milton Keynes. Thanks to this extensive expertise, we understand how to get rid of ants permanently, what attracts ants and how you can prevent them from returning. Keep reading to find out more.

What Attracts Ants?

Ants are attracted to a reliable food source, as well as other things they need to survive, such as water and shelter. Common reasons ants might enter your property include:

  • Rotten Fruit And Decaying Organic Matter: Ant infestations often start in the garden. Ants love sugary substances, so might be attracted to rotting fruit or decaying plant matter, such as dead leaves, which they also eat.
  • Crumbs Or Dirty Plates: If you regularly leave crumbs around your home or keep dirty plates for several days before washing them, this can attract ants.
  • Unsealed Food: Food products such as pasta, rice or flour that are kept in open packaging can attract ants, as these products are easily accessible.
  • Clutter: Shelter is important to ants, so if they find areas with lots of clutter, they might use them to hide.
  • Water: Ants need water as well as food. If there are damp areas in your home, or puddles caused by leaks, these may attract ants.

How Do Ants Get Inside Your Home?

Ants find entry points easily, being so small, and can crawl through even the tiniest of cracks in your walls or gaps between window or door frames. In some cases, ants might be able to walk in through open doors or large windows.

Once they have found a reliable food source, ants will use pheromones to leave behind an ant trail, which will attract other ants. So, what starts out as a few tiny ants can soon become a major ant infestation.

If the ants visit regularly, they may eventually build an ant nest just outside your property. This may look like a pile of soil, and can be found in a lawn or a crack in the pavement. The worker ants will then file from the nest through the entry point into your home, and then return to bring food to the queen ant.

She will then lay eggs, which will result in even more ants, leading to a larger ant problem that requires professional support.

As such, it’s vital that you’re proactive if you notice any signs of ants. Even just a few visible ants can turn into a serious issue.

Do Natural Ant Repellents Work?

While many guides on the internet mention natural ant repellents, such as baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, diatomaceous earth, boiling water, coffee grounds and others, these solutions aren’t effective.

That’s because they don’t kill ants. Instead, these solutions can be used to deter ants, but only if there are a few in the area. Also, different ant species have different preferences, so many ants might not care.

Also, if you don’t keep putting these natural remedies down, then the smell will wear off eventually, and the ants will eventually come back, especially if you haven’t sealed up the entry points they’re using and reduced their access to food.

Even DIY products, such as ant powders, aren’t always effective, and they can be toxic to children, pets and wildlife.

That’s why you need to consider a professional exterminator to deal with your ant issue. Companies such as BH Pest Control have access to insecticides and ant control solutions that aren’t available to the general public.

Combined with our expertise, we’re able to eradicate ants quickly and provide expert guidance to ensure they can’t come back.

Is It Possible To Prevent Ants?

It’s practically impossible to prevent most pests, especially insects as small as ants. However, there are some simple steps you can try to deter ants from your property, including:

  • Reduce Access To Food Sources: The best way to stop ants from entering your property is to store food in sealed containers and cover pet food bowls to ensure that there isn’t an accessible food source.
  • Keep Your Home Clean: It’s important you regularly wipe down surfaces to remove crumbs and get rid of ant trails, so other ants can’t find their way inside.
  • Seal Holes: Filling in any gaps in your brickwork and sealing cracks limits potential entry points for ants and other pests.

How To Get Rid Of Ants Permanently: Call In The Experts

To conclude, the best way to get rid of ants for good is to hire professional pest experts, like the team at BH Pest Control.

Our team are RSPH level 2 certified, meaning we have access to professional-grade ant treatments. We also have extensive expertise removing ants from homes and businesses across Milton Keynes. Therefore, we can help remove existing ant colonies and carry out pest proofing to prevent future ant infestations.

With our help, you can stop an ant problem before it becomes a major ant invasion. Alongside ants, we can also help eliminate other insect pests, such as bed bugs, fleas, cockroaches, flies and more.

Whatever pest problem you’re having, if you’re based in Milton Keynes, Bletchley or the surrounding area, BH Pest Control can help. Contact us on 01908 412488 or by emailing info@bhpestcontrol.com to book your ant control service today.

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