Ant Infestations: When is it Time to Call a Professional?

No homeowner wants to come home to a whole bunch of ants in their pantry. But what causes ant infestations? Are they dangerous? How do you get rid of them? These are some of the questions you may be asking yourself if you have an ant infestation in your home. We’re here to help answer some of those questions and to help you get rid of an infestation in your home.

Common Types of Ants in Washington

There are a few common types of ants in Washington that you may find in your home. Some are more dangerous than others and may require more immediate attention. Common ant species in Washington are:

• Nuisance ants
• Pavement ants
• Carpenter ants
• Moisture ants
• Fire ants

While nuisance ants are probably the most commonly found ant species in your home, they won’t actually damage your home or cause you any serious health problems. However, the rest of the ants on this list can cause serious harm to your home or health.

What Causes an Ant Infestation?

Like any other pests, ants are looking for either food, shelter, or both when entering your home. Ants are attracted to human food, and even the smallest crumb can attract an entire swarm of ants looking for something to eat. Finding even just one ant in your kitchen means there are likely many more nearby since ants live in colonies consisting of thousands, and sometimes even millions. If you want to avoid any problems, make sure to keep your kitchen floors and countertops extremely clean, and keep your food in air-tight containers to prevent attracting any unwanted house pests.  

Are Ant Infestations Dangerous?

Having nuisance ants in your home isn’t really dangerous, and doesn’t cause any serious health risks. However, other ants species can cause you thousands of dollars in home repairs, or have the potential of making you very sick.

Health Risks

Fire ants can put you, your family, and your pets at a serious health risk. Though we commonly call it a bite, a red ant can sting a person multiple times. The sting is extremely itchy and painful, and can even cause shock or death in some severe cases. If you have a fire ant infestation, you should call pest control to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Home Damage

Some types of ants like carpenter ants, pavement ants, and moisture ants can cause serious structural damage to your home that can cost thousands of dollars to repair. Carpenter ants make their nests in woods, hence their name. If you notice lots of tiny holes in the wood on your home, you may have a carpenter ant infestation (although it could also be termites). Moisture ants are also attracted to wood, but rather than nesting in the wood, they feed on it. Since moisture ants don’t often need to go out to hunt once they have found a wooden structure to make their home, moisture ant infestations can go undetected for long periods of time. These pests can cost thousands of dollars in repairs to your home, and you should contact pest control right away to take care of the problem before it gets out of hand.

Attracts Other Pests

Ants are a food source for many other pests. This means that if you have a large concentration of ants in your home, you may find additional pests in your home who are looking for an ant-shaped snack. While other pests aren’t only attracted to ants in your home, having ants can make it more likely that you’ll see more pests than just ants.

What To Do If You Have Ants in Your Home

If you find ants in your home, you should call pest control right away to take care of the problem. There are also some steps you can take to make sure that you don’t attract ants to your home, and that will prevent ants from returning again. Some of the things to do to prevent ants:

Keep Your House Clean

If your house is clean, swept, and free of food scraps or crumbs, ants won’t be attracted to it since there is no food source for them to access. Even a small crumb can be found by ants scouting for food. The scouts will bring that crumb back to their colony, and then return to your home with hundreds of ants looking for more food. Immediately clean any spills, discarded food, or crumbs to prevent ants from coming to your home. Ants are especially attracted to sweets, honey, maple syrup, and other sugary liquids.

Store Your Food in Airtight Containers

When your food is stored tightly in airtight containers, you’re less likely to attract pests to your pantry. Not only can they not access the food this way, but it also helps to keep the pests from smelling the food and being attracted to it in the first place. Storing your food in this way can give you peace of mind that your food is safe from pests like ants.

Get Rid of Any Wet, Damp, or Rotted Wood

Since some types of ants are attracted to wood, especially damp wood, keeping any wood in your home dry or free from rot can be essential to preventing ants. Since carpenter ants and moisture ants make their homes in or eat wood, making any wood in your home less desirable will help to keep them away.

Use Traps

Using ant traps or bait can help keep ants away from places you don’t want them to be. Placing them strategically in places they are most likely to enter your home will help take care of your ant problem before it gets out of hand. If you already have ants in your home, set the traps in places where there are a lot of ants gathered, and the problem should start to clear up fairly quickly.

Make Your Outdoor Space More Appealing

If you make your outdoor space the most appealing place for ants to be, they are less likely to enter your home since they have found a suitable place to feed or live outdoors. You can plant flowers or other plants that attract aphids, a small insect, that produces an excrement called honeydew. Ants feed on this honeydew, and they are more likely to stay outside if there is an adequate food source for them there.

Classic Pest Pro Can Get Rid of Your Ant Problem

Ready to get rid of your ant problem? Classic Pest Control and Insulation can help take care of your ant problem. With over 20 years of experience and providing excellent service, we will make sure to get rid of all your pest problems while giving you peace of mind and a pest-free home. Contact us to schedule pest control services with us.