Now that the warm weather is finally here, you've probably started noticing ant activity around the house. If you've already started spraying them with pesticide as soon as you find them, you might be setting yourself up for an even bigger infestation. That's because the ants that are in your home, or around your yard, are actually the worker ants. They're the ones that the queen sends out to gather her food for her. The queen has an endless supply of worker ants, so if you want to stop the ant infestation, you have to kill the queen ant. Once you do that, all her worker ants will die too. To stop the infestation, here are three important steps you'll need to follow.
Locate the Nest in Your Yard
When it comes to getting rid of ants, you need to start by locating the nest. If the openings to the nest are visible, you won't have much trouble locating them. However, if the ants have hidden their nest, you'll need to do some detective work. One way to do that is to entice the worker ants with a morsel of food. Set a small piece of food out on your porch and watch where the ants take it to. This will be the opening to the queen's nest. Be sure to leave the ant trails intact. That way the ants that are out of the nest can find their way back to the nest once you set the ant control granules out.
Set the Bait Traps
Once you know where the nest is located, you'll want to get ant killer down to the queen. First, you'll want to set out some bait traps in your home. Make sure you place them in areas that are away from small children and pets. Set them in the back of the cabinet under your sinks, and behind your refrigerator and stove. You'll also need to place some ant control granules around the opening of the active ant hills you've located. If you have small children or pets, be sure to place a protective screen around the ant hills. This will help protect your children and pets while you're eradicating the ants.
Get Professional Help
If you've followed the procedures described above, and the ants just keep returning, it's time to get professional pest control services. There may be an extended system of tunnels that are preventing you from finding the actual nest. A professional exterminator will be able to find the nest and eradicate the problem for you once and for all.
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