Whether we believe it or not, late summer is just around the corner. It feels like the summer season just started! Even though we are on the last leg of summer, ants are still at their peak and they aren’t going away any time soon! That's right, these pests still have the potential to be a major problem for New York homeowners. If you’ve seen signs of an ant infestation around your home, now is the time to take action to prevent further infestation.
A huge reason that so many homes have issues with ants is that many people simply don’t know the tips to prevent them. To make things worse, many homeowners actually do things that are practically inviting the ants onto their properties without even realizing it! For example, leaving food debris outside after a party or cookout may not seem like a big deal. However, those ants see that as a dinner invitation and begin to associate your home with free food! The best strategies for stopping an ant infestation from happening in the first place revolve around eliminating any food sources on your property: remove food debris both inside and outside, properly store food items inside your home, keep the house clean, invest in outdoor trash cans that have tight-fitting lids, and keep garbage stored a distance away from the home. You’ll also want to remove any water sources by making sure your gutters are working properly, eliminating areas of standing water by tipping over wheelbarrows, kiddie pools, and even filling in any low areas on your property that collect rainwater.
Ants are more likely to invade your home if it provides them with these three basic needs: food, water, and shelter. We’ve already targeted the first two, but now we are going to focus on removing the shelter part. This can be accomplished through the use of a technique called active exclusion which focuses on long-term prevention. This step is especially important for those homeowners who have already seen several ant hills nearby.
Some of the most effective tactics include: sealing any cracks and crevices found in your home’s foundation and exterior walls, caulking gaps found around your windows and doors, trimming back trees and shrubs that allow ants easy inside away from your home, and moving wood piles which some ants like to create their nests a good distance away from the exterior of your home.
The single most effective way to stop ants from invading your home is to call the pest control experts at Thomas Pest Services. At Thomas Pest Services, we have the residential pest control options needed to keep your Albany, Troy, and Capital District home safe from bothersome ant invaders. We realize that every home is different and not all strategies work the same for every situation, which is why we offer a variety of pest control options. In addition to this, our qualified pest control experts are able to accurately identify the type of ant infesting your home. This has a big impact on our treatment plans because some ants respond differently to different types of treatments. If you want to take the next step in protecting your home for the rest of the summer, give us a call at Thomas Pest Services today!