Why Ants Are Moving in with You This Summer, and How You Can Fix It
Summertime is a season of picnics, backyard barbecues, pool time… and ants. When temperatures warm up, ants are getting back to their business. If you’ve seen a few ants lurking on your countertops and in your sinks, there are probably significantly many more waiting in the wings.
Stopping and cleaning up after an ant invasion isn’t high on anyone’s list of fun things to do, but when you understand why ants chose your house in the summer, you can prevent it from happening again. Of course, calling a Yuba City pest control service can also help stop and prevent the problem.
Why ants come into your home during the summer
Generally, ants spend wintertime deep underground to keep safe from freezing temperatures. As the weather warms up, they come out of hibernation and start stocking up on food to get them through the upcoming months as well as the coming winter. That’s why you rarely see ants in the winter months, but they can be almost uncontrollable in the summer.
Ants are attracted to sugary food sources and water. If you’ve ever seen them in your bathroom, that’s because the moisture that hangs around in the tubs and sinks and on the walls is appealing to them. They may also come up your kitchen sink and start scouting for food on your countertops, on your floors and in your cabinets.
How to prevent ant invasions
Getting rid of and preventing ant invasions is usually a matter of keeping your home scrupulously free of food spills. Since ants are tiny, they can manage to invade just about anywhere. Here’s how to prevent them:
- Keep your food-related areas clean: Anywhere you eat food, you probably also drop crumbs, and if you have kids, that goes double. Regularly wipe down surfaces, be extra careful with sugary food and wipe up spills immediately.
- Watch out for your pets: If you have pets, their food bowls and the surrounding areas are prime real estate for ants, too. Make sure you keep their food bowls clean, wipe up spills and make sure they don’t leave any crumbs behind.
- Clean your trash cans: Trash cans have a propensity for collecting debris and liquids that leak from our waste. Make sure you rinse and dry your trash cans at least once per week.
- Store sugary food away in sealed areas: Any sugary food—that includes fruit, which is at its most popular during this season—needs to be sealed away so it won’t attract more ants.
- Seal the cracks: Be sure to look around your home for places ants might be getting in. Seal cracks around doors and windows and in your foundation. You can also use rock or gravel around your home for landscaping instead of moist, nutrient-rich mulch, and prune trees and shrubs away for further protection.
Tried all these methods and still struggling? Call Hobbs Pest Solutions, your friendly Yuba City pest control service, to schedule an appointment. We can help rid your home of pests and ensure they stay away for good.
Categorised in: Summer