The best time to have your home sprayed is in early spring. By spraying in the spring, you have the opportunity to destroy nests and colonies when pest numbers are low. The treatment has less work to do, making it more effective and longer lasting. Usually, one treatment is enough.
Late August through early October is an ideal time to apply fire ant bait to your lawn — ants are still foraging and weather patterns are more predictable so you can apply bait when no rain is expected for several days after treatment. Baits are slow-acting, taking weeks to months to reduce ant mound numbers.
For apartments and homes, we recommend regular pest control treatments on a quarterly basis, or even bi-monthly, in order to effectively prevent common pests or when you move into a new home or apartment. For more serious infestations, monthly treatments over the course of 3 to 6 months are advisable.
Still Seeing Ants after Treatment? Don't Panic! From the first few days to the first couple of weeks, you can also expect to see a great many more ants than you are used to seeing because the treatment is baiting them from their hiding areas and their trails.
It's a common misconception that once a professional pest control treatment has been performed, all of your pest problems will disappear immediately. Fact: A professional pest control treatment can take as long as 6 weeks to fully eradicate your pest problem.
The most effective way of getting rid of ants permanently is to call a professional pest controller. They can eliminate an infestation as well as put measures in place to ensure you're never faced with one again.
Ant killer sprays kill on contact, but only about 20 percent of an ant colony will venture outside. This leaves the vast majority of the colony intact. This means more frequent re-treatment will be needed to fully eliminate an ant problem. A better spray option is a non-repellent spray formulated for outdoor use.
It makes sense that you want to wipe them out the moment you spot them in your house. However, this might be the beginning of your troubles. Killing ants will, definitely, attract more ants because the dead ants release pheromones that attract or rather alert, nearby ants.
Whether baiting or using other materials to get rid of ants, after performing an ant treatment the problem will sometimes get worse! Ant problems can get worse depending on the ant treatment method used, but will get better over time.
Salt, baby powder, lemon juice, chalk, vinegar, bay leaves, cinnamon, or peppermint oil are a few items that you have around your home that will stop ants from coming inside. Lay these out in areas where you see ants, and they'll stop using that area as an entrance into your house.
They are most active at night. Workers emerge from the nest about 15 minutes after sundown.
A sudden ant infestation in your kitchen means there is a food source somewhere. The food can be honey, sugar, syrup, meat, fats, breadcrumbs, etc. Once the ants determine these food sources, they form long trails to connect their colonies to the food source.
Bait products must be slow-acting so that the foraging ants have time to make their way back to the nest and feed other colony members before they die from the bait. When properly used, baits are by far more effective and safer than sprays.
Preventative treatment for ants, cockroaches, and other common pests: 15 to 30 minutes. Removal of active ant or cockroach infestations: 90 to 120 minutes or more depending on the extent of the infestation.
Wipe down counters, sweep floors, and clean up spills to reduce potential ant food sources and make baits more effective. Vacuum thoroughly to eliminate crumbs, even tiny crumbs you can't see. Store food in pest-proof containers, or place it in the refrigerator, as applicable. Empty trash regularly.
Two of the best ways to eliminate ants are Borax and diatomaceous earth. Essential oils, including peppermint and clove, are a natural way to repel and kill ants. Food and moisture attract ants, so keep your home clean and dry to get rid of ants permanently.
Hypersensitivity to ant venom can even cause life-threatening conditions and potential anaphylaxis, especially to young children. Intense pain, stinging, swelling and shock can accompany an ant bite at any age and nausea, dizziness and chest pain can occur as well.
It is advised not to squash ants, doing so will only release pheromones and trigger more ants to come to the location and cause more trouble to you and your family. Ants are known to pack a deadly bite that causes excruciating pain for a short time.
If you kill the ants as they appear, there is no way to reach the rest of the colony. This is why ants keep showing up. You can't just kill the ants you see, we have to take down the whole colony.
Peppermint is a natural insect repellant. You can plant mint around your home or use the essential oil of peppermint as a natural remedy for control of ants. Ants hate the smell, and your home will smell minty fresh! Plant mint around entryways and the perimeter of your home.
Always remember that Vinegar is not a permanent solution to remove an ant infestation. It is reasonable to spread the solution thrice a week over the affected areas to remove ants slowly.
Be patient — and do not resort to spraying, which will just warn other ants to stay away and search for food somewhere else in your house. You want the ants to love the bait you set out and take it home to share.