Controlling ants can be a headache, as DIY approaches such as sprays only kill the ants you can see. There may even be a larger problem with a nest in or around your house. So, to be truly effective, a treatment plan needs to look at all the factors of why ants are invading your home. We take a look in more detail at why it’s difficult to get rid of ants without pest control.
Ant behaviour
Ants have certain behaviours that can make eradication from your house frustrating. Being small, they can enter through tiny cracks in the foundations, walls and entryways, anywhere near where they’ve established a nest. Food and water are their primary concern, so they send out worker ants as scouts to find likely sources; kitchens with a pantry or a storeroom will be the main target.
Once food and water have been found, the worker ant leaves an invisible chemical trail containing pheromones back to the colony for the other ants to follow. Ants have a highly developed sense of smell, so any sweet or greasy food will be like an à la carte meal to them. A few ants can quickly turn into hundreds once the word gets out, and the food is then transported back to the colony.
Ant colonies can have numbers up to 300,000 to 500,000 and can be difficult to eliminate without chemicals. Dousing with water isn’t that effective as colonies can move location quickly if the ants feel threatened. The lifetime of a colony isn’t short either, with a lifespan of seven years for a worker ant and 15 years for a queen.
While having ants getting into your pantry goods is annoying, a larger ant problem can cause more permanent damage. Staining to furnishings, curtains and carpets are just one side effect from chemical trails. Weakened concrete and lawns are also caused by nest building.
Ant control
As we mentioned, DIY ant control is not that effective, as you’re only killing the ants you can see. In reality, there are many more worker ants in the colony who will return looking for food. Keeping your kitchen clean and free of crumbs and spills is essential if you have an ant problem. But it can be tiresome to continually have to think about ants.
The best way to stop ants for good if you’re continually battling with them is with a pest control treatment plan. Cure All looks at several factors, taking into account the particular species of ant (in Australia there are over 3,000 species), the type of nest built, the property in question and how invasive the ants are. Contact us today for help and advice about our treatment methods to get your ant problem under control once and for all.
