Do you remember when you saw the first ant in your home? Probably not the first one or two as most people tend to kill them and move on. But if you ignore the first couple of ants, you can bet it won’t be long before the rest of the colony moves in. Once this happens, it won’t matter how clean your home is, the ants are not going to pack their bags and leave.
Although there are several “do-it-yourself” methods used around the country to get rid of ant infestations, most of them are only a stop-gap measure. The reality is that while these methods are inexpensive, most if not all of these methods fail to attack the infestation at the root of the problem. Let’s look at several common DIY ant treatments.
Borax is one of the most common DIY ant treatments. The idea is that the worker ants bring crystals of Borax pesticide back to the nest where the ant colony lives. This lets more of the ants come into contact with the pesticide, killing them. The problem is that if you do not put your ant trap together properly, you run the risk of attracting more ants rather than killing them off.
This may be one of the most popular forms of DIY ant control. By spraying the ants and their trail, the soapy water removes the chemical trails ants use to communicate with each other leaving them confused and causing them to search for another source of food. While this method might be partially effective, it also does not attack the problem at its source, the ant colony.
In many cases, homeowners tend to break out the bug spray and spray individual ants when they see them. While doing so might kill that one ant, it also covers the area with toxic chemicals. The more you do this, the more chemicals that can harm your family cover various surfaces of your home. These chemicals are highly toxic and as such your family and pets should not come into contact with them. This method does not have any effect on the ants back in the colony.
Everyone knows that ants can’t stand cinnamon. The reason for this is that when an ant inhales cinnamon, it causes them to suffocate instantly. Again, using cinnamon may help to kill any ants that come into contact with it, it is not an effective method of killing the ants back in the colony.
Despite the number of “home remedies” and store bought pesticides, the best way to completely eliminate an infestation of ants in your home is to hire a professional pest control service. They can identify the particular type of ants you are dealing with and then determine the proper method of extermination as different types of ants require different methods of extermination. Once the colony has been destroyed, the service can then teach you how to prevent further infestations.
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