Are you noticing that you have more and more ants making their way to your kitchen counters? Have you seen a few walking in a line and have a sneaking suspicion that there are others? If so, then you need to learn what to do about ants in the kitchen.
Ants are one of the most resilient animals in all of the animal kingdom. Once they find a source for food (such as your kitchen), they won’t go away easily.
See below for an in-depth guide on how to get rid of ants in the kitchen and what attracts them to it in the first place.
What Attracts Ants In the Kitchen?
Consider ant colonies the biggest moochers in the world. More than your brother that eats all your food whenever he stays over. More than your child when they come home from college.
If ants find a consistent source of food that they can supply their colony with, then they’ll all make their way to it. Once they’ve found it, they won’t deviate from it easily.
Obviously, your kitchen will have the most sustenance of any other location in your house. But why are you finding them in your kitchen? What attracts them to some kitchens and not to others? It’s the easy access to available food.
This can come in the form of dog food on the floor, a cookie jar without a lid that closes properly, crumbs left on the counter/floor, and so on. Basically if your kitchen any “easy pickings”, ants will eventually find their way to it.
Ants won’t be easy for you to deter from your house. If you simply kill all the ants you see, then more will take their place. Ant colonies are at no shortage for workers.
Reach out to a pest control company to learn more. They’ll have the experience, know-how, and products to veer the ants away from your entire home.
Are Ants Harmful or Dangerous?
Noticing that ants are taking over your kitchen can make your entire house feel like it’s vulnerable. The disheartening part is that, if you’re seeing a high volume of ants out in the open, there are even more that you can’t see.
Some people shrug off ants in their homes not realizing the harm that they can actually cause.
While they’re generally considered to be what’s referred to as a “nuisance pest” (a pest with no immediate threats to your health), they can still carry germs and bacteria into your home.
That said, there are some ants out there, such as fire ants, that can be more of a threat. Some have the ability to bite and inject (or spray) a toxic substance into your bloodstream.
How to Get Rid of Ants In the Kitchen
Harmful or not, you no longer want the little suckers in your kitchen, or anywhere else in your house for that matter.
Here are several things that you can do to minimize the number of ants in your kitchen until pest control arrives. The results won’t be instantaneous, so be sure to commit yourself to them for the long haul.
1. Put a Lid on It
Any open-source of food in your kitchen is a fair game in the eyes of an ant. If you truly want them to stay away from your kitchen, then you shouldn’t provide them with the temptation to do so.
Start by placing a lid on everything in your kitchen, one that seals and fastens onto a jar or container.
This includes things like cookies, cereal boxes, foods that come in bags (such as chips and granola), and dog food. Be sure to place a lid on your trash and clean the kitchen sink after every meal to avoid a festering area of food particles.
Long story short, if you continually leave open sources of food in your house, then ants are the least of your problems. If left unchecked, pests such as cockroaches and mice will want to join in on the fun.
2. Use Ant Bait
The ant bait that you can buy at a store isn’t a permanent solution. It’s more like a temporary source of relief before you receive a professional pest control service.
Keep an eye out for where the ants are taking the food back to. If you do, you will be able to find their colony where you can set the bait and start to eradicate them.
You can also use ant sprays to repel the little bugs from coming back inside for more food, although those are only temporary lines of defense.
3. Contact a Professional Pest Control Service
If you’re going to invest money in store-bought pest control substances, then you might as well put that money towards a professional pest control service.
Doing so can ensure long-term results. The pest control service can set traps, place bait, and slowly move the ants away from your home. In time, you’ll notice that they’re no longer coming into your home at all.
More importantly, the pest control service can also take stock of your home and give you a few pointers on what might be attracting the ants in the first place.
Protect Your Home from Ants In the Kitchen
Now that you have seen all of the best ways to prevent ants in the kitchen and how to get rid of them, it’s time to find a high-quality pest control team to help you.
Be sure to read this article for a list of the 10 best pest control products that you should invest in. Spoiler alert: most of them are used by pest control services.
For more inquiries, please feel free to reach out via our contact us page and we will be happy to assist you further.