When the ants come marching in…getting them out of your kitchen fast is quintessential. Ants are annoying, destroy food, and some species can bite! Killing the ants you see may effectively rid those you see before your eyes but there’s always more where they come from. Getting rid of ants seems like a losing battle but once you learn the most effective solutions, you can make sure they hit the road and never come back. Learn a few ant prevention tips below and implement them into your household routine.
Store Food Properly
The pantry excites an ant the same way a candy store puts a smile on the face of the littles. Ruin all the fun and save your sanity from an ant infestation by properly storing food in the pantry. Airtight, sealed containers cost just a couple of bucks each and work to keep ants and other insects out -and the food fresher longer.
Own pets? Take heed to store pet food inside airtight containers as well. Remove pet food from its original bagging as soon as possible after bringing it inside the house. Ants aren’t picky and certainly will feast on dog or cat food if it is readily available.
Keep it Clean
Ants need very little food to survive. Even crumbs left on the table from dinner can attract an army of the little guys inside the home to collect their dinner. Make sure to wipe down sinks, tables, and counters after use. Sweep and mop the floor regularly and always take out the trash regularly. Ants prefer dirtier homes over clean homes. If that isn’t enough incentive to clean, nothing is!
Moisture Woes
Ants come into homes seeking food, water, and shelter. They need very little water to survive. Even a damp cloth or a drip of water in the sink is enough to bring ants inside the house, especially if favorable conditions exist elsewhere in the kitchen or house.
Make sure moisture does not create prime conditions for ants and wipe up even tiny puddles of water quickly. Do not allow faucets to run or drip and call out a plumber if there are busted pipes, leaks, or other issues that create moisture.
Introduce Natural Scents Into the Kitchen
Ants rely on their sense of smell to direct them toward food. Natural scents hinder the ant’s olfactory receptors and keep them away since they aren’t fond of these smells. A few good natural scents to try out include peppermint oil, cinnamon, and lemon. Coffee grounds sprinkled across an ant-infested area also work well to keep them away.
Final Kitchen Ant Prevention Tips
A few more ant prevention tips to consider:
- Use lemon and orange to clean the house. Ants despise these smells and wont come close.
- Try Borax to rid the house of ants.
- Call pest control professionals for especially difficult infestations and when other remedies fail
- Sprinkle a small amount of black pepper in areas where you’ve spotted ants to keep them away
Southern Pride Pest Control is a full-service pest control company headquartered in Muscle Shoals, AL. SPPC specializes in pest control and prevention services including termite control, rodent control, bed bug control, ant control, and mosquito control, and can even help with moisture control around your residence or commercial property. Established in 2010, Southern Pride Pest Control is a reliable source of quality pest-management solutions delivered by a team you can trust.
Call us today for any of your pest control needs.
