Ants are a common household invader and are hard to get rid of. Some of the most common ants found in Virginia are the Argentine ants, carpenter ants, pavement ants, red imported fire ants, and odorous house ants (also known as sugar ants). The last type causes the most issues in homes. Odorous house ants are given this name because of the rotten coconut smell they emit when crushed. These ants can be hard to control once in a household, and do not pose a health threat to people, but do contaminate food supplies and can be an extreme nuisance when they’re crawling all over your kitchen counters. With spring here and temperatures rising, ants will start to become a problem mostly in the kitchen and bathrooms where they’ll find food and water readily available. To help you understand more about how these ants tick, here are some of the most common ant myths debunked.
MYTH: Sugar ants come to your house because it is dirty
These pests do appreciate sweet food, however, they will invade homes for other reasons, such as to find shelter, food, and water. Your house sources all three of these. If these ants can find any of these things in a home, they may invade, no matter how clean it may be.
MYTH: Removing sugar ants you see will end the problem
When you visit your kitchen, you may notice live worker ants crawling back and forth in search of food. The first thing you may do is kill them and hope that it will be enough to keep them from coming back. Truth is, killing ants one by one will not help. Unfortunately, ant colonies contain thousands of ants, and losing a few will not be a problem for the colony – they will continue to invade.
MYTH: Ants are not a big deal, they will go away on their own
It really depends on the type of ant you are dealing with. For example, carpenter ants infest wood and can cause some serious damage to your home. Each year carpenter ants are responsible for millions of dollars in damage in the United States alone. If sugar ants are finding what they need in your home, they will keep crawling on your counters, along with all of their friends. Maybe you don’t mind constantly crawling countertops. ?
MYTH: DIY methods are just as effective as professional methods
Setting up ant traps around your home only works with certain types of ants and, many times, they serve more to attract the ants than actually killing them and preventing them from coming back. Using chemical sprays can be harmful to you, your pets, your children and may not even be effective. A professional will make sure you have a long term solution to your ant control problem and will hopefully keep your home free of ants in the future.
If you’d like to resolve your ant control problem, you need the help of Holistic Pest Solutions. We are the experts in not just dealing with your pest problems, but finding the root of the issue and resolving them so your problem doesn’t reoccur in the future.
*Our Environmental Commitment: Holistic Pest Solutions is committed to the preservation of our environment. Our goal is to nurture the soils and plant life of lawns and landscapes. Utilizing holistic pest control practices that cause the least amount of impact on the environment.
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