Ants are amazing creatures with the ability to work together in a coordinated effort to gather food and bring it back to their nests. If only they would use it for good and not for evil! When ants get into your home and work as a group to gather a food source, they are amazingly annoying, and you’re likely to feel overwhelmed by their numbers and the futility of trying to keep them out. Today, we hope to relieve some of your stress by sharing some helpful facts about ants and ant pest control. We’ll look at the types of ants that get into Chandler homes, what may happen if you give up and ignore them, facts about ant control products, and what professionals do to stop ants. If you’ve been dealing with ants and you’ve had all you can stand, call or email us for immediate assistance. Green Home Pest Control offers industry-leading ant pest control in Chandler. We have a solution for your ant control problem. With that said, let’s get into our topics for today.
What Type Of Ant Is This Inside My Home?
Many ant species can get into your home. If we were to look at all of them, you would lose interest long before finishing this article. Instead of looking at each species, let’s look at the types of ants you’ll find indoors.
Stinging Ants: The primary ants that sting are fire ants. In Chandler, the fire ants we deal with are Southern fire ants, and Solenopsis xyloni. A Southern fire ant has an amber head, thorax, and dark abdomen. These ants swarm and can sting you several times as you attempt to control them. In your yard, they can be a “pain” to deal with, but they are far more than that for anyone with a stinging insect allergy. One sting from a fire ant can cause dangerous symptoms.
Carpenter Ants: These ants are entirely black or a mixture of dark red and black. It depends on the species. The carpenter ants that are a mix will typically have a black head, dark red thorax, and black abdomen. These are the largest ants that get into Chandler homes. They are ¼ to ½ inch long with major and minor workers. The problem with carpenter ants is that they tunnel in wood and can damage property over time. The worst carpenter ants are black carpenter ants. If you have black carpenter ants in your home, it is time to contact a professional. These sneaky pests can live in homes for years without being detected.
Stinky Ants: It stinks to have ants in your home, but when you have odorous house ants, it stinks. These ants put off an odor that some describe as rotten coconut. It is as unpleasant as it sounds. What is even more unpleasant is that these ants have large colonies and are hard to control.
Outdoor Ants: Some ants prefer to be outside and only get inside by accident. While they prefer outdoor environments, they’re not harmless. They can be a pain to deal with in your yard and if they find opportunities to visit you inside your home. These ants are red and range from ¼ to ½ inches in length.
Annoying Ants: There are several ants in this category. The ant species we see most is the pavement ant. Since pavement ants like to create their nests near rocks and other hard materials, they can get into Chandler homes through cracks in foundation walls. Once inside, they’ll make a nuisance of themselves by getting into stored foods and appearing on counters and other surfaces. These ants are dark brown or black and are about? an inch long.
When you find ants getting into your home, the next step is to consider the problems they can create. While we could provide a long list is issues, such as stinging, bacteria transmission, and property damage, the greatest issue with ants is that some residents ignore ant problems.
What Will Happen If I Ignore An Ant Infestation?
Ants can get into your home by the hundreds one day and disappear the next. You may also see a few dozen winged ants crawling on an indoor window frame, suck them up with your vacuum, and consider the problem solved. In both cases, you’re going to keep seeing ants. These insects don’t go away. Once they find a way inside, they will keep getting into your home. Seeing winged ants means you have an indoor nest and your troubles are about to increase. Winged ants are produced by a mature nest, which means you’ve had an indoor ant problem for years. The job of winged ants is to create new nests, so one nest is about to become two or many more. The limiting factor is whether or not the winged ants survive long enough to create more nests.
Should I Buy Ant Control Products To Use Myself?
There are many pitfalls to doing your ant control. Most of the pitfalls have little or nothing to do with the products you apply, particularly when you use over-the-counter products. The problem with these products is that they’re often misapplied. Here are a few common issues.
Wrong Bait: Not all ants will take all types of bait. You need to know what ant pest you’re attempting to treat. When you use the wrong kind of bait, the ants will simply ignore the bait. It is also essential to test baits. Professionals apply different baits in small amounts to see what the ants will take. Why? Because even an ant that prefers a sugar bait may turn its nose up at the bait placed down if it is the wrong kind of sugar. Some ants will take a bait with glucose but will not prefer a bait that has sucrose. These are two different kinds of sugar. Do you see the problem?
Too Much Bait: When you put down a lot of bait, there is a potential for ants to develop bait Aversion. What happens is leftover bait becomes undesirable as it ages and hardens, and the ants may stop feeding on the bait altogether.
Too Little Bait: Some ant species have large colonies. If you don’t know what ants you’re targeting, you may not realize how much bait is required. When you fail to put out enough bait, you’re going to keep having ant problems.
Weather Conditions: When bait is put in the sun or moistened by rainy weather, these conditions can impact the effectiveness of the products. Similarly, ant control products placed incorrectly indoors can be negatively impacted by contact with cleaning products and other materials.
Wrong Time Of Year: In the spring, ants are looking for food that is high in protein. So, even sugar ants may take to protein baits in spring. In the fall, ants get ready for winter and will focus more on foods that are high in carbohydrates. Ants that prefer protein-based granular baits may prefer sugar-based gel bait in the fall.
Fast-Acting Products: Some ant control products work too quickly to exterminate ants. When this happens, budding can occur. Ant colonies with multiple queens may split when a threat is detected, turning one nest into multiple nests.
Mound Treatment Not Deep Enough: Some ant control products are geared toward eliminating colonies by targeting mounds. If you use a product like this, you should know that it may not get deep enough to eliminate the colony. Some colonies are several feet below the surface. Along with this, certain ant species create surface tunnels that go out from the mound as much as ten feet. If the ants escape, they’ll disperse and may establish multiple colonies.
Spray Products Treat The Symptom: Many ant control products do one thing: exterminate ants on contact. The problem with these products is that they are topical. They don’t get into the places ants hide, such as the ground or the voids inside your walls. When ants come out of these places, they will avoid treated areas. If you spray them directly, you’ll only eliminate a handful. Doing this will not target the source of your ant problem, only the symptom.
Not A Complete Solution: When you go after ants with a single product, your chances of success are low. Ant control is a process, not a product. Professionals use a tested strategy that includes inspections, treatments, monitoring, evaluation, and follow-ups to achieve the best results every time.
Professional Ant Control Services For Chandler Homes
If you need professional ant control in Chandler, reach out to Green Home Pest Control. Our trained and experienced pest management professionals know the ant pests in our area and use field-tested methods. Reach out to us by phone or email to learn more or to schedule service. We offer targeted ant control and ongoing pest control service plans that provide coverage for ants. You don’t have to live with any problems. Get relief today.
