The kitchen is one of the most used areas in your home, making it vulnerable to an ant problem! There are several ant types common in Florida, including in Tallahassee, such as the Argentine ants. Once these ants find their way inside your home and a food source, it can be difficult to eliminate them. One of the best ways you can avoid ant infestations in your kitchen and home is understanding what’s attracting ants in the first place and the preventative measures you can utilize on your property to control them!
What’s Attracting Ants in my Kitchen?
Ants are always searching for a food source and your kitchen is filled with it! It’s likely that ants found an accessible food source, this could be an open food container in your pantry, food crumbs on the ground, drink spills on tables, or even leftover grease on your stovetop. It can be easy to find this source, just follow the ant trail in both directions and you can identify what’s been attracting them inside your home. Likewise, ants are tiny and can squeeze in openings the size of a pinhole, so any openings or gaps that are not sealed up is the perfect opportunity for ants to enter your home.
How Can I Stop My Ant Problem?
There are several methods you can keep ants from taking over your kitchen; consider the following ant prevention tips:
- After each meal, clean up any leftover food crumbs or drink spills that may have gotten on your dining room table and floors.
- Daily, wipe down your countertops and stovetops, especially after cooking a meal.
- If you feed your pets in the kitchen or dining room, make sure to throw away their uneaten pet food and put it in a sealed container overnight; likewise, looking to store pet food in plastic containers versus the non-sealing bags.
- When storing food like cereal, grains, and sweets, place it in a sealed container with tight lids to avoid ants and other pantry pests.
- Inspect your home’s exterior for any entry points including cracks and gaps in the foundation; look to seal and repair any openings found as soon as possible.
- Continue to maintain your yard by mowing your lawn and trimming your trees, shrubs, and other dense vegetation regularly.
- If you keep firewood on your property, look to store it at least 20 feet from your home and elevated off the ground.
While these do-it-yourself ant control tips will always help to deter ants away from your property, if you have a full-blown ant infestation, it’s best to call a local pest control company near you for help. These professionals will provide you with an ant control plan and recommendations on avoiding ants in the future.
