Depending on where you live, you can be overrun with any variety of unwanted creepy-crawly guests. But, no matter where you live, it seems like every summer we all have the same problem: ants. Here, we’ll discuss how to get rid of these pesky critters for good.
What Kind Of Ants Can I Expect To See?
There are two kinds of ants you’ll typically run into in a North American household. They are house ants and carpenter ants.
House Ants
These are also known as odorous house ants because they smell like rotten coconuts when crushed. They’re less than 1/8th inch long, and while they are certainly annoying–and maybe a little gross–these ants won’t do any damage to your house. (1, 2)
Carpenter Ants
Carpenters ants, however, are a different story. These bad bugs are much bigger–anywhere from 1/4 to ½ an inch long. They’re called ‘carpenters’ because of their affinity for wood. These ants feed on damp wood, which means not only can they nibble away at your window frames or doors, but they can cause structural problems in your home. (1)
Once Ants Get In. . . .
“The problem [with ants inside the home] is they can really proliferate,” according to entomologist Jody Gangloff-Kauffman, who is the director of the Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University. She says that “by the time you start spotting them inside your house, you may already have hundreds.” (1)
How To Keep Ants Out!
All the following principles stem from one basic idea: ants are looking for something. Don’t give it to them. Food is a common one, but according to The Home Depot website, “weather, including heavy rains or drought, can drive ants indoors looking for more hospitable areas in which to live.” Here are some ideas to make your house an unfriendly place to live (3)
Food!
House ants like sweet foods, especially honeydew melon. Ants, according to Gangloff-Kauffman, “particularly gravitate towards sugary liquids.” In order to obtain these sweet treats, “a colony will send out a few ants to scout—they’ll bring back a sampling of any food they find to the colony, and hundreds will follow them back into the house.” This can lead to a two-pronged approach to dealing with ants. (1, 2)
Clean Up Your Food
If you eliminate spills and drips, the ‘samples’ the ants can bring back no longer exist. In a similar vein, seal away foods that are normally exposed in airtight containers. (1)
Use Bait Traps
The Home Depot says that because ants “bring the bait back to the colony to share,” it’s an effective way to strike them all at once. They caution “do not place them directly on an ant trail; ants will avoid bait traps placed in this manner.” Instead, put your traps in ant-attracting areas like ”drains, in kitchen cabinets, [and] under the stove and refrigerator.” (3)
Fix The Damp
We’ve talked about how carpenter ants like damp wood, but house ants also like the damp. So, check spots like windows and decks, which have damp wood, but also look in basements or showers. (1)
