Why are there ants marching through your home? And what can you do about it?

There’s not much more frustrating than seeing that endless line of ants coming from who knows where and going to who knows where. And despite your best efforts to get rid of them, they just keep coming and going.

Ants are really kind of cool if you think about it. Their primary function is to clean up after everyone else. But they have other positive traits as well. Ants will sometimes attack and even kill baby cockroaches and other insects. They remove waste from the environment, and help spread the seeds of native plants.

Ants build their nests in protected spaces like underground or your walls. The queen ant remains in the nest and produces worker ants. In some ant species, some of the worker ants remain in the nest, receiving food from the “forager” ants, and store the food in their abdomen until their buddies and their queen are hungry. Food from different sources mixes in their abdomen which dilutes any food containing  insecticide, thereby protecting the queen from eating poisoned food. 

So yeah, ants are pretty cool. The problem arises when we’re not really sure we want to get to know them up close and personal. 

Ants usually enter your home in search of food, a place to nest, and in dry times, water. Just a crumb left on your kitchen counter or in your dog’s food bowl can attract hordes of these industrious little critters. You will typically see ants in your home in the summer months because they are more active in warm weather.

While we humans don’t really want ants in our homes, we could learn something from our tiny friends. 

Ants are very social creatures, which is why you rarely see just one. And their brains are about the size of a grain of sand, or even smaller. So how do they seem so smart? 

The key word here is “cooperation.” 

When an ant finds a food source, such as that crumb on your kitchen counter, they leave a tiny droplet of pheromone near the food. As they travel back to the nest, they continue to deposit these droplets so their nest mates can find their way to the food. 

Clever, huh?

But regardless of what ants can teach us about getting along, no one really wants them in their home. But to be honest, they can be difficult to get rid of on your own.

You can try cutting off their supply of food by sealing all food in airtight containers, cleaning behind your fridge and dumping all the crumbs out of your toaster. But to completely rid your kitchen of any food sources is nigh on impossible. 

You can try disrupting their trail but wiping the area with vinegar or bleach. 

You can seal holes or cracks in walls to prevent them from entering your home or nesting in your walls. 

But your best bet if to visit your nearest Pestop location. We will work with you to find your best solution to deal with these pesky little critters. 

So be sure to visit your nearest Pestop location for all your pest-control supplies. We have everything you need to keep you and your family safe from these unwanted houseguests.