7 Tips on How to Get Rid of Ants

Waking up early in the morning to prepare a delightful breakfast for your loved ones is a sign of a good start to the day. However, unpredictable threats often follow after our expectations. You might be familiar with the situation that a group of ants, the nuisance intruders, infested your well-prepared food when it was out of your sight. You might also face seeing carcasses of those intruders floating on the surface of your drinking water after a few minutes on the dining table. Well, if you have encountered any of the above situations, now is the time to read on and get rid of the trauma. In this article, we answer the question and give tips on how to get rid of ants.

Ants are neither disease vectors nor carriers. However, their presence can be traumatic as they may sting, bite or damage our home structures. Pustules and blisters may be formed following the sting of fire ants.

Some ant species also transmit germs to humans.

Ants’ activity may still be present even though treatment actions had been done on it. It is most likely that improper control techniques were used by homeowners to deal with them without knowing their species, biology, and behaviours. Here, we provide you with the correct ways how to get rid of ants.

Table of Contents

• 1. Identify the Entry Point
• 2. Remove Water Leaks
• 3. Keep Proper Sanitation
• 4. Store Food in Airtight Containers
• 5. Look out for the Indoor Potted Plants
• 6. Trim Trees and Keep Shrubbery Away
• 7. Get Help from a Professional

Understanding how ants find their ways to invade our homes is always the first step to curbing them.

The invasion of ants usually starts with the cracks and crevices in the wall, seam of walls, floors, ceilings, corners or windows, and gaps around the utility lines or pipes.

We often pay less attention to these areas while they actually provide enough space for tiny ants to access our homes. But it’s not too late for you to prevent them from entering! Giving you a task as a home protector, it is time to start investigating any potential entry point in your home. You may use silicone-based caulk to seal if you find those entry points.

It is common that we don’t realise the existence of water leaks in our homes. In this situation, ants can be beneficial to alert you that water leaks may be inside your property!

Water is one of the main sources for ants to thrive on.

Furthermore, they prefer to nest around moisture sources. Hence, if you find ants inside your home, you might want to start inspecting any leaky pipe or water source for them. Make sure you repair the leaky pipe as there is higher chance for them to coming back. If you want to know how to avoid or how to get rid of ants, this is an important part of it!

Food is a must for all living creatures. Keeping your home tidy, especially the kitchen area, can help to quell their activities. Foster a good habit of tidiness by regular cleaning of your home not only to keep ants but other pests away as well. Counters, floors, table and kitchen appliances are usually their favourite forage areas. Sweep or wipe down these areas as to remove any crumbs of food and spills of juice that can serve as an attractive food source for them. In addition, remember to dispose your garbage and trash on a daily basis.

Don’t be surprised if you find ants inside your stored food since they are so tiny that they can squeeze through any gap formed between objects. Hence, make sure you store your food in pest-proof or airtight containers. Furthermore, ripe fruits or other food sources like bottles of opened juice or wine should be stored in the refrigerator since there might be some sugar-based residues on the outer surface.

You might get frustrated by the reoccurrence of ants inside your house even though you have done the first four steps. Here is another tip for you – take note of the indoor potted plants! Plants need water to survive, the same goes for ants too! Ants may have built their colony inside or around your indoor potted plants before you take precautionary steps against them. Hence, carefully check around your indoor potted plants and look for the signs of ants’ activities. If you found them inside, you have to remove and replace the infested soil. Make sure to always remove accumulated water inside the drainage plate at the bottom of your plant pot as these can serve as the water source for them.

Keep in mind that ants usually come from the outside environment. Thus if you want to know how to get rid of ants, start outside. The reasons for their occurrence inside a house are always food, water and shelter. Therefore, preventive actions against them at your home’s exteriors cannot be neglected. Trimming tree branches away from touching the wall and roof of your house can help to reduce their entry.

Some species of ants are just too troublesome to be eradicated such as pharaoh’s ants and crazy ants. Somehow, we eliminate a species, while a few weeks or months later a secondary species of ants come out from the same treated spot. Hence, identifying the ant species is crucial as there are some ant species that cannot be treated with insecticide spray but specifically designated bait. From a young age, we may have the same concept that ants love sugar-based food. However, that is not always true! Some ants prefer to feed on oil-based food while some even prefer MSG-contained food (monosodium glutamate, a common flavour enhancer in food)! Don’t panic if you see them, keep calm and get help from our trained professionals to keep your home free from them!