If you really want to give your home an upgrade, it’s important that you take the necessary steps to reduce your ant concerns. You can change out your bathtub, add a wine cellar, or resurface your countertops, but if you have ants, that’s all you’re going to think about.
Consider these important steps to avoiding ants in the house altogether.
Facts About Ants
Before you get rid of the ants in your home, it’s actually a good idea to know a little more about these ants. That way, you can more effectively combat them.
First off, it’s good to know that there are over 700 types of ants in the United States, and not every type behaves identically. That’s why you might need to do different things for different ant infestations — chances are, it was a different kind of ant.
Additionally, there are many types of ants that can get inside your home through broken concrete. Whether it’s broken pavement on the outside of your home or a cracked foundation underneath, it’s possible for ants to burrow inside through even very small cracks.
The Most Common Places for Ants to Hide
Where will you most commonly find ants? These are the top places that ants may hide in your home.
- Kitchens
As you may have already suspected, kitchens are the most common places to find ants. That’s largely because kitchens have so much food. Additionally, it’s very easy to leave food out accidentally; if you even forget to wipe off the counter after making food, you may be leaving behind food particles that can attract ants.
- Bathrooms
If kitchens are the best place for ants to find food, bathrooms are definitely the best place for ants to find water. Ants only need a very small amount of water because they’re so small. Whenever you get out of the bathtub, take a shower, or shake your hands off after washing them, you could be scattering water particles for ants.
- Basements
Another common place for ants to show up is basements. That’s largely because cracks in the home’s foundation offer an entry point for ants. Because many people don’t go into their basements very often, it’s possible for an ant infestation to go unnoticed for a very long time because of this.
- Air Conditioning Units
You may not have considered this, but an air conditioning unit can actually be a place where ants can enter the home. This is partially because there’s moisture inside an air conditioning unit, and if the unit doesn’t have proper caulking around the outside, it’s easy for ants to come through.
Preventing Ants From Entering the Home
With all this information, how can you properly keep ants outside your home? Here are a few things you can do to avoid ants in your home.
- Seal cracks and holes in walls
- Caulk around air conditioning or heating units
- Fix leaky pipes and faucets
- Seal food in airtight containers
- Wipe down kitchen counters
- Empty trash frequently
- Don’t overwater indoor plants
- Replace outdoor mulch or pine straw with crushed rock
- Stack firewood at least 20 feet away from the home
- Repair cracked pavements and foundations
These tips, which may range in difficulty from very simple to more complex, will all do wonders in helping you avoid a future ant infestation in your home.
Conclusion
It’s absolutely possible for you to prevent ants from coming inside your home. You just have to commit to taking the necessary steps. If you’re willing to take these steps, you significantly reduce the possibility that you’ll end up with an ant infestation. Even if it requires a professional, as with fixing your cracked pavement, you’ll be very happy that you invested money into it.
