Preventing Ants
Preventing Ants
[ Ant Identification | Inspecting For Ants | Treating For Ants | Preventing Ants ]Once you have been able to get rid of ants in your home or business you can work to prevent a re-infestation. By keeping the outside of your home undesirable to ants you can help prevent new ant colonies from moving in.
Pests of all kinds require these three essentials to exist on your property:
- A Food Source
- Water or Moisture
- A place to live
Yard Cleaning / Sanitation:
- Cut / trim trees so that the branches do not touch your house. This will prevent ants from using them to gain access to your house.
- Cut / trim shrubs around your home so that you are able to see beneath them to eliminate shady areas where ants are most likely to nest.
- Make a dry area where there isn't any of any landscape debris present. Ants most likely will avoid these areas by raking mulch, leaves, and other landscape bedding at about 6 inches from the foundation perimeter.
- For reducing moisture and discouraging ants from building a nest, turn the mulch or other similar bedding material every couple of weeks or so.
- Insects and other pests are known to take up residence in gutters and downspouts, be sure to try and clean these out frequently.
- It is a good idea to keep your grass short, mowing as often as it is needed.
- To remove potential nesting areas for a wide variety of insects, remove any grass clippings, leaf piles, stacked wood, and other lawn debris.
- If you have fruit trees, take the fruit from trees when it is ripe, and pick up any fallen fruit from the ground removing any opportunity for infestation.
- If you have garbage cans outside, they provide ample food and shelter for pests. If possible, store them as far away from your house as possible. Make sure their lids are on tight as well. Wash out trash cans and dumpsters with an ammonia solution when as necessary.
When all the outdoor and perimeter cleaning is completed, you can spray every 30 to 90 days around your home or structure with a general insecticide. This generally thought of as "quarterly" pest control and prevention and will help keep ants as well as other insects out of your home.
To keep ants and other insects from getting into your home, you can apply an insecticide at least 1 to 2 feet from the ground up along the foundation, and also 1 to 2 feet from the foundation wall outward along the ground. If you think it is necessary, can create a bigger barrier of 4-5 feet away from the house or structure.
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