Old wise Solomon tells us in his Proverb to “consider the ant,” and there is much to learn in the way of hard work and cooperation with others from this tiny insect. But if your home has been invaded by a horde of ants who are scavenging about in your sink and on your table tops, you may wish to consider how to get rid of those ants.
Ants as a nuisance
The ant’s amazing ability to adapt to its environment and seek out food and water for the good of the colony has led to its presence as a pest in many of our homes. Food cannot be left out long before ants find it. The syrup container is full of dead, drowned ants. An excellent source of protein but not what most of us desire on our pancakes! Ants bite, sting, damage furniture and wood, destroy crops, strip trees of their leaves, and always seem to find a way into the most tightly guarded house.
Some ant species that often cause trouble to man include carpenter ants which damage wood, fire ants which deliver a stinging bite, Pharaoh ants which often plague hospitals, and pavement ants that dig out the cracks between your sidewalks.
Where are those ants coming from?
Sometimes we are baffled as to where the ants are coming from and how they are getting in. Ants are small enough and clever enough to find thousands of little passage ways into your home, some of them outside of your ability to view short of tearing the floor boards up. However, the simple procedure of scanning along the ant trail until you find where it begins will often give you a clue. You can look outside near the foundation of the house for ant hills as well.
How can I get rid of the ants?
According to pest control services company Optimum Services, to effectively exterminate ants, you need to kill the colony- that is, the queen. They said, “A colony of workers without a queen can’t last long since there is no source of new ants. If you can find the ant hill outside, dump gallons of boiling water into it, or dig it up and find the queen in the deep recesses of the tunnel network so you can kill her.” Otherwise, you will need to poison the workers and let them feed that poison to the queen and pupae. A solution of water, boric acid, and sugar can be an effective insecticide, or you can find ant traps at a store. Terro drops placed at an ant entry point are highly potent and effective, but must be kept away from animals and children. If you see a lone ant scouting about, kill him because he will soon invite his comrades to partake of any food particles or water he discovers. If you place poison along an ant trail you see on your counter, floor, or wall, the ants will soon find it and take it back to the colony.
In the case that the problem persists, you may need to contact professional exterminators to get the job done.
How can I prevent ants from returning?
The number one way to keep ants away is by removing the reason they are showing up- food. Keep the sink clean, spray the garbage with ant spray and take it out daily, sweep up food crumbs off the floor and wipe them off the counters. Secondly, you can set up ant barriers at likely entry points- doors and windows. Talc, salt, or ant spray applied in those places will reduce the likelihood of their getting in.
Ants are amazing creatures. So amazing, in fact, that Ant-man has become the latest comic book super hero. They lift many times their own weight, fight to the death for days on end, and form living bridges to get across water barricades. And Solomon again comments that the ants are a people not great (large), but yet they are wise enough to gather their food in the Summer. And they are wise enough to gather it in your sink or on your table too. We can take wise steps too to kill and keep out the ants that are pestering us.
