If you have recently been plagued by swarms of ants crawling around your kitchen, you may be desperate to get a handle on the population. Even if you have been using ant sprays and other do-it-yourself pest control methods, you notice that more and more of the tiny insects enter your home every day. Besides calling a pest control company that can help you get a handle on the problem, there are a couple of things you can do to help reduce the number of ants coming into your kitchen.
1. Look for and Seal the Entry Points
One of the first things that you can do to help control the number of ants coming in is to observe them for a while. As creatures of habit, ants tend to follow the same patterns whenever they find a reliable food source, which in this case is your kitchen.
After finding these patterns, follow their trails to any cracks or holes under your sink, in your cabinets, and along your floorboards. If you find any openings, seal them with caulk. If there are any openings along the edges of the doors and window, use weatherstripping to seal them.
2. Erase the Ants' Scent Trails with Vinegar
Even if you seal up any openings that you find, you may still have ants finding their way in and following the same trails once they are inside. This is because ants leave scent trails to which they are keenly attuned, and if there is any way to get to them, they will find them.
To counteract these scent trails, you can erase them by spraying the lines with straight vinegar, which neutralizes the scent. You can begin by spraying the lines with ant spray to kill the ants that are already present.
Then, after carefully cleaning the area, spray the vinegar directly on the trails. Let the vinegar air dry, and avoid removing the vinegar for a couple of days to keep the ants from finding their way back to their previously established routes.
While using the above tips can help reduce the number of ants running in and out of your home, it will not completely get rid of them, especially if you have a large population already inside. Contact an ant control company to have them send someone to determine the extent of your infestation and discuss your options for getting rid of your ant problem once and for all.