Well the ant season has truly arrived. Not that I have seen too much evidence of this yet myself – apart from on my pear and cherry trees – rather I have seen ants related search terms in Google shoot up from last month. With the weather being so balmy recently it is not too surprising.
It may not mean that people already have a problem, it could just be clever people trying to outsmart the mighty ant by reading up on prevention before an ant problem occurs. Keen DIY pests controllers will want to arm themselves with the latest tips on how to outmanoeuvre ants!
Got ants in the house?
Well, the main reason we may find ants in our homes is because they are foraging for food.
When we had an ant invasion in the kitchen last year, we know they entered from a tiny gap around our front door frame, made their way down our corridor and headed straight for our kitchen. Our living room and dining room did not interest them at all.
Luckily because we knew the source of their entry point, we were able to seal this off quickly and then spend the next hour frantically cleaning the kitchen using twice as much kitchen spray as normal!
My tips for keeping ants out
Clear away food – don’t leave food leftovers or crumbs lying around. Sweep up crumbs and place leftovers in correctly sealed containers or in the fridge. Vacuum up crumbs from your carpets and sofas too – anywhere where you eat to be honest.
Clear away liquids – don’t leave liquid spillages on the floor or work surface. Any sweet substance in these, will be another great attractant for ants.
Seal tiny gaps – look around door frames and window frames, ensure these are all properly sealed and insulated. If you notice the odd ant or two on the carpet of the living room – don’t ignore it (like we did!) – and do these checks. You may then need some mortice filler!
Keep your rubbish tidy – Ensure your kitchen bin has a tightly fitting lid. Regularly empty the kitchen bin. We now also have a little compost bin (available from all good kitchen suppliers) in our kitchen with a sealed lid. If you have one of these too, make sure you empty regularly out on to your compost heap (located far away from your back door hopefully).
Fingers crossed for an ant free house this year!
I hate getting ants in the kitchen, because you just know it’s the tip of the iceberg. There’s never just one. They keep coming and coming!!