The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where family meals are made and memories are made. But if pavement ants come into your kitchen, it can quickly become a fight of wills. These pests can be a bother, but if you take the right steps, you can take back control of your kitchen and enjoy a pest-free space once more.
How to Spot Pavement Ants
The formal name for pavement ants is Tetramorium Caespitum, and they are small, dark brown to black ants that live all over North America. Their name comes from the fact that they like to nest under concrete slabs, but they are just as happy going into your kitchen or any other room inside. Finding them is important for dealing with the problem successfully.
Why pavement ants like your kitchen
Here are some things that make pavement ants want to come into your kitchen:
Where to Find Food: Kitchens are full of food that sidewalk ants can eat. They like to eat crumbs, drink sugary drinks that get spilled, and even pet food that is left out.
Water: Ants need water to live, and your kitchen can give them access to it through leaky taps, condensation, or even a glass of water that has been spilled.
Places to hide: The cracks and crevices in your kitchen, especially around the countertops, are perfect places for sidewalk ants to hide and get to food sources.
Getting rid of the pavement ants together
In case pavement ants have moved into your house, here is a step-by-step plan to get rid of them:
- Identifying them: Make sure the attackers are really pavement ants. Correct recognition is necessary to figure out the best thing to do.
- Clean up: First, clean your kitchen really well. Clean up the mess, wipe down surfaces, and wash the dishes right away. Ants leave chemical trails that lead them to food sources, so getting rid of these trails is very important.
- Storing food: Keep food in containers that don’t let air in so that ants can’t get to it. To this list go cereal, sugar, dry goods, and even pet food.
- Seal off entry points. Look for cracks or holes in the walls, stairs, windows, and doors in your kitchen. A weather-resistant glue or caulk can be used to cover these openings and keep ants out.
- Use of Natural Repellents: To keep ants away, you might want to use natural repellents. If you sprinkle cinnamon or citrus peels near ant trails and entry places, they may work.
- Ant bait traps: Put ant bait traps in key places where ants are most likely to be. These traps catch ants and kill them all, including the queen, with the goal of killing the whole colony.
- Professional Pest Control: If the problem doesn’t go away or seems to be spreading, you should talk to a professional pest control service. They know how to evaluate the case and give specific treatments because they have the knowledge and tools to do so.
- Regular Inspections: Make it a habit to check your kitchen for ants every day. Finding ant problems early on can keep small problems from getting worse.
Stopping Future Infestations
After getting rid of the pavement ants in your house, it’s important to take the following steps to keep them away:
Continued Cleanliness: Keep the kitchen clean and clean up spills and crumbs right away.
Regular Checks: Look over your kitchen every so often for possible entry spots or signs of ant activity.
Maintenance for your landscaping: Cut back plants that are close to your house to reduce the number of ants that live outside.
Remember that getting rid of sidewalk ants in your kitchen takes work from everyone. If you do regular maintenance, use natural bug sprays, and get professional help when you need it, you can keep ants out of your kitchen.
At Ant Control Lindsay, we offer long-term solutions that can guarantee the eradication of pest presence throughout the property through crack and crevice application in areas of high activity.