As the weather warms up and the snow melts, many of the pests and wildlife that have been laying low throughout the cold months will re-emerge, looking for food, water and shelter. Ants are one of the most persistent nuisance pests in the home, often invading kitchens and bathrooms for food and water. Ant colonies will send out scouts to find food, so a single ant may find an unsealed trash can, left out pet food, crumbs, spills or grease stains, and it will return to the colony, leaving behind a pheromone trail that the other ants can follow back into your home. This is why you often see ants trailing behind each other in a single file line. As ant season approaches, you might be wondering what you can do to prepare.
When is Ant Season?
Ants do not hibernate, and it is possible for ants to invade the home during every season. However, ants are most active from early Spring to early Autumn, so ant season falls around March to October. As the temperatures rise and the days get longer, ants will begin sending their scouts out to find more food and water. Also during the warmer months, ants will begin breeding more, growing their colony and increasing their presence on your property.
During the fall, as temperatures cool down, you might see a second surge in ants, as they attempt to make their way back inside your home as a refuge from the cold weather, as well as for a more sustainable source of food, as their other sources of food begin drying up.
Carpenter Ant Prevention
Carpenter ants are one of the largest species of ant, named for their destructive nesting practices, as they hollow out wood in order to build their galleries. Carpenter ants can weaken decks, lawn furniture, and even the wood inside your home itself. Carpenter ants hollowing out the wood in your home can often make it unable to support weight, which can pose a serious danger to occupants of the home that are expecting a solid, sturdy piece of furniture and instead end up falling through a hollowed-out carpenter ant’s nest.
Carpenter ants are drawn to soft, damp, untreated wood, especially rotting wood. The best way to prevent a carpenter ant infestation is to make sure that any leaks in your home are identified and quickly remedied, to prevent the wood from softening and rotting. Summit Pest Control also offers preventative carpenter ant pest control treatments, which can eliminate these ants before they can get inside and begin damaging your home.
Fire Ant Prevention
Fire ants are red ants that nest inside large dirt mounds, often on your lawn or in your backyard. They are nicknamed fire ants for the fiery sting that they will deliver, on very little provocation. Fire ants are an invasive species in Virginia, and they have slowly been working their way up the state. Currently, the ants heavily infest the Hampton Roads and Williamsburg areas, with some even making their way up to Richmond. Fire ants are drawn to sources of standing water, left-out food (think trash cans or barbecues), and debris like wood piles. Cutting your grass, keeping your lawn tidy, eliminating any standing water, sealing all outdoor trash cans and making sure all food is properly cleaned up and disposed of can help prevent these ants from seeing your home as a viable place to build a mound. To keep fire ants out of the house, make sure that you seal off any entry points and keep all food safely stored in air-tight containers. Summit Pest Control offers the best in preventative pest control treatments to keep fire ants from setting up a mound inside your yard.
How to Prevent Sugar Ants from Entering House
Sugar ants, also known as house ants, and occasionally a term used for the odorous house ant, are drawn to homes for crumbs, spills, grease, pet food, standing water, and open trash cans. The common myth is that ants are only attracted to sugar, when in reality, ants are attracted to all kinds of food. Dealing with sugar ants is all about preparation, so once you feel the weather warm up, start preparing for ant season by thoroughly cleaning and wiping down all counters and food preparation surfaces, sweeping your floors, vacuuming up any crumbs, cleaning up any spills, cleaning up any crumbs or spills inside your pantry, and storing all your food in sealed, air-tight containers. Cleaning regularly, especially after cooking or meals, will aid greatly in preventing these ants from invading the home. If your home is prone to ant infestations during the spring and summer, a great way to prepare is to contact a licensed pest control professional like Summit Pest Control to have preventative ant control treatments done on your property, taking care of the problem before it even starts.
Ant Control Services in Hampton
Summit Pest Control offers the best ant control services in the Hampton area. We can eliminate any current ant populations on your property, while also providing you with seal-outs to keep these ants from getting inside the home. We can treat for not only the nuisance sugar ant, but also the wood-destroying carpenter ant and the painful, stinging fire ant. Ant season might only be from March to October, but ants can invade your home anytime, so whenever you spot an ant in your home, don’t wait, contact Summit Pest Control for the best ant control services in the Hampton area.