What Attracts Ants, and How to Get Rid of Them?
Ant colonies can range in size between 500 and 3000 ants. If they end up building a colony near your home, you can be in for work trying to keep them out of your spaces. Discover the intriguing world of ants and learn why this little pest can sometimes invade your home.
In this article, we delve into what attracts ants into our spaces and provide effective strategies to get rid of them for good.
Keep reading to learn more.
What Attracts Ants?
The main thing that ants are attracted to is food because they are always foraging for food to take back to their queen. Because they are so tiny, even the smallest bits of crumbs can be feasts for them.
Ants love sugar, so any type of sweet residue from open sugar containers or juice will lure them right into your space. Something else that will keep ants around is moisture. They need water to survive, so if there’s a moisture-rich area in your home or even your car in your driveway or garage, they might move in.
Getting Rid of Ant Infestations
One of the best ways to get rid of ants is by keeping up with cleaning. Make sure you regularly clean your countertops and floors. This will ensure that you don’t have food residue and crumbs lying around.
If there are ants in your car, you also need to regularly vacuum it because if there are food crumbs left behind, they will take over. Once you vacuum your car, you can scatter some mint leaves or cinnamon to help repel them. If you have persistent ants, then you might have to call in the experts to help you.
Using a mixture of borax, sugar, and warm water can help get rid of an entire colony. Make sure you use safety gloves if you choose to create this mix, and keep borax away from pets and kids because it can be harmful. The key is to mix everything together until the borax and the sugar are dissolved, and then saturate cotton balls and place them in areas where you see ants.
You can also mix some glass cleaner with dish soap in a spray bottle and spray it on areas where you think the ants are entering. Another natural deterrent for ants is black or cayenne pepper. You can sprinkle either pepper behind appliances and around baseboards to help keep ants away.
White vinegar mixed with water is another effective way to say goodbye to these pests. You can spray the mix anywhere, including carpets and floors, because after the vinegar dries, although you can’t smell it, ants can still smell it, and they will stay away.
Ready to Tackle These Household Pests?
Now that you have learned what attracts ants and how to effectively get rid of them, it’s time to get to work. There is no reason that you should have to share your space with these pesky bugs. Plus, you never know if the ants you’re dealing with are also carrying bacteria that can get you and your family sick.
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