How to Get Rid of Black Ants in Charlotte, North Carolina

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Ants crawling on floor

You may be expecting ants to crash your picnic, but nobody wants to come home to discover that hundreds of ants have descended into their kitchen. House ants are a tremendous nuisance -- and also unavoidable. They can carry bacteria into your home and contaminate food or cooking areas; and many homeowners will, at one time or another, experience the seemingly endless battle of trying to keep them under control. There are a number of ant species common here in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and the rest of the Piedmont, including:

You don’t have to let ants run the show in your home. With the right tools and tips at your disposal, you can eliminate ants from your house and prevent them from coming back.

How to Stop an Ant Infestation in its Tracks

One or two ants might seem manageable – but colonies can reproduce fast. The average ant colony is made up of between 300,000 and 500,000 ants, meaning what starts out as a small ant problem can become a full-blown infestation very quickly. Let’s talk about the best ways to stop an ant infestation in its tracks.

First Things First: Seal Entry Points

Once you’ve discovered an ant problem in your home, it’s important to identify how these pests are getting into your home in the first place. Ants are small creatures, and it only takes a minuscule crack or opening for them to find an entrance. Once you spot ants in your home, follow their trail to identify where they might be entering. Keep a close eye on common entry points such as:

  • Cracks in window or door frames
  • Wall outlets and switch plates on outside walls
  • Cracks and seams in the walls
  • Loose or cracked floorboards

The Most Important: Get to the Source

When it comes to ants, out of sight shouldn’t mean out of mind. In fact, the ants you see inside your home are a mere fraction of the total infestation; and if you’re not getting to the root of the problem, your infestation will continue to bounce back.

The ants crawling on your countertops, swarming around crumbs, and sneaking into your leftovers are worker ants, sent out in search of food that they bring back to the colony. Most topical DIY treatments can put a stop to ant activity in the short term – but in order to put your ant problems to rest for good, you have to destroy the entire colony.

Each colony is led by a queen, who stays in her nest and reproduces quickly. No matter how many worker ants you kill, the queen will replenish the colony and send more ants to explore your home in search of food.

So, What Can You Do to Keep Ants Out?

The best way to manage an ant problem is, of course, to prevent an infestation before it starts. Sometimes that’s easier said than done when you don’t think to employ preventative measures until you already have an infestation. But in this case, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Keep Your Kitchen Clean

When you find ants inside your home, it’s likely because they’ve found a reliable source of food. Ants are social creatures, and they live in colonies of thousands or millions. If they find easy access to crumbs or unsealed containers of food in your kitchen, it’s an open invitation to partake in the feast and invite their friends

Even if you keep your kitchen spotless, you could be unwittingly welcoming a parade of ants with excess moisture. Bathrooms and kitchens with leaky pipes or dripping faucets are a big draw for ants.

Set Boundaries

Could your landscaping be making it easier for ants and other pests to get inside your home? Shrubs and plants that touch the siding of your home can act as a bridge, welcoming ants, termites, and other invaders in.

Why Professional Pest Control Makes Sense

The best way to keep ant infestations away from your home is with regular treatment from ant control specialists. Because ants are extremely common here in Charlotte, North Carolina and it can be hard for the average homeowner to get to the root of the infestation so ant problems can persist for months. By employing a professional Charlotte exterminator you can make sure the entire colony of ants is destroyed and future infestations don’t happen again.

Here at Tailor Made Lawns, our pest control professionals have the tools and expertise to fortify your home against invasions from the outside, sealing entry points and creating a chemical barrier around your home that ants can’t cross. We’ll make sure your home stays ant-free for the long haul.

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