Ants are some of the most common pest types found in homes across the country. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who has never seen even one ant in their home. However, just because these tiny insects commonly invade homes doesn't mean it is okay when they invade your home. These little pests can become hazardous to your health if they are allowed to stay in your home for too long.
At Mike's Pest and Termite Control, we know how frustrating it can be to see ants inside your home constantly. Our Waldorf pest control technicians have spent years finding the most effective way to eliminate ants in residential areas for good. Keep reading to find out what to do if you see ants in your home.
Ant Behavior: Social Hierarchy And Communication
Ants typically live in large colonies that can contain over 100,000 ants. Because so many ants live in such tight quarters, every ant must have a specific job to keep the colony operating.
With most types of ants, there are three castes in each colony; workers, male reproductives, and queens. Usually, there is only one queen in a colony, but some species will have several queens living together in a nest. The queen's job is to mate with the male reproductives and lay eggs. The male reproductives only have one job: to mate with the queen. The worker ants are female and tasked with doing every other chore needed in the colony. The workers will typically take care of the baby ants, tend to the queen ants, find food, build and expand the nest, and remove any dead ants from the nest.
Because ants can't talk or make any noises, they use the pheromones in their bodies to communicate. When worker ants leave the nest to find food, they also leave a pheromone trail; this tells the other workers ants where to go. Soon, several worker ants will walk in a line to the food source and carry it back to their nest. If you see only one or two ants in your home, there is a good chance that you are only seeing the worker and looking for food, and there are sure to be more hiding in the darkest spaces of your home.
Ant Dangers: Understanding The Risk Of An Infestation
Ants can spread various diseases and viruses, including salmonellosis, E. coli infections, staph infections, shigellosis, and streptococcus. If the ants can walk across your food, plates, silverware, or food preparation surfaces, they could transmit these harmful illnesses to you.
Professional Ant Control: A Great Way To Get Rid Of An Infestation
Professional ant control is the most effective way to eliminate ants from your house. An experienced pest control specialist will have access to treatments that you can't buy in stores. They will also know the proper and safe way to apply these treatments to your home.
Ant Prevention Is Key: Effective Tips And Tricks
If you want to keep ants out of your Waldorf home, you should eliminate any potential food and water source in your home. Keep dry food in a sealed container, put life on your trash cans, and fix leaky faucets as soon as possible.
Another way to prevent ants from coming into your home is to have the professionals at Mike's Pest and Termite Control perform a thorough inspection of your home. We will customize an ant control plan tailored to your specific needs. Give us a call today to get your free quote.