Ant Control in Humboldt County
Schedule Ant Control Service in Humboldt County
Ants are not exclusive to California or the West Coast. However, certain species of ants are more commonly found in areas throughout Humboldt County, including Arcata, Eureka, and even farther north reaching Crescent City. These are carpenter ants, odorous ants, pavement ants, argentine ants, pharaoh ants, and thief ants. Each species boasts its unique characteristics, all of which the technicians at 707 Pest Solutions are trained to search for. If you suspect you have an ant infestation, or want preventative treatment, contact us today for a pest control consultation.
Signs Of An Existing Ant Infestation At Home
Ants are attracted to food and moisture. Homes and office buildings provide both of these amenities, making them great scouting locations for ants. They are not picky when it comes to their food, but ants do love sugar. When dealing with an ant infestation in your home, look for any food or water sources that ants could access easily. Once one ant finds a food source, it won’t be long until other ants from the colony show up for the feast.
Multiple Ants And Forage Trails
Before an ant infestation occurs, colonies will send foraging ants to search areas for food. When food is found, the foraging ants will form a trail back to their colony, alerting the other ants of the nearby food source. These foraging trails will become more distinct over time as more ants walk the path. This may be an obvious sign of an ant infestation, but it helps to understand the root cause.
Damaged Wood and Frass
Ants like to create nests in whatever wood they can. Walls, beams, cabinets, you name it. Any wood will do. Keep in mind that ants especially enjoy wood that is damp, as it is easier for them to build their nest in. Often times, you can tell when ants are nesting in wood because of the visible holes or slits on the surface. A sawdust like material, known as frass, may also be found around your home as a result of ants burrowing their way into wood. This frass contains not only wood, but ant body parts as well.
Ants In The Kitchen & In Food
Imagine opening your pantry to find unwelcomed ants feasting on your groceries. That’s certainly not a great start to your dinner routine! You’ll want to throw out that food for sure. Ants are known to carry and transmit dangerous organisms and harmful bacteria, which may spread to food in contact. These organisms and bacteria can cause health issues, so it’s best to just throw the food away.
What Causes An Ant Infestation At Home?
You’ll want to act fast when you first spot ants at your home or office in Humboldt County. Typically this means that they have found a food source near or even inside the residence. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the ant colony shows up to claim their tasty reward.
Improperly Stored Food
The main purpose of an ant’s life is to find food for their queen. Ants are attracted to food that is easy to claim. Airtight sealed containers are a great way to keep perishable foods like cereal and crackers away from ants.
Dirty Kitchen
Storing food properly and securely isn’t always enough. One point to remember for how to get rid of ants in the kitchen is to keep your kitchen clean. Dirty dishes and crumbs will surely lure in ants. Wipe down your countertops and mop your floors to help prevent an ant infestation from occurring. Ants are even more attracted to sugary foods, so be sure to clean up any spilt sugary drinks soon after the mess is made.
Sticky Garbage
As mentioned above, sugar attracts ants. Food left in your garbage for too long can attract ants to your home or office. Regularly rinsing your garbage containers, as well as soda bottles and food cans, is a good practice to help prevent ants from appearing.
Rotting or Decaying Wood
Carpenter ants, among others, make their nests in damp decaying wood. It’s easy for these ants to burrow their way in once the wood gets in contact with water. Look to replace rotting wood as it will reduce areas for ants to create nests.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In The Kitchen
One or a few ants in the kitchen is most likely due to stray food particles being left out for some time. You’ll want to take action sooner rather than later when finding ants in your kitchen or home. When one ant finds food, they will quickly alert the rest of their colony, bringing hundreds to thousands more ants your way in a matter of days.
Rinse Out Garbage and Recycling Cans
This goes hand in hand with the sticky garbage section above. Have you ever taken out the garbage to find a sticky residue left inside of the can? That’s likely a puddle of liquid sugar waiting to be found by ants. If you want to know how to get rid of ants in the kitchen, start by not giving them a reason to visit. You can do so by giving your trash cans a rinse every other week.
Homemade Cleaners and Traps
After removing open food sources, homemade cleaners may be an effective solution for how to get rid of ants in the kitchen. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water, then wipe down your surfaces. Peppermint oil and lemon sprays will also work. If you notice foraging trails, be sure to spray those areas as well. When using homemade traps, however, we urge caution. Some at-home traps use a sugar-based poison, which in turn may attract more ants than the trap kills.
Seek Professional Ant Control Service
For existing ant infestations, it’s best to contact a professional ant control service company to handle the situation. The technicians at 707 Pest Solutions are trained ant exterminators with many years experience in the ant control business. When you need effective ant treatment for your home or office in Humboldt County, contact 707 Pest Solutions. Our ant treatments are safe on both pets and the environment.
When To Call 707 Pest Solutions For Ant Control
Calling an ant exterminator shouldn’t be reserved for ant infestations. There are many reasons to schedule an appointment for ant treatment service prior to this. At 707 Pest Solutions, we believe prevention is an important step Humboldt County residents can take toward quality ant control.
Cleaning up messes and putting away food helps to get rid of ants in the kitchen, but more action can be taken. A professional ant control treatment plan will reduce the number of ants in your home, providing you and your family peace of mind.
Our Ant Control Treatment Plan
1. Inspect For Ant Infestation
The first step in any ant control plan is to send our experienced ant exterminators to your property to inspect the area. This is done prior to starting any other work. Our technicians are trained to look for both the source of the problem, and also for how ants are entering your residence. There's no sense in killing ants in your home if the perimeter is not secure.
2. Recommendation
Following the inspection, our ant exterminators will present our ant control plan for how to get rid of ants. Your ant treatment is tailored to your unique situation. Our treatment plans outline suggested next steps, the time frame for completion, as well as how we plan to provide ongoing ant control after the initial ant treatment service.
3. Ant Treatment & Extermination
Once your ant control plan is approved, our team gets to work. Our goal is to destroy ant colonies for good. To do this, we often use the natural foraging patterns of ants to our advantage. We start by placing ant traps with a non-sugary bait, coated in an active ingredient, on location. Ants will collect our bait and bring it back to their colony. The active ingredient is designed to kill ants and their queen. Using this ant treatment technique, ants will think the bait is food before realizing it's too late.
4. Ongoing Monitoring & Prevention
We schedule regular follow-up appointments as part of our ant control plan to provide long-term results. During these follow-up visits, our ant technicians will perform perimeter barrier treatments. They will also inspect for new areas ants may be attracted to, as well as any possible new entry points that may have formed. We will also refill any ant traps as needed. For complete ant treatment that won't break the bank, contact 707 Pest Solutions!