The Best Way To Tackle An Ant Infestation In Vero Beach

How To Identify An Ant Infestation In Your Home

When considering ant control in Vero Beach, it is important to know that ants can outsmart you if you don't understand certain uncommon facts about them. One example comes from this simple question we get about ants. "Do ants poop?" Have you wondered about this? More importantly, have you seen black fecal stains or tiny pepper-like fecal pellets in your home? If you don't understand how ants deal with their waste materials, you may start off on the wrong foot when you attempt to tackle an ant infestation. Ants designate a location to leave their waste. It is a special spot that is separate from where they dispose of their dead, or where uneaten food is stored. Ants are very organized. Now, on the surface, these facts may seem unimportant. But they are far from it. Let's break them down.

• Warning signs. Ants don't leave waste materials as they explore your home. If you see black specks, you have some other type of pest in your home, such as cockroaches. The ant warning signs you're looking for are frass or soil leaking out of walls, or damage to the wood in your home.
• Ants collect their dead and put them in one location. It is one of the ways ants outsmart ant pest control treatments. They detect threats and avoid them. But, sometimes, they leave their dead behind. When some of the workers in an ant colony are caught in traps, the other workers may not go in and collect all of their fallen family members. Sticky traps are helpful for detecting ants as the ants that are trapped cannot be collected.  
• Ants collect food and store food in a special place. You don't have to know the special place, but it is helpful to understand that ants can travel a long distance to get food. When you see lots of ants in your home, it doesn't mean you have an indoor nest. If you think you have an indoor nest, you may not check your exterior for ant mounds or ant activity. You may also fail to consider exterior ant control to arrest the ant activity in your home.

These are a few insights into how you can detect ants and address ant problems with uncommon facts. Most of the time, ant problems aren't hard to detect. You'll see the ants. Or you may smell them when you crush them underfoot.

The Issues Ant Infestations Create In Homes

We have more uncommon facts to share with you regarding ant infestations. These have to do with the issues ants create when they invade your home. Most of these facts will provide unique insights into how you can get rid of ants.

• Certain ants effectively spread harmful bacteria. They are attracted to decaying organic matter. If you have a stinky trash receptacle near an exterior door, these ants may start getting inside. A quick fix is to clean trash receptacles and move them away from exterior walls.
• Certain ants prefer protein sources. These ants are attracted to homes with lots of insect activity and will routinely appear indoors and drive you crazy. You can reduce the number of insects around your home by replacing white exterior lighting with yellow lights or installing motion-detecting light bulbs. If this isn't enough, keep in mind that a year-round pest control service plan can reduce insect activity and directly control ants as well.
• Certain ants get into switch boxes, power outlets, and automobile engines. In these places, they can cause malfunctions to occur. If the lights go off in a room of your home, ants may have something to do with it. In many cases, a problem like this begins with vegetation touching an exterior wall. Trim plants to remove the bridge that ants are using. Also, consider pest-proofing.
• Certain ants damage property. They are the ants that create frass. Do you know the ants we're referring to? They're called carpenter ants. The frass material they produce is a mixture of fecal droppings, wood shavings, and insect parts. You can look for this material in and around your home. Along with frass, check for changes to the wood of your home. When holes in wood appear, check for carpenter ants. Keep in mind that carpenter ants prefer nocturnal activity. You may need to look for them at night with a flashlight. There is no easy way to get rid of carpenter ants.
• Certain ants sting. If you see wounds, you know you have a problem. Pest-proofing may solve your problem as these ants rarely live indoors.

We hope you've already found useful insights regarding how ants invade and what you can do about these pests. Let's turn our attention to some specific examples of what works to get rid of ants in your house. We'll share a few tips you can apply and explain how HomeShield Pest Control addresses ant problems.

The Best Way To Get Rid Of Ants In Your House

When you see ants, do you need to immediately get ant pest control in Vero Beach? Not necessarily. You can address many ant problems with a few simple-to-understand control methods. Remove the food source(s) the ants have entered your home to gather. Clean all the surfaces. Inspect your exterior to track the route the ants took and seal any entry points you find. If ants are getting into your home from an outside nest, you may arrest the indoor activity. If you have an indoor nest or an ant problem that requires colony elimination to reduce the number of ants around your exterior, it helps to hire a professional. Your HomeShield Pest Control technician will perform an inspection, apply a treatment to arrest indoor ant activity, deploy monitoring devices, and follow up to make sure no ants remain inside. It is best to have us take care of ants in your home because it is possible to make your ant problem worse or add to the health concerns by using harmful products. We always use appropriate materials and apply them according to specifications and safety protocols.