Ants are such pests that nobody wants in their house no matter what time of the year it is. However, in summer you would see that these insects are much more active. That is why you need to understand what attracts these social insects inside your home and how you could remove them from your premises. As ants are very small in structure, they could enter your house from the tiniest of creaks and cracks. Therefore, in this article, we would discuss some common things that might be the reason behind ants entering your household.
Food:
You might not have an idea but the ants have a keen sense of smell. They have four to five times more odor receptors than other common insects. This exceptional sense of smell attracts the ants to your house to find food. Mostly the worker ants are the one responsible for searching and bringing the food to the nest. Whenever a worker ant notifies a potential source of food, they leave behind a specific scent which allows other ants to follow them and carry the food back to their colony. Ants have numerous species and they could consume a various variety of foods. The carpenter ants prefer any type of meat and food that contains fats and sugar. Therefore, ants can feed on dead insects, meat, sugar liquids, honey, pet food, sugar, jelly, and all the common consumable items found in a household. So, to avoid an ant invasion inside your house you need to follow the following steps.
- Do not leave any type of food item on the kitchen shelves and clean all the food crumbs from your kitchen floor.
- Try to keep all the vegetables and meat refrigerated.
- If you spill any kind of sugar-based liquid quickly clean it.
Water:
Well, ants do not need a large source of water but they do need it to survive. Mostly ants get their water fix through the food they eat other than that they don’t need much water. However, some species of ants’ nest closer to a reliable source of water. One of the common specie that requires a water source is known as pharaoh ant. On the other hand, the carpenter ant is also attracted to damp wood and a leaked sanitary pipe might be an invitation for their infestation. That is why you need to resolve all the plumbing issues of the house as early as possible. So, that you could prevent your home from an ant invasion.
Reproduction:
In an ant colony, every ant has a defined role. Females of the colony known as the worker ants supply food for the colony. Males in a colony are only responsible for reproducing with the queens of the colony. The queens do not go out, their prime purpose is to reproduce. Ant colonies could remain active during winters if the temperature of the nest is warm enough for survival of the queens. That is why mostly during springs you would encounter flying ants in your households. These flying ants have been developing in the colony and when they are mature enough, they fly around to mate and produce more colonies. Once they have mated the males die and the female queens only survive that nest and form new ant colonies. If you see flying ants much more around your house then you should contact Ant Exterminator Surrey BC expert to help you because there is a possibility of multiple ant colonies inside your household. They would locate all the ant colonies and effectively get rid of them.
Climate:
The outside weather and the indoor climate of the house is one of the main reasons of ant infestation inside the house. As ants are cold-blooded creatures, they depend on their environment to regulate body temperature. Therefore, in winter they seek a cozy warm environment for nesting and the houses are the best way to avoid cold. Moreover, some ant species can nest inside the deadwood that is the man-made wood structure that attracts them to develop colonies. They find the wood cabinets and the floors a perfect place to nest. What you could do is replace any rotten wood fixtures in the house. Don’t spill any liquid on the floor and keep your bathrooms watertight so that the ants don’t storm inside your house.