Having an infestation of ants in any part of your house can be irritating, and when they are all over your kitchen it can be even more so. It seems like they come out of nowhere and it can be really hard to keep them out. In order to prevent and/or eliminate ants in the kitchen, follow these few tips.
The first step to an ant-free kitchen is simple: keep your kitchen clean. Avoid leaving any food out over night or for long periods of time during the day. Any food that is left out should be in sealed containers at all times. Make sure that any dirty dishes left in the sink have at least been rinsed to remove any leftover food bits, and wipe down all counters and surfaces. You can try wiping surfaces down with a little bit of vinegar; the smell of the vinegar will repell ants. Take out the trash and make sure the inside of your can is clean as well.
Once your kitchen is clean you will want to get rid of any ants already there. There are numerous ant-killing insecticides out there but you may want to use something more natural in your kitchen to avoid getting any chemicals on your food, appliances, or silverware. Filling an empty spray bottle with water and several table spoons of dish soap and spraying down any ants in sight can be used as an alternative to harsher poisons. Wait a few minutes and use a paper towel to wipe up the water and the ants.
Your kitchen may be clear for now, but you still need to worry about the remaining ants in the nest. You can put down commercial ant bait traps that contain poisonous food that ants will bring back to the rest of the colony. There are several commercial ant traps that are available for this use. You should also use an insecticide spray around the outside perimeter of your house at least once a month in order to prevent more ants from getting in.
After completing all of these steps, it is important to remember that it takes time to completely get rid of an ant infestation, even as long as a few weeks. Be vigilant in keeping your kitchen clean, spraying any ants you see, and keeping ant bait traps around until those pesky insects stop popping up, and even afterwards. If nothing you do seems to have an effect, you may want to hire a pest control expert. Use TalkLocal to get in contact with a reliable local professional within minutes. Simply enter a brief description of your problem, availability and location, and TalkLocal will connect you directly to someone who can help.
I am not a trained expert entomologist, but this homw remedy used by many works for several weeks to rid yourself of nature’s pesky little buggers. Use 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup icing sugar and mix well. Do not put this powder mixture on grass but place it along driveways or inside your home where ants are seen congregating. Ants are resilient, and soon you’ll see them disappear as they’ll be attracted to the icing sugar to take tid bits to their nest. The borax is the secret weapon, and soon you will see no signs of them for several weeks, but re-apply it later. It is much better solution than harmful chemical sprays that are dangerous to the environment, pets and children. Good luck……
Thanks for the tip Kerwin!Be careful when using Borax around pets. It’s dangerous, so much so that we wrote a blog about it. You can read it here: http://www.talklocal.com/blog/2013/06/s/veterinarians/is-borax-dangerous-to-pets/