How to get rid of ants in my kitchen when living in an HOA

A little bit of food left on the floor after a snack, a small entry hole unsealed in a wall or door, and that’s all it takes for the ants to come marching into your kitchen. These pests are small but mighty–they may seem harmless, but in reality, they can cause a lot of damage and even present a serious risk to your health. That’s why it’s important to know how to get rid of ants from the kitchen and return your HOA home to its former comfort and glory.

So, if you want to know how to get rid of ants in your kitchen, keep reading!

Why Do Ants Come to My Kitchen?:

Ants enter your kitchen to look for food or water sources. If you see a lot of ants rummaging around your home, chances are there’s a spill somewhere that needs cleaning. Ants’ hunt for food is the reason why they’re most likely to be found in your kitchen, where a lot of food is stored. 

How Do Ants Get Into My Kitchen?:

Any small entry hole is an opportunity for ants to enter your home. Even the tiniest of cracks in windows, doorways, or floors is enough for ants to crawl through. If you’re experiencing an ant invasion in your kitchen, take a look around the perimeter of your home for any possible entry points that ants might be able to enter from.

Are Ants Harmful to People?

By now, the ants are already trailing into your home, with countless others from the ant hill following after them. And that’s more than slightly alarming. The truth is, these tiny pests can cause an enormous amount of damage if left untreated. Ant bites can cause pain and infection if not properly taken care of.  In extreme cases, an allergic reaction to the venom in an ant bite can cause anaphylactic shock, and other severe allergic reactions. But bites aren’t the only risk ants pose to humans. These small pests can spread seriously harmful food-borne diseases, such as salmonella and E.Coli, by contaminating food sources around your home. Effects of these diseases, such as E.Coli, include intense stomach pain, kidney failure, and in severe cases, death. For more on the dangers that ants can cause to humans, click here. 

Aside from being harmful to people, ants can also cause immense structural damage to your property. Therefore, it’s best to get rid of ants from your kitchen or home as soon as possible. 

The 4 Proven DIY Ant-Removal Methods:

1. Do A Deep Cleaning: After all, ants are attracted to your kitchen due to leftover food and spills. By cleaning up your kitchen and continuously ensuring that nothing is left outside for the ants to feed on, they’ll start to look for other food sources. Cleaning is most effective, however, before the ant infestation begins. It’s better to use regular cleaning as a preventative measure, rather than rely on it completely to solve the pest problem. Cleaning surfaces will also get rid of their pheromone trails. The ants use these trails to mark a path and let others know which way the food and water is. By cleaning up this trail, the ants will have a harder time finding their way into your home.
2. Use Natural Remedies: Turns out, there are a lot of things lying around your house that might be effective at dissuading ants. Natural substances, such as cinnamon or talcum powder, can repel ants from entering your home. Another solution is to create a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water to spray anywhere they’ve walked.
3. Seal Up Entry Holes: If you close off the places that ants use to enter your house, they won’t be able to come in anymore. Pay extra attention to doors and windows, as any small gap between the frames can be an entry for ants. By sealing up these holes, there’s a chance that you might be able to stop these invasive pests from coming to your kitchen!
4. Try Ant Baits: Though slow-acting, ant baits are an effective way to kill off an ant population that won’t stop visiting your kitchen. Ants visiting your home will take the bait back to the ant colony, slowly destroying the whole population. Baits usually take a few days to work, and you’ll have to be careful not to kill the worker ants whose job it is to take the bait back to ant hill.

Get Professional Help:

If none of these DIY ant pest control techniques are effective, then it’s time to turn to a pest control professional, such as AIPM, for expert assistance. Pest control companies can utilize a range of different resources and pest control methods to remove all ants from the premises, plus provide services to prevent the pests from returning again.

Conclusion

Ants can be overwhelming to deal with–but they’re an issue that can be solved with the assistance of a reputable pest control company like AIPM. Act fast in order to prevent damage and keep every member of your HOA household healthy when at home.