Ant Control Done Right For Your Fulshear Home
Ants are one of the most common pests that homeowners deal with. There are few things as frustrating as trying to get rid of ants in your home. No matter how many of them you get rid of, there always seems to be more. There are over 700 different species of ants in the United States, but luckily, people only commonly find about 25 of them in homes.
To discuss ant control in Fulshear, we first have to be able to identify ants. We’ll take a look at some of the more common species that you might come into contact with. You should also understand the problems that ants can cause in your home, so we’ll cover those in detail as well. Then we’ll discuss some simple steps that you can take to keep ants out of your home. If you can deal with potential infestations before they start, you’ll be able to save yourself a lot of time and money that would otherwise be spent dealing with these pests.
Finally, once you have all the knowledge you’ll need to mitigate ant problems on your own; we’ll talk about the best way to keep your home permanently pest-free. Professional pest control in Fulshear, Texas, is brought to you by Modern Pest Control. We provide the most advanced, cutting-edge pest treatments on the market right now. You can count on us for all your ant control needs.
How To Identify Common Types Of Ants
It’s important that you know how to identify different types of ants, as some ants are more dangerous than others. Broadly speaking, ants are highly social insects. They usually live in underground colonies. These colonies consist of workers, males, and queens. The worker ant’s job is to gather food for the colony, maintain shelter, feed the larvae, and protect the colony from outside threats. The queen’s job is to reproduce, providing the colony with new workers to allow it to expand further. Male ants only exist to mate with the queens at certain times. If you see ants with wings, they are most likely the male ants.
Worker ants can live for up to seven years, and queens can live as long as 15 years, so an ant problem isn’t likely to go away easily. Ant colonies have been known to grow as large as half a million members, and colonies are often able to relocate quickly if they come under attack or their environment becomes hostile.
Ants are fairly easy to identify because of their simple body structure. All ants have bodies divided into three segments – a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. They have six legs and two antennae. Different species of ants vary widely in appearance. Now that we’ve covered the general characteristics of ants let’s talk about some of the common types of ants you might find in your house in Fulshear.
Some of the more common ants in the area are the carpenter ant, the crazy ant, the odorous house ant, and the fire ant. Carpenter ants get their name from their habit of tunneling into wood to create nests. Though they are often mistaken for termites, they do not consume wood as termites do; they simply chew through it and build their nests in it.
Carpenter ants average between half an inch and five-eighths of an inch in length. They are most commonly black, but their color can vary from fully black, brown, or red to a combination of black and red. Common signs of carpenter ants include seeing winged males in or around the house, hearing rustling sounds in the walls, and seeing small openings in wood surfaces with piles of debris underneath them.
Crazy ants received their name for their erratic patterns of movement. They are usually between a sixteenth and an eighth of an inch long. They range in color from brown to black with a grey tint. You’re most likely to notice crazy ants themselves rather than any particular signs they leave behind. Like most other ants, crazy ants will leave trails of invisible chemicals, called pheromones, that lead more ants to sources of food they have found.
Odorous house ants got their name due to the smell that they give off when squashed, which is said to resemble rotten coconuts. They are usually brown or black in color and range in length from a sixteenth of an inch to an eighth of an inch. Odorous house ants will often invade homes during the rainier months of the year, as they are attracted to moisture. They are known to move their nests frequently – about every three months. Most ants enjoy sweet foods, but odorous house ants especially like them; honeydew is one of their favorite foods.
Fire ants are an invasive species that is common in the southern part of the United States. They get their name from the painful sting they can inflict. In keeping with their name, fire ants are usually a dark reddish-brown color. They range from an eighth to three-eighths of an inch on average. Fire ants will often build their nests in the soil near the foundations of buildings or in landscaping materials. Their nests look like flattened mounds that often have an irregular shape.
Now that we’ve covered some of the most common types of ants that you might have to deal with in Fulshear, let’s discuss some of the things that make ants in the house such a problem in the first place. Organic ant control can be difficult to implement on your own, but with the help of professional pest control experts like those at Modern Pest Control, you can handle any kind of ant out there.
Why Ants In The House Can Be So Problematic
Since you should be able to identify different types of ants relatively easily, let’s talk about some of the dangers that ants present. An ant infestation can cause a host of other problems if you don’t deal with it quickly. Ants can easily lead other ants to sources of food using pheromones, meaning that if you don’t deal with a small number of ants quickly, that number will probably begin to grow rapidly.
Some types of ants, such as fire ants, will sting people who get too close to their nests. Fire ant stings tend to be very painful, and they are known to cause severe allergic reactions in those who have existing allergies to insect venom. Children can be especially susceptible to the effects of insect stings, so it’s vital that you keep an eye out for ants like these around your home.
Once ants discover a food source inside your home, they are able to move their colonies inside quickly in order to take full advantage of this new opportunity. This is another reason why it’s so crucial that you deal with ant infestations as soon as you become aware of them. Ants will eat almost anything that they come in contact with, from plant matter to other insects. They also tend to enjoy human foods that are high in fat or sugar content, like fruits, sweets, meat, and grease. Once ants get into a source of food, the safest thing to do is to throw it away.
Ants themselves are also sources of food for several other types of pests, like spiders, flies, and some species of mice. The conditions that attract ants to your home may also attract other pests, like cockroaches or fruit flies. Ants are capable of carrying bacterial, fungal, and pathogenic diseases, and consuming food they have contaminated could have disastrous consequences. Later on, we’ll discuss some ways that you can keep your food safe from ants or at least make it much harder for them to get to it.
Some types of ants, including carpenter ants, will make their nests inside wood, which can cause structural damage. Carpenter ants will tend to target wood softened by mold, fungus, or excess moisture. They often make their way onto undamaged dry wood if they aren’t taken care of quickly.
If you don’t take steps to keep ants away from your home, you may find yourself with a larger problem than you can handle, as it’s not uncommon for ant colonies to number in the tens of thousands. Obviously, that’s far too many ants for you to deal with on your own. There are a few things that you can do, however, to prevent ants from getting inside in the first place.
Simple And Effective Ant Prevention Tips
Fortunately, there are plenty of things that you can do to make it more difficult for ants to get into your home. You can mitigate the impact that these pests are likely to have with a little bit of proactive prevention. We’ll share some of these easy steps to effective ant control for homeowners. Here are five of the most helpful:
Get rid of any sources of standing water or excess moisture.
Seal any cracks or openings in the exterior of your home.
Trim tree branches and other vegetation to prevent them from contacting the outside of your home.
Don’t store firewood or lumber near your home or directly on the ground.
Clean up food spills immediately, and don’t leave food out in the open.
Let’s take a moment to expand on each of these tips so you can understand why they are all useful. Ants need moisture to live, and many species are attracted to areas with a high concentration of moisture, so the first tip will help you keep them away. You’ll want to make sure that your gutters and downspouts are also working properly. Moisture buildup often occurs around the foundation of a house, so you should pay particular attention to that part of your home.
Ants will often make their way inside via small gaps in the outside of a house, so the second tip will mitigate one of the most common methods of entry that ants have into your home. You should also make sure to seal any cracks around doors or windows, as these are another common entry point for ants.
Tip number three serves a similar purpose; many types of ants will inhabit trees, bushes, hedges, and other vegetation, and these can give them easy access to your home. Keeping tree branches and plants well-trimmed has the dual benefit of making your yard appear more organized and keeping ants and other pests out of your home.
Carpenter ants, odorous house ants, and other kinds of ants will build nests in stacks of wood. If you don’t notice them, they can get a free ride into your home. Storing firewood and lumber away from your home and off the ground will help make sure that ants can’t get into your home that way.
Finally, the last tip will help you remove one of the most common ant attractants – easily accessible food. Store food in sealed containers, clean up food spills as they happen, maintain a clean kitchen, and take out the trash frequently. All these tips together should greatly mitigate the risks of ants in your home.
The Key To Total Ant Control For Your Home
Despite your best efforts, sometimes ants are determined to get inside. If you do find yourself dealing with an ant problem in Fulshear, don’t be discouraged. Modern Pest Control offers professional, organic ant control for your home. We’ve been in the pest control business for over 70 years, and we’re still providing the kind of quality, personalized customer service that only an independently owned-company can. We strive to stay on the cutting edge of pest control techniques while remaining environmentally responsible and eco-friendly.
Our pest management professionals are extensively trained and licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture. We go above and beyond the quality standards outlined in both state and federal regulations. You can count on us for prompt, efficient, detail-oriented services that fit your needs. Call Modern Pest Control today to schedule your free, no-obligation inspection.