Stopping Ants From Marching Into Your Lakewood Ranch Home
2/28/2020
Ants in Florida can be frustrating, partly because there is such a variety of them. We have ants that bite us when we're trying to enjoy time in our backyards. We have ants that cause contamination when they get into food packaging and crawl around on counters, dishes, and silverware. We have ants that like to get into electrical equipment and crawl around on the engine blocks of our vehicles. We even have ants that damage the wood of our homes. All these ants have different things that attract them. Understanding what attracts them can help you reduce your ant problems.
Common Ants of Lakewood Ranch
In our area, we have more than a handful of very common ant pests. The species to watch out for are red-imported fire ants, Caribbean crazy ants, pharaoh ants, carpenter ants, bigheaded ants, white-footed ants, Argentine ants, thief ants, and ghost ants. The attractants we will be describing below are linked to these particular ant species.
Attractants
Remove or address these attractants to reduce ant activity around your home.
Moisture — While some ants love moisture more than others, all ants love being in areas that are moist. Water is one of the building blocks of life. You can reduce moisture around your Lakewood Ranch home by keeping your gutters clean, trimming tree branches to allow sunlight in, and by keeping vegetation trimmed to increase airflow between plants.
Food — There are many human foods that attract ants. You can reduce ant populations by making sure food is put away after cookouts, planting vegetables and fruits away from your exterior walls, and by keeping trash receptacles clean.
Insects — ants eat insects, both alive and dead. They also eat the honeydew created by insects. The more insects you have, the more ants you'll have. Talk to a gardener about some of the ways you can use horticultural oils and bioremediation to reduce insects in your landscaping.
Debris — Any organic material that falls from trees can create conditions for ants to thrive. Have you ever turned a palm frond over on the ground? There is always something crawling underneath.
Wood Rot — Many ants love wood. They'll climb around on driftwood you use as landscaping. They'll climb around on wood borders around your ornamental plant plots. But rotting wood is especially attractive to ants. They climb on rotting wood because there are many food options to be found. If carpenter ants find rotting wood around your home, it could lead to property damage.
Shelter
Some ants will choose a yard that provides shelter from the hot sun. If you have objects in your yard, they'll hide under them. If you have holes in the exterior of your home, they'll get inside. Remove unnecessary items from your yard and consider the following potential entry points that ants will exploit to get into your Lakewood Ranch home.
- Gaps around pipes
- Cracks in the walls of your foundation
- Gaps and cracks in concrete masonry units
- Missing door sweeps
- Gaps in weatherstripping around exterior doors
- Unprotected exhaust outlets
- Damaged screens
- Broken window panes
- Holes created by rats and mice
Do a detailed inspection and use a caulking gun to seal most entry points. This will help to deter ants from getting inside. But if you want to achieve complete exclusion, the application of pest control materials or the deployment of appropriate baits will be required. This is best done by a licensed pest management professional in Lakewood Ranch.
Ant Control
At Keller's Pest Control, we achieve the effective management of ant pests through proper identification of ant species, the selection of appropriate baits, environmental modification, and targeted application of EPA approved products when necessary. We also provide ongoing protection from ants in our residential pest plans. Find out which package is right for your pest control needs and budget, and say goodbye to ant problems.
