Have you seen ants crawling around your home lately? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Ants are one of the most common household pests. Unfortunately, when ants enter your home, they often bring an entire army that’s ready for battle. So, what can you do to win the war and get rid of those ants for good? The first step to outsmarting ants is to know how they operate.
Ants who are interested in nesting prefer baseboards, countertops, moldings, and other similar places. They seem to be able to get into almost anything – even if you think you’ve sealed it off! Ants’ uncanny ability to move through tight spaces in teams is one of their defining characteristics.
When ants have found a food source, you’ll see several colony members going to and from that source. They carry bits of the food back to their nest, working together to feed their colony. Ants are always able to find their way back to their nest because they release pheromones along the way. If a worker ant has found food they will leave chemicals behind, signaling to the rest of the colony that they ought to follow. Other ants detect these chemicals with their antennae, and follow suit by bringing the food back to their nest for the rest of the colony.
So, now that you know how ants work together, you also know what’s most important to their survival – their colony.
Spraying the ants that you see crawling around might get rid of them for a while, but more will shortly emerge from hard-to-reach cracks and crevices in your home. Spraying ants in plain site may win the battle, but don’t forget – ants come in armies. You haveto win the war.
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