Ants are a common pest that affect many homeowners, and they seem to enter homes all year round. If your home has really had an infestation of ants, here are some tips for getting rid of them.

Clean Up Spilled Water

Ants tend to gravitate towards places where there is water, which is why you'll often see them in your bathrooms and your kitchen. During hot weather, ants often seek out water so that they can stay hydrated. Simply keeping your home free of water spills can keep ants away, because without water, they cannot survive.

Clean Up Spilled Food

If an ant isn't looking for water, it is most likely looking for a food source. Unfortunately, even crumbs are enough to feed an ant, and once a scout ant finds a lot of crumbs, it will tell the others to gather it up. That is why you need to be diligent about keeping your home free of any food that can attract pests like ants.

You'll want to sweep up your floors after cooking or eating, clean off countertops and table surfaces when done eating, vacuum the carpets, and overall keep your home clean. Packages of food should be sealed to prevent pests from getting inside.

Kill Ants On Sight

You should be killing ants when you see them, even if it is a single ant. It is possible that the lone ant is a scout that is trying to find water or food for the rest of the colony. Killing off a single ant can easily prevent others from following in the right situation.

In addition, you'll want to clean the ant's trail so that other ants can't follow the trail and try to find out what it leads to. This involves wiping the floors along the edges of walls that the ant traveled, which will get rid of the scent that other ants can follow.

Hire An Exterminator

The best way to deal with an ant infestation is to hire a pest control service. They can help identify how ants are getting into your home and seal up the holes so that there is no way for ants to get in. There are also a variety of products that can be used to get rid of the ants, which include sprays that will kill the ants on contact or bait that will be taken back to the nest and kill all the ants that eat it.