Top Ten Ants Blog Trending Topics

Ants are tiny and harmless, but in a way, annoys and frustrates homeowners in many ways. This is especially when they come in groups, and recurring despite any attempts to eliminate them. However, there are many interesting facts and myths about ants we are not aware of, and in this article, Rentokil shares the top ten blog trending topics on ants’ infestation.

Ways that we fail in getting rid of ants

Ants may be seen as small and tiny and an easy pest eradication task, however, it is possible for ant eradication to fail due to several factors. In this blog article, Rentokil Initial shared that even if you have kept your home spot clean by adopting diligent housekeeping, conditions of the home can still attract ants.

Firstly, due to wear and tear, homes degenerate and compromise the property integrity, thus resulting in cracks, gaps and crevices for ants to enter. Secondly, piping and plumbing can also turn defective due to usage or malfunctioning, which causes water leaks and spills that are the main food source for ants and all other pests. Thirdly, detecting the tiny ants against the entire home with multiple hideouts and blind spots, it can be an uphill task in missing out ant nests and their root source. Fourthly, good home habits are essential to complement the current pest prevention efforts by refraining from snacking and drinking in other parts of the home. Finally, as pests travel, cross infestation does occur, thus the home might be lacking proofing barriers to prevent them from entering.

How do you contain the spread of ants’ infestation?

Encountering a few occasional appearing ants is acceptable so long as they are under control. However, what if they return in groups and infest in more parts of the home. The question is what causes ants to invade your house and how to get rid of ants permanently.

• Limit your consumption venue to only the kitchen or dining hall only. This will prevent the spread of food sources to other parts of the home that attracts ants.
• Organise your kitchen to allow proper food storage and declutter of appliances and kitchenware that allow ants to hide within
• Invest in floor mats and kitchen or hand towels to wipe off wet and moist surfaces as this is what attracts ants in home to keep them surviving with water
• Be clear on what ant species type is exactly attacking your home, in order to adopt the targeted pest control solution
• Make an effort to maintain your home, by fixing malfunctioning drains and plumbing, or seal off holes and openings to prevent ants’ entry

Where can I find ants lurking around the home?

Ants can be anywhere and it is challenging to attempt locating their nesting ground, and let alone spotting all their haunts within the home. It can range varied locations including corners or the wall skirting, sides and bottoms of appliances and items, above eye level locations and not forgetting outdoors.

Firstly, one way to check for ants’ signs is to focus on locations that possess their food source including kitchen that covers all appliances and furnishing, within cabinets and organisers and among clutters and containers on the counter top. Secondly, the bathroom is another ants’ target with its water supplies and thus, look around the sinks, along the wall, corners and interior of drawers and near the ventilators. Thirdly, do not neglect outdoors because ants can be cross infestation and species such as fire ants favour outdoors and may enter through your home. Fire ants should not be treated lightly, as their ant bites can be red, painful and stinging. Check among the potted plants, planks and flooring.

Lastly, yes, ants do infest and lurk among furniture such as the carpenter ants. They are unlike termites that feed on your wood, however, they can damage your furniture during the process of tunneling their way out of the wood. In summary, besides locating these bothering ants, next is to adopt some of the recommended ants prevention tips to keep them away.

What are the four tips you need to know about ants’ control?

You may find many recommendations and tips from any source, ranging from natural ways to get rid of ants, convenient methods of spraying and sticking baits or using water flushing to drive them away. The list can go on and on, but exactly, which methods are effective and easy to apply? For starters, most individuals tend to ignore their balcony, garden and car pouch and put most focus internally. While ants lurk indoors more often due to their food source and shelter, they can also infest externally and result in cross-infestation.

Pest identification perhaps is more relatable among professional pest control specialists and for us to identify the right ant species and differentiating them from similar pests’ nature such as termites; it is almost an impossible task. Wrong pest identification can lead to ineffective treatments while escalating the pest infestation level. One of the common mistakes is to resolve the physical problem by spraying insecticide onto visible ants crawling around but missing out the root source. This allows ants to breed and reproduce, generating a recurring ant infestation. Also, often problems arise due to lack of awareness and familiarity and especially in terms of pest control that contains technical facts and biology. Refer to a list of useful FAQs in this blog article for an effective remedy for ants at home.

You may also like: Spring cleaning tips to help keep pests away

Can ants damage our home and furniture?

Most would be aware that termite infestation could damage home structure and furniture, where they chew and feed on wood and cellulose as a food source. However, ants and some other pests are also capable of damaging your furniture. Here is a list of wood-damaging pests that can take place in your home:

• Carpenter ants: They damage wood and furniture in the process of making space within for their harborage and exiting purpose. However, they do not rely on wood as a food source but go for sweets and protein instead.
• Bark beetles: These are part of the weevil species where they infest trees, logs, timbers, branches and plants.
• Powder post beetles: Known as woodworms, they are attracted to maple, oak, pine and moist wood. Powder post beetles damage furniture as they feed on the contents before tunneling their way out by making holes on the wood.

Are you having an ant nest at home?

Both termites and ants have similarities although they can be differentiated in terms of their preferred palate, shape, body structure and habitats. These species can also be differentiated in their nest formation with factors including the appearance of the nest, the composition and location of it. Here is a table comparison between ant and termite nests.

ANT NEST

Appearance resembles like a pile of mud

Ant nest is directly above the colony formed underground

Ant nest composed of fine dirt and soil

Anthills are usually soft and loose

Formed as a result of tunnelling activities

TERMITE NEST

Termite nest forms a muddy straight line

Termite mud tube may be far away from the termite colony underground

They are made from dirt, saliva and droppings

Mud tubes are hard and compact due to oxidation 

Developed for termites to travel for food sourcing

Find out the 21 ways to get rid of ants

There are so many ways on how you can get rid of ants in the home. We deal with as many as seven household ants including the famous species like the ghost ants, crazy ants and black house ants.

Firstly, identify the kind of ants that are invading in your home and locate their hideouts. Secondly, have an understanding on what attracts ants to your home, thus you can eliminate these infestation opportunities. Thirdly, there are various options in eliminating ants such as the natural remedies using peppermint, vinegar, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, essential oil, and even cucumber peel. Some believe the use of chalk can block the ants with a barrier, but this is also a temporary measure by derailing ants’ navigation. Fourthly, keeping home clean with good sanitation can help keep ants population under control by restricting them of their food supplies and hydration needs.

Finally, constant detecting and inspecting home for signs of infestation can help minimise any escalation of the pest problem. Above all, hiring a pest control company is probably the best option to resolve the problem effectively and responsively, with long-term assurance for the safety of the family.

Essential facts we need to know about ants

How much do we know about ants besides their love for sugar and are tiny little pests crawling in the home? Start to know your regular home enemy better with these essential facts of ants.

• Ants have incredible strength that are capable in lifting weights as heavy as 50 times of their own body weight
• They navigate around by using their sense of vibration to either find food supplies or notify their members any danger
• Ants colony can comprise thousands of members and have specific roles to sustain and expand the colony
• Communication is done through the existence of pheromones, elements they rely on to send signals and messages among one another
• They have good underwater trapping skills for as long as 24 hours. Hence, using the water-drowning remedy may not quite work on them.
• Ants need plenty of rest and can sleep multiple times a day and thus, making visibility and presence less easy
• Composed with two stomachs that are used for consumption and digestion and the other functionality for food storage purposes
• Natural ant remedies include the use of mint, citrus lemon and vinegar and cucumber peels. They merely derail the chemical signals for a short while that impairs ants’ navigation.
• Read also: The top seven food in your home that attracts pests

What are your options in dealing with ant infestation?

Of course, hiring professional pest management is the recommended option in dealing with ant infestation. They possess the knowledge and necessary tools and equipment to address the problem. The choice of active ingredient and application method differs from DIY home remedies. Additionally, their regular inspection and monitoring can help keep infestation under control.

Some may prefer to engage in pest control services at a later stage. Options include the use of natural ingredients for repelling purpose. These include buying off-the-shelve insecticide sprays to “contact kill” ants on the spot, pest-proof home to prevent ants from slipping in externally, flushing of ants with water and sticking insects’ traps to contain them.

Complete guide for ants control in Singapore

There are so many considerations when dealing with ants control, from learning the right ant species, to identifying their hideouts and evaluating the options in ants treatments. Rentokil shares the Complete Guide for Ants Control in Singapore, to equip you with the following information so that you can manage the problem better.

• Identify the habitats, outlook and diet preference among common ant species
• Difference between red and black ants’ and if they matter
• What attracts ants to a home and possible causes of ant infestation
• How do you identify signs of ant infestation and what to look out for?
• Managing ants’ bites – How do they look like and how to treat a bite wound
• Debugging the common pest myths on ants
• What you need to know about ants control and its treatment process
• Useful ants prevention tips you can apply easily in your home
• How much is pest control for ants in Singapore – Find out more about pest control price

Get rid of ants with Rentokil Pest Control

Ants’ treatment involves a few procedures and processes in order to ensure a safe, responsive and effective outcome. Firstly, the specialist will need to survey the home to understand factors affecting the treatment recommendation. These include the home condition, integrity, risk factors, environment settings and location of the identified ant type. Secondly, they will brief you on essential matters to prepare for the treatment. Examples include pre-treatment pest control checklist by keeping items away, covering certain food sensitive spaces and clearing of clutter for ease of treatment. Thirdly, ants’ treatment is carried out usually in the form of residual dual or placing or gels and traps.

Finally, they will return on a scheduled basis to check for possible ant re-infestation or new colonies. More importantly, they determine if the ant population has no spike. Above all, as professionals, they will also recommend additional tips that complement the treatment such as housekeeping and proofing matters.

Read also: What you need to know about effective pest prevention

Frequently asked questions on ants control

When do we need to call for an ant control specialist?

The recommended time period needed to engage an ant control specialist is immediate. Pest management is about taking proactive action against any basic infestation or embark on long-term maintenance and protection. However, if you notice a sudden increase in ant population, spread of presence across the home or experiencing ant bites, it is best to call a pest control company. For commercial sectors, particularly with large volume of employees, service fronting or food safety related, ant control should be on your top priority. This helps to avoid possible risks of food contamination and spread of diseases.

What is home pest control?

Pest control is designed differently to cater needs, complexities, structure settings and priorities among residential, commercial and industrial profiles. Home pest control addresses common mistakes and lapses happening in residential settings, and eliminates common pests including ants, cockroaches, rats, bed bugs and mosquitoes. One common home pest to treat is termites. They can occur in every home dwelling regardless of a landed property, apartment or a high rise flat. Recommendations also include maintenance relating to housekeeping and overall sanitation, plumbing and drainage, landscaping, air ventilation and humidity level and renovation works such as fixing holes and gaps or compromised integrity. The treatments usually cost less compared to commercial pest control. However, it is also dependent on the treatment coverage, infestation level, type and number of pests and treatment types.

What to prepare before we carry out pest treatment?

It is important to prep your home ready for a pest treatment to allow efficacy and completeness. Some of the checklist includes:

• Clean your home to remove food sources, declutter for adequate application, remove all hiding spaces to allow active ingredient to spread thoroughly. This allows better access to all corners and tight spaces for the treatment.

• Move furniture and appliances away to allow treatments applied at common ants’ hideouts

• Keep food sensitive items away including cutleries, food, utensils and cooking tools
• For homes with pets, it is best to vacate them temporarily to avoid exposing them to the treatment
• To avoid skin contact with active ingredient, some furnishing including bedding and sofa is best covered during the treatment

Read the complete checklist in preparing your home adequately before a pest treatment

What is white ants control all about?

White ant is a common term used on termites. This is because of its similar ants’ shape and the whitish and translucent colour it has. They are in fact termites, made up of colonies housing thousands or millions or workers including its queen. Termites are damaging and disruptive to a home, by destroying the structure, wall, frames, beams and furniture. They feed on wood and cellulose and form their colony underground. However, they can travel with the mud tubes they tube and are able to spread quickly upwards and sideways. Thus, even if your home is not bothered with termite infestation currently, it does not mean your home is termite-proof. Engaging a long-term termite control can help prevent termites from surrounding infestation to spread to your home. Find out the various termite packages here.

What is the difference between drywood termites and carpenter ants?

Both pest species are physically present in wood matters and capable of damaging furniture. Drywood termite feed on wood and attack cabinets, cupboards, doorframes, windowsills and built-in carpentries around the home. Carpenter ants on the other hand also damage furniture and wood furnishing. However, it is not due to the feeding process but a tunneling (or transportation) purpose as they make their way out of the furniture. Ants feed on varied food types including sugar, sweet items like cakes, protein, fat, grease and water. Treatments between both pest types vary widely, while ants rely on residual spraying and gel placement at strategic corners, drywood termite treatment involves foaming the active ingredient, and injecting targeted entries to disperse the active ingredient adequately to control and eliminate termite colony.

Call Rentokil Singapore at (65) 6347 8138 for pest control services today.