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Home & Garden Articles
Ants in My House. Oh No!
Fri 05 Jan 2007 - 16:04
Ants in My House. Oh No!
By Troy Dobson
My wife is deathly afraid of what she calls creepy crawlies. Ants, spiders, cockroaches, silverfish, pincher bugs, fleas, etc. She lived in a converted barn for a time and often awoke to ants crawling on her. So imagine the terror she felt, when after moving into our new 30 year old home, the first really good rain came and we discovered ants in the cupboards in the kitchen and bathrooms. It was them or me she said. My orders were clear; kill them all, get them out, and keep them out or sleep on the couch.
1. Kill them kill them all. If you see just a few ants it is possible that they are just scouting for a food source and if they have found it and are headed out of the house then kill them before they can tell the nest. Insect spray is fine for killing the bugs just beware of where you spray the stuff you do not want to poison children, pets, or yourself. Once you have killed them all, whip down the area with your favorite house hold cleaner. I have also left a couple of dead ones where other ants can find them in hopes that the bodies of their comrades would scare them off. I cannot really say that it helped much though.
2. Find out where they bugs are coming in the home.
a. I discovered that the ants were coming in through cracks around the window sills. I purchased some all purpose painters caulking and filled in the gaps.
b. I discovered they could come in through the walls if there was a hole available. There was a large area behind the wall mounted light fixture over the sink in the bathroom. I filled those holes as well with some triple expanding foam.
c. You may find the same kind of gaps around pipes under the sinks through out the house. Seal each one as much as possible.
d. Check the door and window weather striping. Are there gaps? Replace it with new weather striping to keep the bugs out as well as the outside elements.
Now even though you have taken every precaution to rid your home of these creatures there still maybe some that find their way in. As I mentioned earlier these creatures are looking for a food source along with a dry place. You can discourage them a lot by not leaving food out for them to find. Put everything in sealable containers.
I am also a firm believer in pest control companies, they are worth the investment. But you may not be able to afford a service right now. So for ant control I recommend a pest stick, place one in the ground every 10 feet right against the house to help keep ants out.
You can find the tools and products you need to help bug proof your home at your local hardware store.
You can find this tip and many others at http://www.dobson41.ws the site for the home improvement do-it-yourselfer.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Troy_Dobson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Ants-in-My-House.-Oh-No!&id=399893
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