How to Stop Ants Now—What Actually Works This Spring
The weather is warming up and that means insects are on the move. It’s a particularly active time for ants. A warmer than average start to spring has awakened ants early and now they’re beginning the search for food and a place to build a colony. With rainy spring weather that can flood outdoor nests, this often pushes these pests to look for safer indoor options, which is why you might begin seeing them in your home. Your house is a warm and dry alternative to the unpredictable wet and fluctuating temperatures of the outdoors in spring.
Related: These Gross Sink Bugs Are Back—Here’s How to Stop Them
Why Ants Are Appearing In Your Home Now
Warming temperatures
Warm weather wakes up ants. Typically they begin appearing in homes in early summer; however, this year we’ve seen a warmer than average spring across much of the country. As a result, ants are waking up earlier and looking for a place to establish the colony.
Low Food Supplies
Ants are always on the lookout for food. In the spring, outdoor natural food sources are harder to come by. This can lead ants to head indoors to look for food sources in your kitchen.
Heavy Rainfall
Spring rains can flood colonies, forcing them to abandon their nests and search for dryer ground. That can lead them into places inside your home, such as wall voids, crawl spaces, and other areas.
Growing the Colony
As it is for many insects and animals, spring is the breeding season for most species of ant. This results in greater ant populations and hence the need to expand to find food and space, which often means relocating the colony to a more hospitable place.
Eliminating Ant Problems
By far the number one way to eliminate ants that have invaded your home is by using delayed release bait. These baits are designed to kill ants days after they come into contact with the pesticide. This gives them time to return to the colony where they can infect other ants and, with any luck, the queen. These types of baits are far more effective than kill on contact sprays that only take out the ants you see, leaving the colony to continue thriving.
How to Prevent Ants in the Home
You can use ant baits and sprays to eliminate an ant problem, but chances are the ants will return again next spring unless you change the conditions that are attracting them in the first place. When the weather warms and ants awaken, they’re attracted to the problems in your house that you haven’t addressed:
Moisture Problems: Moisture is a big attractor for ants. A downspouts that leave water near the foundation, a small leak in the basement, pet water bowls that are left out, damp mulch that’s up against your home. You can deter ants by eliminating these water sources.
Food Spills: Small things we may not immediately notice, like crumbs left on the kitchen floor and pet food that’s left out too long can all attract ants. Remove ants’ food source by emptying trash cans regularly and storing food in tight storage containers.
Gaps and Cracks: Ants often make their way into homes through small gaps around pipes and gaps around doors and windows. By sealing these off with caulk or expanding foam, you can help prevent ants from getting inside the house.
Related: Why You’re Suddenly Seeing More Spiders in Your House
Bottom Line
There are plenty of methods for eliminating an ant problem in the spring. Delayed release ant baits offer the most effective solution to getting rid of ants, but they won’t stop a new colony from invading. Chances are you’ll be dealing with this issue again next spring unless you take measures to make your home less attractive to ants by eliminating water and food sources and closing off entry points to your home.