Ant Control Tips For Apartment Dwellers
Finding ants in your home is always a bit disheartening. Even though ants are not as dangerous as many other pests, they can spread contamination — and you simply don't want them crawling across your food or your dishes. So, what should you do if your apartment seems to be overrun by ants all of the sudden? Start by following these tips.
Set out baits near your doorway
Many pests are well fought with insecticides and traps. Ants don't tend to respond well to these methods simply because they live in such large colonies, and it's hard to make sure a good proportion of them come into contact with the insecticides and traps. Baits work much better against ants. The ant will pick up some material, bring it back to the nest, and share it with the other ants. So, for every ant that finds the bait, you kill a whole bunch of ants.
In an apartment, it's important to put baits near the doorway, especially if that doorway opens to a common area and not directly to the outdoors. This is often where ants come in. You can also put baits down near windows and near your heat vents if you think ants may be entering via these routes.
Talk to the neighbors
Ask your neighbors if they are also having trouble with ants. One of the neighbors may have gone out of town and left garbage in the bin for a week, and that could have attracted the ants. Or a neighbor may leave out cat food that the ants are eating. If your neighbors also have ants, encourage them to join you in cleaning up any sources of food and putting out baits. You'll have an easier time controlling the ants if you all work together.
Check for ants and things that may attract them in common areas
It's possible that ants are being attracted to and breeding in common areas and are then entering your home. Look around the common areas, and see if you note anything that could be attracting them. Are there any bags of trash that someone left behind? Maybe there are potted plants where they seem to be breeding. Talk to your landlord or property manager about these issues, and ask that they take some ant control measures in these common areas.
If you live in an apartment and have been struggling with ants, take action! The steps above should get these crawling insects out of your life. If you need additional help, contact a local ant exterminator.