How Exterminators Get Rid of Ants

How Exterminators Get Rid of Ants

The last thing you want to do is to walk into the kitchen and see a line of ants strolling across your floor.  A couple of ants aren’t so bad and they are easy to get rid of with some over the counter ant killer.  On the other hand if you have an infestation then you need to take more drastic measures and bring in an exterminator to get rid of them for good.  You can find ants almost anywhere but they do like any food that gets left behind.  Exterminators will not only treat your problem they will also help you with preventing this from happening again.  Let’s look at how exterminators get rid of ants.

What Kind of Ants

Once an exterminator comes to your home one of the first things they will do is try and discover the type of ants you are dealing with.  There are thousands of different species of ants, here in the US fortunately there are only about 450 or so and only a handful that exterminators face.  A good exterminator has no problem recognizing which species are plaguing your home.  That makes it easier to figure out which treatment will work the best to eliminate your ant problem. 

Make a Plan

Once the exterminator understands the situation they will take the time to speak to you about any concerns that you may have.  They will go over things like if you have pets or kids in the home that may change the course of treatment.  There are plenty of products for pest control that are toxic so always make sure that you voice any concerns that you may have.  That’s why most will do a consultation with you before recommending a specific treatment plan. 

Some ant species are harmful to your structure, they like wood that’s why it is crucial to identify the species.  The exterminator may have to get in under cupboards and in crawl spaces to discover how they are getting in.  This is how the assess any damage and how extensive the infestation might be. 

Getting Rid of Your Ants

Once everything has been assessed and the exterminator has figured out how they are coming in, the next step is to kill them.  He will either block off their entrance to your home or advise you on how to do it.  Then they will start spraying your home to get rid of the ants that are in your home.  Often they will use a poison that is ingested and that won’t be harmful to pets or people.  If you have a colony on your property they will spray it with insecticide to get rid of it.