We’ve all come across ants at some point, but no one wants to find a line of marching ants anywhere in their home. Pest control in Peoria has to include ants. They’re common to the area, and it’s much easier than you might think to attract an entire colony to your picnic, backyard, or kitchen.
What follows is what we call Ant Control 101. These are straightforward pieces of information that will help you understand how ants behave and make it much easier for you to prevent ant issues now and in the future. Don’t worry; if you currently have ants in your home, we can help you there, too.
Ant Behavior: Social Hierarchy And Communication
How exactly do ants organize themselves? How do ants reproduce? How do ants communicate? We have all the answers for you right here. It doesn’t matter too much what kind of ant in Peoria you’re dealing with; they all have rather similar social hierarchies. Across the board, the queen ant is the leader. What does the queen ant do, exactly? The queen ant establishes a colony, notably by reproducing with drone ants. The queen produces eggs that will stay inside the colony until they’ve hatched and matured into adulthood. As adults, ants can have different jobs. Most will be drones or workers. Some of the workers stay inside the colony while others leave the colony to search for resources.
Ants use pheromones to communicate with each other. In other words, they use chemicals to share very basic pieces of information between members of the colony.
Ant Dangers: Understanding The Risks Of An Infestation
While ants aren’t trying to cause problems with their hierarchy and methods of communication, they nonetheless cause these problems, many of them simply with their presence in the home. One of the most common ant dangers is general contamination. Ants don’t need to bathe, so it’s very common for them to carry germs with them as they move. Wherever ants go, they leave contamination in their wake. This is unsafe, especially in the kitchen.
Specific ant types can reduce the structural stability of wooden supports in buildings, and of course, there are also ant species that have built-in defense mechanisms like mandibles or stingers. The relative danger of an ant sting depends on the venom of the ant in question and the medical vulnerabilities of the person who has been stung. As a general rule, if you notice that someone is having a severe reaction to an ant sting, contact medical professionals as soon as you can.
Ant Prevention Is Key: Effective Tips And Tricks
Let’s talk about how to stop ants from coming in the house. There are some fairly simple tips and tricks that will help keep the ants away:
- Don’t leave small openings around entryways. Even the smallest crack could let the ants enter your home.
- Put food away, either in airtight containers in your cabinets or in the refrigerator. No food should be accessible to ants that are looking for it.
- Clean surfaces around the home, especially in areas that you know ants would be attracted to.
- Don’t leave piles of firewood, disposable items, or building materials near the home.
If you skip these steps or if the ants establish a colony while you’re away from home, then it’s probably time to consider professional home pest control in Peoria.
Professional Ant Control: A Great Way To Keep Ants Out For Good
It’s virtually inevitable that you’ll have to deal with an ant infestation at some point. Ants are just such common pests that it’s bound to happen one way or another. But the good news is that professional ant control services like ours will always be here to help. We can use safe and modern methods to remove an ant infestation.
If you have an ant problem in your home, we highly encourage you to contact Big Sky Pest Control, LLC for ant control service in the Peoria area.
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