Ant Identification & Prevention

You are likely not a stranger to ants if you own a home. Ants are some of the most common insects in our yards, and they often forage for food in our kitchens and sometimes nest within our homes.

Ants have three body segments, a defined waist, short antennae, and six legs. Reproductive members of an ant colony are winged, but most of the ants in a colony (workers) are wingless. Worker ants are sterile females and responsible for most of the work, including foraging for food. When you discover ants moving in and out of your kitchen, they are most likely worker ants.

When it comes to ants, most of the species that invade our homes are simply a nuisance to deal with day after day, year after year. It is important to remember that when ants find their way into a home, it will not be just one or two; it will likely be hundreds.

However, when you have hundreds of ants traveling through your home, know that they will litter its surfaces and your family's food with bacteria and viruses.

Some ants are less of a nuisance and more of a danger. Dangerous ants are those species that can spread dangerous pathogens, deliver painful bites or sting, or cause structural damage by nesting in beams, flooring, and other structural wood.

The best way to determine what type of ant is in your home is by partnering with an experienced professional.

Ants are small and can easily find their way into any San Diego home through cracks and openings they discover in its exterior. Food is the main driving force for ants. If they have found your home can provide them with reliable sources of food (crumbs under appliances, your pet's food, food stored on counters), they will keep returning. Eventually, the ants may decide to stay a create a nest inside your home, especially if the weather outside forces them to. Extreme temperatures, lack of rain, or too much rain is often the root cause of ants moving indoors to nest.

It is not uncommon for homeowners to see ants moving through their yards, walkways, gardens, and flowerbeds because ants live outside all around us. Unfortunately, ants don't just stay outside. When you have ants nesting or foraging for food in your yard, it is only going to be a matter of time before they discover what the inside of your home has to offer!

When ants decide to become permanent members of your household, they typically place their nests in dark, quiet spaces. Wall voids, spaces under floors, attics, crawl spaces, and sometimes structural wood can all provide ants with nesting sites.

If you see ants move through your home in large numbers, hear rustling sounds behind walls, or notice ants traveling in and out of your house, take immediate action. The faster you get help to eliminate these unwanted houseguests, the better!

Protect your structure and family from the many ants that call our area of California home with the help of the professionals at Bite Away Termite & Pest Control. Our two main goals are to help you maintain a pest-free home and develop a personal relationship with you. By getting to know our customers, we can better understand their unique pest control needs. We will help you guard your home against the pests you see and those you don't see!

If you want the best pest protection for your San Deigo home, reach out to us at Bite Away. We offer industry-leading eco-friendly pest control treatments, exceptional customer service, and an unmatched commitment to our customers! With multiple locations, we can ensure that we can serve you and all our customers better and faster.

Call today for a quote and learn about our residential and commercial pest control options!

Some helpful tips and strategies to make your home as uninteresting to ants as possible include regularly pulling out furniture and large appliances so you can vacuum up crumbs and wipe up moisture or sticky spills, removing pantry items from their original packing, and placing the food in hard-sided containers with airtight lids, keeping fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, routinely vacuum your floors and furniture to remove stray crumbs, repairing leaky pipes and fixtures to eliminate water sources that ants could take advantage of, keeping lids on trash cans both inside or outside your home, and making sure every evening any uneaten pet food is picked up. 

Ants are tough to keep out of our homes; the best way to tackle an ant infestation is to partner with San Diego's top pest professionals at Bite Away Termite & Pest Control!