Sometimes with any type of pest, there simply reaches a point where you’ve done all you can do and the mental and financial toll becomes too much. You’ve exhausted all of your options and nothing seems to be fully efficient. This is when it’s time to call in the professionals. This applies to everything from bedbugs and ants to larger creatures like rats or even large rapacious animals if you live in the country. Luckily since we’re dealing with ants, odds are you have numerous exterminators in your town or nearby that you can call to help get things under control.
Preparing for an Exterminator
To help out the pros when they arrive there are quite a few things you can do to prepare for their arrival. Having a few ants captured can save time as they can identify them right away and make sure they use the proper and most effective sprays or other control devices quickly. Ants aren’t particularly hard to capture so you can scoop a few live ones up into a jar, plastic container or Ziploc baggie and put them in the freezer. If you’re visiting the pest control office, bring them with you. The exterminator will probably know exactly what species of ant you’re dealing with and will formulate a plan right there.
Before they come into your home, it’s a good idea to put pets up somewhere secure to prevent exposure to chemicals and to prevent them from barking and biting. Even if you have the calmest dog ever, a stranger entering your home could be threatening to them.
Clutter should be removed or put into a room that’s free of the ant problem particularly areas around floorboards and places ants tend to enter homes. You don’t have to clean your home to spotless condition you just need to make sure the exterminator has the access they need to do their job effectively.
The Ant Extermination Process
Your basic treatment to get rid of ants in your house will consist of spraying with either a chemical compound or an all-natural, organic type compound. They will spray this in entryways, under counters, behind furniture, around floorboards and in places where weather damage or wear and tear seems to occur. Door frames can warp easily leaving just adequate room for a platoon of ants to enter looking for food or places to live.
Carpenter ants require a more in-depth treatment plan because they burrow deep into wooden sections of your house, porch, deck, shed, garage or anything on your property. Depending on the exterminator’s view of the situation you may be in for a few months of spraying or something more drastic like a full house tenting. Hopefully, it’s not this severe as you won’t be able to stay at home for a few days.
An ant exterminator or Gold Coast Pest Control professional is usually the last choice for homeowners out of options but if you own a complex or motel it might be a better idea to do this immediately. Treating one room or unit can often just cause pests to migrate to the adjacent rooms and you really need to get rid of ants in one swoop.
