What It Takes To Get Rid Of An Ant Infestation In Your Del Rio Home

Have you ever looked at a swarm of ants with perplexity? Are you currently looking at one? In either case, we hope to help remove the mystery that often enshrouds an ant control problem and tell you what it takes to get rid of ants in your Del Rio home. Of course, you can always contact us if you need an ant exterminator in Del Rio. We're here to help. But there are things you can do before you have to contact Del Rio pest control. Join us as we look at how ants behave in your home, how to understand the evidence you're noticing, and what works to get control of ant pests. We'll also share with you some smart tips to help you manage ants and prevent future issues after you've dealt with the ants inside your home. If you've been looking for an all-in-one article about ant control, you've found it. Let's jump right in!

How do you interpret the appearance of one ant in your home? If it is one tiny worker ant, there are a few things you should know about that little ant. First, they don't travel far. Sure, a scout ant will break ranks and travel quite a distance from the others, but what is "far" to an ant? It isn't going to travel from a nest in the center of your yard to climb around in your kitchen. Second, they don't work as hard as you might think. If you find an ant in your kitchen, it is likely that it came from a nest on the other side of your exterior kitchen wall or perhaps even from inside the wall. Why? Worker ants have an amazing ability to scale walls and run across ceilings. While it may seem like this is effortless for them, it actually takes work. An ant isn't going to want to scale the side of your home, get in through a gap in your roofline, and work its way down to your kitchen. One last factor to consider is that ants live in colonies with thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of individuals. If a nest is nearby (which is almost certainly the case when you see an ant), there will be many ants nearby.

What happens if you don't do something about one little ant? The worst scenario is that you can encourage an ant infestation. Here's how it works – one little scout ant finds food and leaves a scented trail as it returns to the others. The worker ants detect the trail and follow it into your home. Within a short time, you have ants everywhere. If the ants that invade your home are of a species that is prone to creating indoor nests, you're in trouble. So, it is best to deal with the one little ant as quickly as possible. Our best recommendation to deter an infestation and stop one little ant from turning into a full-blown problem is to do the following:

• Clean your kitchen thoroughly.
• Protect food that is left out on the counter.
• Fix leaking faucets.
• Clean your trash receptacles often.
• Remove trash routinely and keep trash cans covered to prevent odors from luring ants into your trash.
• Use expanding foam to seal holes, gaps, and cracks.
• Check for gaps around windows and doors and install weatherstripping and door sweeps as needed. 

Another way you may see one little ant inside your home is when a winged ant appears. What does it mean to see a winged ant? Is it worse than a worker ant? In many ways, yes. Winged ants are reproductives. The job of the reproductives is to mate and establish new nests. That means your ant problems are about to worsen. You should also understand that an ant colony doesn't immediately produce winged reproductives. It takes many months or even years for a colony to mature and start developing winged reproductives. So if you're seeing these ants near your home, you've had an ant problem for a while. Hopefully, the kinds of ants you're having a problem with aren't carpenter ants. Let's look at why it is bad to find even a single carpenter ant inside your Del Rio home.

An Ant Infestation Is A Bigger Problem Than You May Think

There are many types of ants that get into Del Rio homes and cause trouble. If you see one little ant it might be a bigger problem than you think. Carpenter ants, for instance, are wood-damaging pests. While they target soft and water-damaged wood first, they can also damage sound structural wood. It is also important to realize what it means to find a swarm of winged carpenter ants inside your home. It is a sure sign of an indoor infestation.

But carpenter ants aren't the only ants that can present a bigger problem than you may think. Let's break down some of the common problems by the level of threat.

All ants are considered nuisance pests. They enter in large numbers, crawl on everything, and get into stuff.

Some ants are a bigger nuisance because they're stinky when you step on them. An example is the appropriately named odorous house ant. 

Some ants aren't just a nuisance but a threat. Fire ants are a good example. They aren't going to just annoy you; they can inflict painful stings and present an even greater danger to individuals with allergies.

Some ants have an annoying habit of chewing through the protective coating on wires, which can lead to electrical problems.

Some ants are known to spread human pathogens. Pharaoh ants, in particular, spread staphylococcus, clostridium, and streptococcus.

Okay. Ants can present a problem. What can you do about it? The easiest and most effective way to prevent one little ant from turning into a big problem is to get a professional home pest control solution for ants.

Contact Us To Completely Eliminate An Ant Infestation

When you contact Gold Star Exterminators for ant control in Del Rio, there are a few things you can expect. There is more to extermination than most people realize. Our certified technicians are highly trained pest management professionals who will take the following steps in safeguarding your property.

• We identify the ant pest causing trouble for you.
• We track ant routes and locate mounds.
• We catalog conducive conditions and consider entry points.
• We select materials and products that target the specific ants on your property.
• We use a multi-pronged treatment strategy that includes control, monitoring, and evaluations.
• We follow strict protocols to ensure best practices and safety guidelines are met.
• We use products that are scientifically proven for efficacy.
• We apply exclusions and a liquid crack and crevice treatment to the exterior if needed.
• We inspect and monitor to make sure no ants remain inside your home.

Ant control has many facets, and it requires training and experience. Trust your Gold Star Exterminators – Del Rio to deal with ant problems in your home or on your property. We are your local area ant experts.

Naturally Effective Tips To Prevent Future Ant Problems

Once the ants are gone, what comes next? There are many ways you can prevent future ant problems with a bit of elbow grease and determination. Here are our best ant prevention tips for your Del Rio property.

• Address lawn weeds to remove nectar and plant sap as food sources for ants.
• Keep your landscape plants healthy to deter aphids, which produce sweet honeydew for ants to eat.
• Clean your trash cans and receptacles to remove an odor that lures ants.
• Keep exterior lights off at night to reduce general insect populations, a food source for ants that eat protein.
• Remove leaves to remove ant habitats and feeding grounds.
• Apply weather-proofing to create physical barriers to deter ants.
• Trim plants away from your exterior walls so ants can't use them as bridges to get to higher entry points easily.
• Repair screens, replace water-damaged wood, and make other home repairs to remove potential entry points.
• Keep the interior of your home as clean as possible.
• Manage interior trash to prevent smells from attracting ants.
• Store foods in sealed containers to keep smells in and ants out. 
• Wipe down counters, shelves, and cabinets.
• Create mealtime for your pets and only leave food on the floor for a short period of time.

These and other methods like them will help to make your home more resistant to ant infestations. The goal is not to entirely eliminate all of the ants on your property but reduce populations so ants don't present problems.

Remember that your Gold Star Exterminators can help you prevent future ant problems with ongoing professional home pest control services, which are included in our monthly, bimonthly, and quarterly general pest control service plans. When you want the best control possible, it pays to have routine treatments for a certified technician. Contact Gold Star Exterminators – Del Rio today to learn more about our service options. We want to help you find the perfect solution for your pest control needs.

Gold Star has been spraying our house for a few years now and I can't express how much it has helped.  I was spraying Demon WD myself and barely made an impact on the scorpions and spiders.  after they started doing it, we have very few sightings now.  Great company.

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