Children use the phrase, "He has ants in his pants," to describe a classmate or friend who can not sit still. This saying is understandable if you have experienced ants crawling on you. When ants get on you, they tickle and make you scratch. Perhaps you feel a little scratchy now thinking about ants crawling under your clothing or on your head! No one wants ants crawling on them at night while sleeping in bed or traveling around in their house during the daytime.
If ants are in your home, you need the best pest control in Council Bluffs, Beeline Pest Control. For over seven years, highly-trained technicians from our locally owned and operated company have been removing ants from local area homes; we know how to eliminate these pesky pests.
How Can I Tell What Type Of Ants Are Invading My Council Bluffs Home?
Ants are insects with six legs, a large head, multiple eyes, bent antenna, narrow waist, and powerful mandibles who prefer to live outdoors. In the winter, they make their way into homes seeking warmth, food, and water. These are characteristics to help you identify the three species of ants common in Council Bluff homes that require ant control:
- Pharaoh ants: These ants have a tiny, 1/16 inch, light yellow or orange-ish body. You will find these ants in cracks in window and door frames, inside insulation, behind baseboards, light sockets, potted plants, and electrical outlets near food and water sources. Food sources include sweets like jelly, honey, sugar, and cakes; they eat fatty foods like butter and bacon.
- Pavement ants: The dark brown to black ants next to the sidewalk, driveway, or the foundation of your house, are pavement ants. When these 1/8-inch ants move indoors, they create nests near water pipes in walls, under insulation, and underneath floors. Pavement ants consume insects, seeds, nuts, cheese, and meats.
- Odorous house ants: This ant species has the same color as pavement ants but can be slightly smaller, 1/16 inch to 1/8 inch. Outside the house, they live underneath firewood; inside the home, they live in warm, high-moisture areas near water pipes and inside old carpenter ant tunnels. Odorous house ants eat honeydew and sweets.
You will likely find these ants in your Council Bluffs home during the winter months, and if you do, you need ant control solutions from Beeline Pest Control to stop an invasion.
An Ant Infestation Can Cause Many Problems In Your Home
Compared to other home-invading pests like cockroaches, rats, or mice, ants are tiny and appear harmless, but they can cause many problems to Council Bluffs homeowners. For example, pharaoh ants spread pathogenic bacteria causing diseases like salmonella, streptococcus, pseudomonas, and clostridium. These pathogens cause fever, sore throat, chills, stomach cramps, and diarrhea which may require hospitalization.
Ants travel over dusty floors, dirt, rotting food, and other unsanitary areas and pick up germs on their feet. Later, when the ants crawl over exposed foods, kitchen countertops, eating utensils, and cooking surfaces, they can contaminate the foods, products, or areas with germs. Another way ants pollute foods and surfaces is through their urine and feces. Ant pest control is necessary to protect the health of your family.
An infestation of ants can cause wiring and electronic problems in the house. These insects nest in dark areas such as electrical boxes and inside appliances. The moisture from the dirt shed from their legs can cause a short circuit when a large group of ants creates a nest in areas with sensitive electronics. Protecting expensive electronic equipment is another reason to have ant control in your house.
Why It Is So Difficult To Get Rid Of Ants On Your Own
It is natural to purchase do-it-yourself products to resolve an ant infestation in your Council Bluffs home to get rid of ants. While these products kill ants on contact, they do not destroy the ants in the nest or eliminate their eggs. In some cases, DIY products may make an infestation worse! For example, if pharaoh ants sense danger from a DIY product, they will create new satellite nests through a process called "budding." In other words, the DIY product may create a problem rather than solve the problem.
The Best Way To Get Rid Of Ants In Your Home For Good
The solution for ant control in Council Bluffs is to use technicians from Beeline Pest Control. Our team will inspect your home to determine the ant species invading your house, entry points, and nesting areas. We will treat the exterior and interior of your Council Bluffs home to eliminate ants and create a barrier around the house. Call us today and get a free quote!