DIY vs. Professional Ant Control

Ants. They’re a huge problem for many homeowners. Ants are bad enough if they just live outdoors and occasionally bite your feet or ankles, but when they find their way inside your house, it’s time to take action.

Not only are ants annoying pests, but they can get into your pantry and into open containers of food, causing you to have to throw away perfectly good food and costing you money.

There are some practical ways to help keep ants from becoming a problem in your home, such as cleaning up spills and crumbs promptly, sealing your food in airtight containers, keeping garbage cans clean, and only putting out pet food at mealtimes. However, as most homeowners who live in areas where ants are an ongoing problem know, these measures never seem to be enough. Ants will come in anyway, even if it seems like there is no food to be had.

You can also find DIY ant control methods all over the internet. These methods typically use non-toxic household items such as vinegar, dish soap, or borax. Using these types of products to control ants is attractive, especially if you have small children or pets in your house, but unfortunately, they just don’t work.

There are, of course, ant control products you can buy off the shelves of your local home improvement store that claim to kill ants on contact and that also help prevent future ant invasions. While these products do kill ants on contact, many homeowners will tell you that they are less effective at keeping ants from returning. You can spray in all the locations you think they may be using to get in your house, but they’ll inevitably find another point of entry.

A more effective (though admittedly more costly) way to go is to hire a professional pest control company in your area. Skilled pest control technicians know the right types of products to use for the type of ant infestation you are experiencing in your home. They also have the type of equipment necessary and know the proper techniques that will provide adequate coverage of pest control products. This will give the homeowner an insecticidal barrier that will help keep ants from returning.

After your initial pest control treatment, it is typically necessary to have your pest control company come back out for regular maintenance to keep the ants away. Quarterly pest control treatment is usually adequate for most areas, though if you live an area that is more susceptible to ant invasions, a bi-monthly plan may be the way to go.

Chase Massey, owner of Knockout Pest Control & Termite in Temecula, California says, “Some of our most satisfied customers are those who are on one of our regular pest control plans. They almost never see ants or spiders inside their home or place of business, but if they do, they know they can call us and we will come out at no extra charge to take care of the problem.”