Fall Ant Invasions

Fall Ant Invasions

It’s that time of the year: pumpkin patches, wool sweaters, and…fall ant invasions! While many people associate ants with spring, these pests can be bothersome throughout the year. Cooler weather means it’s time for the ants creeping around outside your house to come knocking – and these aren’t the kind of tricks or treats that you want. Before they come marching to your door, stop them in their tracks with these simple tips for effective fall ant control.

Why Ants Come into Your Home

Ants can find their way into your home on many occasions, however, when it comes to this time of the year there’s an annual reason why you may be finding ants. Despite overall ant activity decreasing in winter, many ants will try and find a residence in your home as the temperatures drop and resources become scarcer outdoors.

Ants in your home during the colder weather can indicate that you may have a colony somewhere in your house, whether that be inside a wall, in doors and window frames, or other hidden places. Colonies may even be located outside in your yard but could still affect your home because it’s providing the energy sources that ants need to stay alive. Your home is filled with crumbs, food debris, and other things needed for survival, so it’s not uncommon for these ants to come into your home and return outside to their colony.

Ants aren’t just stealing your food either. They might also be damaging the structure of your house by affecting the wood, drywall, and other areas. With ants coming in and causing damage, it’s important to take care of the problem as soon as you can. Don’t forget, just getting rid of the ants that you see isn’t solving the whole problem.

How You Can Keep Ants Out in The Cold

The best line of defense to keep ants from migrating into your home is to set up point-of-entry barriers. Treating the perimeter of your house offers the best autumn ant control, while also helping to control other fall invaders. By acting early and taking these kinds of preventative measures at the start of the season, you can protect those vulnerable spaces that ants may enter through.

There are a variety of options when it comes to perimeter treatments. TERRO® Ant Killer Plus can be used as a band treatment around house foundations and on lawns, or as a spot treatment on anthills. The convenient shaker bag allows the granules to be easily distributed in three-to-five-foot bands around a typical house.

It’s also important to protect the spaces around windows, doors, and foundations. TERRO® Outdoor Ant Killer Spray can help you ward off invasions in these spots. A powerful propellant spray head allows you to deliver a precision barrier spray in hard-to-reach places up to 20 feet away. It not only provides instant knockdown for the ants, but also offers residual control for up to 12 weeks. These solutions are effective against ants, as well as a variety of other creepy crawlers like crickets, cockroaches, scorpions, spiders, and more.

Check out this article to find out more about how ants enter your house, and additional tips on how you can get a handle on the invasion before it’s too late!

Ants Eating Crumbs

What You Can Do in Your House

Besides using ant killers, there are other ways that you can help keep ants out of your warm, cozy home. Here are some quick and easy preventative steps you can take to further ensure that you don’t get invaded this fall:

  • Put pet food away when it’s not feeding time
  • Seal pantry products in airtight containers or plastic bags
  • Store fruit in sealed containers or the fridge
  • Vacuum and sweep regularly
  • Wipe down counters and areas where you typically eat
  • Fix leaky pipes, dripping faucets, or clogged drains
  • Seal entry points such as gaps in window and door frames

Do you have tips or tricks for fall ant invasions? Have you figured out how ants are getting in your house? Connect and share it with us on our Facebook page. If you would like to learn more about our products and discover an even more extensive list of ant control products like baits, dusts, sprays and traps, shop our full selection here.

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