Say Good Riddance To Ants In Your Tampa Home
Have you had an unpleasant work experience? Perhaps you obtained what you thought was your dream job, but within a few months, it turned into a nightmare. During those nightmarish days, you came home stressed and exhausted; you had sleeping problems, and your blood pressure was high. You awoke dreading the idea of going into the office to face another day at what had become the worst job you'd ever had.
Finally, circumstances changed, and you could leave your dreaded job. Perhaps you remember the exuberant feeling as you walked out of that office one last time and into the sunlight. As you reflected on the nightmare job, you exclaimed, "Good riddance," as you got into your car to begin a new life at a new job.
We exclaim "Good riddance" to things, jobs, and people that have made our lives difficult. A pest that people are more than happy to see gone is ants. Walking into the kitchen and being greeted by a line of ants is not how you want to start your day. Laying in bed reading a book and noticing an ant crawling across your arm is disconcerting.
When ants are in the house, you need pest control in Tampa from Haskell Termite & Pest Control. Our family-owned and operated company has removed ants from Tampa area homes for over three decades. In addition to our longevity as a company, our technicians have over 100 years of combined experience in the pest control industry. We confidently guarantee our work because we know how to eliminate ants and other pests.
You probably found this article because ants are in your Tampa home, and you need effective ant control. In addition to partnering with Haskell Termite & Pest Control, this article will give you the information you need to stop ants from invading your house.
Signs Of An Ant Infestation
How do you know if you only have a wondering ant insect in the home or if there is a massive ant colony inside your walls? While an ant may have found its way into your house, it is not likely because ants are social creatures. Ants live in colonies of one or more queens, workers, soldiers (some species), and winged or non-winged reproductive ants.
Fire ants, one of the common ants in the Tampa area, build irregularly-shaped nests two to four feet in diameter in yards near structures; however, they sometimes enter homes through HVAC systems. A mature fire ants nest may consist of 200,000 ants. Carpenter ants create homes inside damp wood with 10,000 to 50,000 members. Another ant in Tampa, pharaoh ants, also build nests containing several thousand. So, if you see an ant in your house, it is probably not a single, detached ant that wandered in from the outdoors but is part of a massive nearby colony.
Four types of ants are problematic in the Tampa area:
- Carpenter ants
- Pharaoh ants
- Black ants
- Fire ants
Investigate for black, red, or black and red 5/8-inch carpenter ants in the crawl space, basement, and locations with damp wood. Pale yellow 1/16-inch pharaoh ants migrate to warm, humid areas in the house and live in wall voids, behind baseboards, and under furniture and floors. The 1/16-inch black ants live in some of the same areas as pharaoh ants; they also live behind masonry, wood facades, and decaying wood. Fire ants generally reside outside but occasionally invade homes if their nests have been destroyed or due to high temperatures.
Discarded wings are another sign of an ant infestation. Sterile female workers are the primary group in an ant colony. These ants create new tunnels, construct the nest, care for the young, and forage for food for the colony members. In most ant species, the queen produces a new group of male and female ants called swarmers or alates. These ants have wings and reproductive capabilities. In the late spring or fall, the swarmers leave the nest, ride on air currents, mate, and land to form new colonies. You may have an infestation in your home if you notice large groups of flying insects around outdoor street lights or windows at dusk or early dawn.
We should note that termites are another swarming insect. Look at the insect to determine if you are witnessing an ant or termite swarm. Ants have four tinted brown wings, with the front two longer than the hind wings; the two pairs of termite wings are the same size. Ants have clubbed or bent antennae, but the antennae on termites are straight. Also, a termite does not have a narrow waist like an ant.
Once landed, ants discard their wings. Because light attracts swarming ants, you can often find wings in window sills. Not all ants are lucky, and spiders catch many of them before they can start a new nest. Thus, wings in spider webs are another sign of an infestation.
Most ant species build nests in wall voids, cracks, masonry, wood facades, and other areas inside the home, but carpenter ants create nests in fungus-ridden, moist wood, often in the crawl space or basement. These ants do not consume wood for nourishment like termites but bore smooth tunnels into wood structures to create nests. The presence of sawdust-like material, fragments of insulation, or bug body parts outside of tiny holes in the wood indicate a carpenter ant infestation.
When you see signs of ants in your Tampa home, it is time to say "Good riddance" by using the ant pest control services near you from Haskell Termite & Pest Control. Our highly-trained technicians can identify the species invading your home and will develop a targeted strategy to eliminate it.
The Health Risks of Ant Infestations
Ants are omnivores that eat protein, fat, and carbohydrates in any form on any surface. Open garbage cans, crumbs on the floor, and rotting food matter in drains and garbage disposals give ants easy access to these macronutrients. Fermentation and food decay occur when bacteria and other organisms form on the surface to break down the sugars.
Have you wondered how ants climb up walls? They can scale masonry walls and get into homes through cracks because they have tiny claws on the bottom of each of their six legs. As ants travel over rotting food surfaces, bacteria transfer to their feet. When they enter homes, the bacteria move from their feet to countertops, exposed fruits and foods, utensils, and other items in the house. Later, unsuspecting household members may use the tainted items when they eat and ingest the pathogens.
While all ants contaminate surfaces, pharaoh ants, a common ant in our area, are known spreaders of salmonellosis, staphylococcus, clostridium, and streptococcus, especially in medical facilities. Protect your family from contamination and disease by securing ant control in Tampa from Haskell Termite & Pest Control.
Five No-Nonsense Ant Prevention Tips For Around The House
Ants surround everyone's home because they are vital to the ecosystem. Although they are valuable to the proper functioning of the world, they do not need to live in our homes. Once Haskell Termite & Pest Control removes the ant infestation from your Tampa house, you can deter them from returning by implementing these five ant prevention tips:
Keep indoor and outdoor garbage containers closed
Seal cracks in the foundation and along the roofline with caulk
Prune tree branches and shrubs away from the house
Pick up rotting fruit and animal feces in the yard
Vacuum the house regularly and suction out crevices
Maintaining a clean, dry interior and exterior will discourage ants from infesting your yard and home. When a certified, trained technician inspects your Tampa home, we can provide additional prevention tips specific to your location and situation.
The Key To Total Ant Control For Your Home
Haskell Termite & Pest Control is the best pest control near you for ants. When you contact us to stop ants from infesting your Tampa home, we dispatch a qualified, trained technician to your location. Our service technician will inspect your home for access points, attractants, and ant hot spots. We will also determine the ant species invading your house. Using the information we gather, we develop a custom strategic plan to eradicate the ants in the home.
Our initial treatment includes the interior and exterior. Since ants often form lines along baseboards and underneath appliances and garbage containers, we focus on those areas and other hots spots inside the home. Once we stop the infestation, future treatments focus on maintaining a barrier around the house to prevent future problems.
Since our founding in 1992, our company has become a pest control industry leader on the west coast of Florida. Get that same feeling you had when you left a job or situation that made you miserable and say "Good riddance" to the ants infesting your house today. Contact us today to learn about our pest control programs and to get a free estimate.