Referred to as ecosystem engineers, ants enrich the soil and help the environment in many ways. But their presence inside a house or commercial property can lead to a range of issues. They enter properties searching for food and water through tiny cracks, gaps, and crevices. While a few ants will not do much harm, the problem begins when they start building nests and their population grows. It can soon turn into an infestation that can be hard to handle for property owners on their own. That is precisely where you will need the expert help of ant exterminators. Experienced pest control specialists or ant exterminators will carry out the ant removal procedure properly to get rid of the ants and their nests.
Plus, ant exterminators will also take necessary measures to stop the entry of ants in the near future. But the big question is how you should prepare for ant exterminators. If you are going to hire expert help, you should definitely know what to expect and how to get ready before professionals arrive.
Preparation for Ant Control Service is Important!
Before a team of ant control professionals arrive in your house or commercial building, you need to do some preparations.
Someone from the pest control company will give you a set of instructions to follow before the arrival of the specialists. If you live in or near Moreno Valley and Riverside, CA, you can reach out to one of our experts and schedule your ant extermination service. Before our specialists arrive at your property, we will equip you with a couple of important tips to follow.
Lack of preparation will make our job difficult and unsafe. Following the preparation tips we share with you will make the entire ant removal procedure safe for the occupants of the house or building.
How to Prepare Your House or Building for Ant Removal Treatment
Since preparation is an important step, you should remember to follow all the tips for ant extermination. By following these simple steps of preparation, you will make the job fast and easy for our ant control specialists.
Step #1: Vacate the Treatment Area
In the case of a spray application, the pest control specialist will want you to vacate the area of treatment. In particular, elderly people, kids, and pets will need to leave the area where the treatment will be applied. This is done as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the occupants.
Step #2: Empty Trash Cans
Before ant removal treatments can begin, it is crucial to eliminate ants’ access to food and water. That is why you will be asked by professionals to empty all the trash cans whether or not they are full.
Being common pests, ants can thrive almost in any environment where there is food and moisture. Trash cans have a number of things that can easily attract ants and help them take shelter. The presence of food scraps, food waste, and liquid is what makes the trash a key target for ants. So, it is important to get rid of all the trash and garbage in your house or apartment. Not just that, you should also clean the area around the trash cans in a thorough manner.
By removing all the trash, you will instantly cut the flow of ants back to the nest and help the ant removal specialists as a result.
Step #3: Store Food Items Properly
Food storage is a big concern for ant control services. If you are awaiting the arrival of pest control experts, one of the key preparation tips for you to follow is to store all the food items in the house in a proper manner.
Do not leave food in open containers. When the ant treatments are carried out, pest control professionals expect you have kept all the food well-stored. Get pest-proof containers from the market to store food. Based on the type of ant infestation you have, the specialists may use a range of methods. If all food is properly stored or kept inside the refrigerator, there will be no risk of contamination. During an ant removal method, your safety always remains a top priority.
If you look for more tips on the storage of food, feel free to talk to one of our pest control experts at Final Exterminators.
Step #4: Remove Alternate Food Sources
Ants are attracted to food crumbs and spills. If you want to make the job easy for the ant control professionals as well as enhance the effectiveness of the treatment, you should first get rid of potential food sources.
You can start by cleaning up the spills and wiping down the counters. Give the floors a sweep so that there are no food crumbs lying anywhere on the ground. Vacuum the entire area of treatment in a proper manner. Food crumbs left on the floor anywhere will affect the application of ant baits.
If you plan to maximize results from the ant extermination treatments, you should always clean up spills and food crumbs.
Step #5: Keep the Dishwasher Closed
Once ants are inside your home, they can enter all kinds of strange places in order to forage for food. It is not just the kitchen cabinets or the back sides of appliances where you ants can be found. These tiny pests can also be found in and around the dishwasher, as it is a constant source of moisture. Even when the machine is closed, some amount of water remains inside, which can attract ants. A dishwasher is not just a source of water, but it might also have food remnants or food residue that did not make it down the drain completely.
While you prepare your house or property for ant exterminators, you should definitely pay careful attention to closing the dishwasher. Make sure you are done with all the dishes before the pest control team arrives. Even if there is a tiny gap in the door of the dishwasher, ants can squeeze in.
It is not possible to apply spray or chemicals inside the dishwasher. So, you should keep it properly clean and closed.
Step #6: Put Pet Food Away
If you have pets in the house, make sure you do not leave pet food in the open. After your pet has finished eating, put away the pet food and clean the pet food bowl as well as the area around the bowl.
Infestation of the pet food bowl is common. If the pet food bowl in your home is invaded by ants, you should pack all the food along with the ants in a plastic bag and tie a knot so that ants can not come out. Then, you should dispose of the plastic bag outside, away from the home.
Step #7: Discuss the Situation with the Ant Control Team
After the ant control team has arrived, you should discuss with them your pest problem in complete detail. Tell the pest control specialist where you see ants or where you have spotted ant activity in the past. The professional needs to collect as much information about the problem from you as possible.
The pest control specialist will thoroughly assess the entire problem and then use the most ideal treatment method for the removal of ants. The professional will also brief you on what kind of treatment will be applied. It is for the ant removal expert to decide what method will be applied and how. When you have been provided with all the details, you will be clear on what to expect from the ant removal team and how much time the entire ant removal procedure will take.
Step #8: Have Patience
You can’t expect the ant removal team to magically kill all the ants along with their nests and colonies in a minute. Based on what type of treatment is used, you may need to wait for a couple of days before the infestation goes away completely. The exterminator may use a combination of two or more methods in order to eradicate the entire ant infestation in your home. You should expect the exterminator to come back more than once to get rid of the problem.
Talk to an Ant Control Specialist
Hopefully, these tips will help you prepare your home for ant exterminators in a proper and effective manner. If you still have a question or want to discuss your ant problem with an expert, head over to Final Exterminator, which provides pest control services in and near Moreno Valley, CA. Our ant control specialist will evaluate your situation in full detail and then come up with a highly effective plan to get rid of the entire population of ants as well as their nests in your house or apartment. Plus, the professionals will take all the necessary preventive measures to prevent the entry of ants and other tiny pests into your home in the future.
For your free consultation, you can call our office phone number or write us an email using the contact form on our website.
