Summer is the time of year where you should be enjoying the sun, sand and outdoors. It’s also the time of year where ants will try to enter your house. This article answers the question “why do ants come in the house in summer” and what you can do about it.
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Why do ants come in the house in summer?
There are a variety of reasons why ants will enter your house during the summertime. Just like any other creature they are in search of food, water and shelter. Your house might be the perfect place to find these things.
This is their most active time because this is when there is an abundance of food. Whether the food comes from humans enjoying picnics and barbeques while enjoying the hotter weather or the food comes from nature and her abundant offering of ripe fruits, this is the best time for ants to collect and store as much food as they can.
They don’t come out when it’s colder because that’s when there isn’t much food available for them. This is the time when they’re inactive and stay inside their nest’s where the temperature is warmer. Their nests are filled with food they had collected in the hotter seasons. This system of collecting food in the hot months to eat in the cold months is how they deal with food scarcity.
Why do ants suddenly appear?
Ants will suddenly appear because of the warmer weather and they will suddenly appear in your home if you give them a reason to, these reasons include shelter, food or water. If given these things the ants can nest in your home and create a colony.
This is when you need to find ways to get rid of these little critters before they damage your home or become a risk to your health. To prevent them suddenly appearing you need to make sure there is nothing in your home that will encourage the appearance of ants (more on keeping ants out of your house later in this article).
Will ants go away on their own?
Ants will initially come into your home because they are looking for food, shelter or water. These are the three basic things that all animals need for survival. If ants enter your home and don’t find what they’re looking for then they will eventually go away on their own.
That being said, you need to be very meticulous when ant proofing your home. Even the smallest piece of food like a crumb will be like a siren call to ants. You need to carefully ant proof your home to prevent them from nesting in it. Keep your home spill-free, close any nooks and crannies where ants can enter and keep your home free from moisture or water bodies.
How do I find where ants are coming from?
If you find where your ants are coming form you can target and monitor those areas and maintain an ant-free home. Here some places you should check for an ant infestation:
Bathrooms:
Ants use moist areas to lay their eggs. Check the perpetually moist areas in your bathroom for any signs of ants or an ant infestation. Ants can also be found close to floor drains so have a look there as well.
Kitchens:
This is another place where you should look for ants because it has moist areas and food sources. Look around your microwaves, under and behind fridges, around dishwashers, and around your sinks and cabinets.
Cracks and crevices:
Ants can fit into the tiniest of cracks and crevices. When looking for ants have a peek in the cracks and crevices in and around your walls and cabinets for any lurking ants.
Attract them:
If you know that you have an ant infestation but don’t know where exactly they are you can coerce them to come out. Ants love sweet and greasy foods. To get them to come out combine some honey and peanut butter and lay it out to attract the ants out of hiding. You can exterminate them once they are out of hiding.
Outside:
If you suspect that there is an ant infestation in your yard then some good places to look for them is in dirt mounds, in and around electrical and utility boxes, in and around firewood piles and under any yard debris that may be lying around.
Why are there ants in my room if there is no food?
Shelter: Ants only need one of the three survival resources to be drawn your home. If they find shelter they can still nest in your room. Your room may be a comfortable place where they can create a nest. If they can find somewhere that isn’t disturbed they will take advantage of it
Bad weather: They may be escaping the rain. When the weather is unfavourable like when it’s raining, ants will seek a dry and safe place to run to. The rain generally floods their nests so the easiest and safest place to go may very well be your room. read more here
Ant trails: Other ants may be directing more ants to your room. Ants communicate through pheromones. As they walk und they leave a trail of these pheromones and other ants follow this trail in search of food, shelter or water.
Is having ants in your house bad?
Yes having ants in your house is bad. Ants can cause damage in your home, give you illnesses and invite other pets into your home as well.
Home damage: If you live in a timber structure the structure of your house can become weakened because of ants. Ants eat away at and hollow out wood pieces of your house. This may be difficult to notice at first because the ants hollow out and create tunnels inside the structure and the outside will look like nothing is wrong. The only clue that the ants leave are piles of woods shavings
Health: Your health can be threatened by an ant infestation. Ants go anywhere and everywhere. As they move they can pick up a variety of bacteria and bring it into your home contaminating your food and giving you disease. Fire ants bite and these bites can cause redness itchiness swelling and a lot of pain.
More pests: Ants are a food source to a number of other pests, these include spiders, bats, and flies. Spiders can get into your home looking for ants and pose a danger to you, spiders like the black widow are something you need to look out for. Bats can be dangerous to humans and flies are not only a nuisance but a disgusting pest that can carry and speared pathogens and parasites.
What does it mean when you see a lot of ants?
If you see a lot of ants in your house then you are probably suffering from an infestation. You may or may not want to get rid of these ants on your own but it is recommended that you contact a professional and have them handle it.
You may see a lot of ants but there may be much more in nooks and crannies as well as in your walls. The professionals will help you get rid of the ants in your home including the ones you can’t see.
How do you get rid of ants in the summer?
To get rid of ants you need to get rid of the three survival resources that bring them into your home in the first place. Listed below are possible problem areas relating to these survival resources and what to do to about them.
Get rid of food sources:
Ants will eat almost anything, if times are tough they can even eat decaying carcases. Here are ways to stop them from coming into your house looking for food:
Problem: Ants are attracted to any type of food especially sugary foods. This can include sugar, open honey or syrup bottles, and left open packets of sweets.
What to do: Make sure that ants do not have access to foods in your pantry. Make sure that all containers especially sweet things are closed off to ants.
Problem: Open garbage can also be a siren call for ants. It contains lots of different types of food for them to eat
Solution: Ensure that all your garbage is sealed off to prevent ants from having access into it
Problem: Overly ripe fruits or veggies in your kitchen. The overripe nature of the food will make the ants more attracted to the food
Solution: Ensure that you eat all fruits and veggies before they become overripe. If you can’t finish them in time then I suggest storing them in the fridge.
Problem: Rotten meat left out in dustbins for too long. The smell of rotten meat will attract ants to your garbage
Solution: Throw out rotting meat just before they collect the garbage from your house. This will prevent it from rotting in the dustbin in the sun
Problem: Ants leave invisible ant trails which direct other ants to sources of food bringing more ants into your house
Solution: Ensure that you wipe down surfaces where you see ants frequenting. You can use vinegar, this will remove the trail completely
Water sources:
Problem: Leaky taps or facets. Ants will be attracted to leaks in your house as they also need water to survive
Solution: Make sure that you go around your house and check for any leaks in and around your house.
Problem: Open bodies of water, ants will collect around it and keep coming to it for a source of water
Solution: Ensure that you drain bodies of water to prevent ant’s coming into your house
Shelter:
Problem: Carpenter ants have been known to nest inside wood pieces. This can include firewood left inside the house by the first place
Solution: Store your firewood away from the house in a shed if you can. If you don’t own a shed then store the wood 20 feet away from your house.
Problem: Ants will be very comfortable and will create nests in your attics if you have a basement with crawl spaces and crevices
Solution: Ensure that all your cracks are closed and filled up, you can use a sealant to do this.
Problem: Ants can enter into your house through crawl spaces connecting the outside to the inside of your house
Solution: You would need to find all the openings in your house such as cracks, gaps, foundations and seal them up preventing ants from coming in in the first place.
Problem: Ants can get into your house by way of plants touching the side of your house. This acts as a bridge.
Solution: Prevent this from happening by trimming plants so they don’t touch the side of your house. A good distance is 3-6 inches away from your house.
What else to do about them:
A good way to get rid of them is to use diatomaceous earth. This is a powder that on the ant level has sharp ends. Mix this with some powdered sugar and the ants will come running to eat it up. When they eat it, the sharp edges of the earth will cut them up from the inside.
You can use borax to kill them, this is a good poison for ants. Mix powdered sugar and borax and sprinkle it around ant nests or trails and they will eat it and die
Cornmeal, ants love this stuff but they cannot digest it. They will eat it up and take some back to the colony for others to eat. Their bodies won’t be able to digest it and they will die
For a product guide as to how to get rid of the ants then click this link for advice and options
I hope that this article helped you figure out why ants come into your house in summer and what you can do about it. If you found this article helpful or interesting please share it.