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Ant Control 101: A Helpful Guide For Dallas Homeowners

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Greenforest Termite and Pest Control, Inc. provides quality pest control in Dallas, and you can bet we know how to handle an ant infestation. Ants are just plain annoying, and because of how they operate, you can’t just take care of a few of them and call it a job well done. But before we get into why calling us is the smart choice for ant pest control, it’s time for a crash course. Welcome to Ant Control 101.

The Life Cycle Of Ants: How Ant Colonies Develop

Take your seats and let’s get into the life cycle of ants. Ants have four major life cycle stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Of course, ants take on different roles within their colony during adulthood based on their gender and their genetic makeup. Adult ants can be queens, workers, or males/drones. 

Workers are females, and as you’d expect, they do a lot of important work around the colony and outside of it, including looking for food they can bring back. Queen ants reproduce to make their colony even larger. Certain new queens may even leave to form a new colony with several drones. Drones mate with a queen to reproduce. Simple. Queen ants can actually live for years at a time, and for their lifetimes, they are focused on growing the population. They are always working to make new ants, so even if you eliminate foraging ants, there are most likely many more on the way.  

Ant Problems: Ants In The Home Can Be More Than A Nuisance

There are so many species of ants, and different species present their own problems. So we’re going to cover common problems caused by common types of ants. Ants can damage your house, your apartment building, your shed, or really any wooden structure. This is because certain ants can chew through wood, and they don’t keep track of structural stability. 

Next, ants can entice other types of pests to enter your home. There are many other pests that like to eat ants, so if these other pests notice that there are lots of ants in or around your home, they will be more likely to hang out in the same areas. 

Can ants bite? Yes, there are certain ants that definitely can bite and/or sting. This doesn’t mean that they’ll try to harm you in your sleep, but they will defend themselves if they feel like they need to. Not all ants carry stingers or venom, but the ones that do can cause you pain, and in sensitive individuals, ant venom can lead to trouble breathing, swelling, and other serious consequences. 

Professional Ant Control: A Great Way To Get Rid Of An Infestation

Over-the-counter ant control sprays are available, and you may be tempted to use them in a pinch, but the only really effective way to get rid of an ant infestation with confidence is to contact a pest control service.  

Greenforest Termite and Pest Control, Inc. employs pest control experts who can visit your home to share their expertise and, of course, get rid of the ants. And one of the best parts of working with professionals like us is that you don’t need to get involved. You don’t need to confront the ants or disturb their nest. You can just relax and let us handle the problem. 

Ant Control Maintenance: Keeping Your Home Ant-Free Long-Term

Prevention is how to stop ants from coming in the house. Before we wrap up, here are a few ant prevention tips to keep in mind: 

  • Check your walls, floors, windows, etc. for gaps large enough for ants to come through. Patch or repair these as soon as possible. 
  • Don’t leave food out on tables, counters, or floors, not even small crumbs. 
  • Fix leaky pipes and hoses in and around your home.
  • Keep an eye on your kitchen for all of the above, since ants love kitchens in particular.  

If you need help, give us a call or talk to us through our website. Don’t wait. 

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