When you see ants around your property, it may be a little bit alarming. However, you never really worry about them if they’re outside. An ant pile here and there in the yard is nothing to obsess over, and a line of ants marching on the sidewalk won’t really stress you out too much. We really never worry about them until they wind up inside our homes, overtaking the food on our kitchen counter or in our pantries. When it comes to pharaoh ants, though, any sign of them inside or outside is cause for alarm. Pharaoh ants can be a serious nuisance in Salado homes and bring a host of potential problems and health concerns with them into any home they infest.
Spotting Pharaoh Ants Early
Pharaoh ants are a very unique-looking ant. Featuring pale bodies that range from yellow to red in color, their abdomen is the only thing that might appear darker like other ants. These pale-colored ants are about the size of most ants, if not a bit smaller (just one to two millimeters in length at the most).
In your yard, they’re likely to hide from the sun in the shade or under any sort of piled up debris, like leaves and sticks. However, they’ll generally try to invade homes and businesses that have a ready supply of easily accessible food and water available. Once they’re in your house, they’ll build nests behind your walls in the more humid spots of the house, using your electrical wires as a guide to their next meal.
Along with a risk to your stored food, they’re also a huge health hazard as well. Most insect experts agree that these pests can be linked to over a dozen different pathogen-based diseases such as salmonella and strep throat. They have even been known to crawl into open wounds of unsuspecting victims, furthering their chances of infection.
To make matters worse, pharaoh ants will travel in large numbers and create multiple colonies within the same structure. Their small size obviously makes them very hard to contain, and multiple colonies on your property will end up feeling like an unmanageable nightmare.
Keeping Pharaoh Ants Out…For Good
Because of how small and resourceful they are, pharaoh ants will almost always find their way into your Salado home if they want to get inside. So, the battle becomes reducing their attraction to your home. Some of the best ways to do this include:
- Limiting easy entry points by applying caulking to cracks and crevices in the foundation
- Placing new weatherstripping on all exterior doors
- Monitor your screens for large holes, tears, or separations from the frame
- Store your trash in a tightly secured receptacle
- Put leftover food away shortly after meals (also in tightly secured containers)
- Keep your tree branches and bushes trimmed back from the house to reduce their entry opportunities
- Clean regularly to limit the amount of crumbs lying around
- Keep firewood stored away from the house
These tips can help you reduce your chances of infestation effectively, but there will always be a chance if you try to prevent pests on your own. Most homeowners who do see pharaoh ants on their property make the mistake of trying to fix the problem themselves. A brief Internet search might tell you that store-bought sprays or homemade remedies are a potential quick fix, but we all know how reliable the Internet can be.
Remember: these pests will create multiple nests in multiple areas of your home, so you’ll never get rid of them completely with your own efforts. Trying to get rid of the problem on your own will only allow the infestation to last longer, increasing your chances of incurring a dangerous disease. So, don't waste your time and money trying to get rid of an infestation on your own. Contact the professionals at White Knight Pest Control at the very first sign of pharaoh ants.
At White Knight, our team of certified pest control professionals have all the tools you need to eliminate ant infestations of any shape and size. Reach out to us today and find out why a comprehensive ant control treatment from White Knight Pest Control is the perfect solution to all your ant problems, both now and into the future.