Ant Pest Control

Controlling ants in Arizona is a difficult task because they move around constantly and create new colonies. Pest Control Surprise AZ is here to help you keep ants from entering your home. They will inspect your building and provide exclusion recommendations.

Ant Problems

Food is the main reason for most ant infestations. They are attracted to easy-to-find food sources, which is why they invade buildings and homes often. In their constant foraging, black ants often seek out sweet foods and pet food. You will find a variety of common ants throughout Phoenix, Arizona: crazy ants. Pavement ants. Big-headed. Rover ants.

Prevention

It is a good idea to seal all food in plastic containers. You can seal any cracks or crevices in your home. You should know that ants are common and can be a nuisance. It is not unusual for them to establish themselves again around your home. Ants are small and persistent, and they will most likely find a way in to your home if they can.

Landscape maintenance: Make sure trees are trimmed to the right height and do not extend beyond the roofline. All bushes and vegetation should be kept at least six inches from the house.
Seal cracks, crevices: Check that weather stripping on doors or windows isn’t missing or worn. Use caulking to seal other entrances to the house.

Treatment

The first step to identify what attracts the ants. Then we can remove the food source or stop access. We then inspect for ants to identify their origins. This can be done by following the ants’ “trails”. These trails will lead to the colony’s entrance. Customers often tell us the locations of the highest ant activity to help us locate these entrances. Once we have located the colony entrances we use either baits or non-repellents. Sometimes, we even combine both.

Baits are baits that attract ants to eat the lure. Baits are used to attract foraging insects, who then bring the bait back into the colony where it can be shared with other ants. Baits attract more ants, so they often cause more activity. The active ingredient of the bait is not traceable and slow to act, giving the ants ample time to spread it through the colony. Eventually, the queen will eliminate the colony.
Non-repellents. Because ants don’t have the ability to detect non-repellent treatment, the liquid should be applied at colony entrances. The liquid will allow the ants access the product and then they’ll carry it back into the colony. The non-repellent products will spread throughout the colony eventually reaching the queen.

The increase in ants is often a sign that bait treatments have worked. Baits are drawing more ants in, and they then transport the bait back to their colony with other ants and the queen. These products are meant to help the ants live long enough to transport the bait to the colony. Homeowners will notice an increase in ants activity when the colony is dying off. It usually takes between 10-14 days. It will take different amounts of time depending on which species you have and what the situation is.