Lookout - It's Ant Season!

While we welcome in the change of the seasons and everything pumpkin, ants have a different agenda. Fall is their time as a colony to plan for the colder weather - that involves a multitudes of to-do's for them, and one of those could include invading your home.  Protect Possible Entry Ways  Don't roll out the red carpet! This is the time to prepare the outside of your home. Call a professional or you could DIY, and make sure the entire outside perimeter of your home is sprayed. This is the first line of defense to deter these little guys from trying to enter your home through any tiny cracks or holes.  Kill The Source  You can kill all of the ants that you can see that you want to, but the queen at the center of the nest will just produce more. You must kill the queen in order to take care of the entire problem. This is done by putting out ant poison in your home. The "worker" ants will take the poison back to the nest to feed the young and the queen, and that will kill the source. Let them naturally do the work for you.  Be Patient Do the opposite of what your instinct is, which is to clean and sanitize the entire area. The ants need to be able to still find their "scent trail" to get back to the nest to deliver the poison. This is a bit of a waiting game, which is frustrating when you have to walk by it every day in your yard, or you know the area of the home where this nest might be. Cleaning in the moment will only lengthen the time it takes to get rid of them for good.  Plan for the Future  Sometimes ants just happen, but other times they come in for a reason other than just seasonal change. Ants need a life source - food, water and shelter. Taking away those options will eliminate the likelihood of an invasion. Keep food sealed, areas cleaned up and your home sealed up tight.