HOUSTON – If you've noticed more ants marching into your home recently, you are not alone. In hot, dry summer months, the insects generally head indoors looking for food and water.
Getting them out can be a hassle.
Exterminators say ant invasions have more to do with the weather outside than how clean your home is inside; but there are some things you can do to make your home less attractive.
Since they're coming in search of food, don't leave a buffet for ants. Clean up spills and crumbs from counters and floors as soon as they happen. Keep your food in airtight containers.
Consumer Reports says you should check for damp wood and leaks because those will attract carpenter ants. They tunnel through wood already damaged by water.
They say the most effective method of getting rid of any ant infestation are bait boxes, not sprays. Ants that feed on the sugary, sweet bait syrup die and they track the liquid back to the colony where it kills the larvae.
Sprays only kill the ants that are caught in the mist; and they contain chemicals that are bad for you and your children even at low levels when sprayed inside your home.
Lastly, to keep ants outside, consider their food source. They eat a sweet substance secreted by aphids that live on plants. If you spray insecticides to kill the aphids, the ants will have less to eat. That will make them more likely to head inside your home looking for food.