Solutions for D.C., MD, VA, and WV.
Why do I have ants in my kitchen?
Warmer spring weather and the rainy season in the in Mid-Atlantic coincides with ant season. In April most queen ants are mating and looking for a nice spot to start a colony. That nice spot may be outside but foraging ants may invade your kitchen walls, islands, floorboards and cupboards. The number one reason that ants are taking over your kitchen is moisture and food sources. It’s unusual to see a “colony” actually in the house or in the walls. If the colony is inside the structure there is most likely a moisture problem. The most common ant issues start with moisture against the house (mulch, leaky hose bibs, poor drainage). Then the ants come inside for food. Eliminating moisture with pest control can successfully keep your home pest free.
Steps to solving a kitchen ant infestation.
Kitchen ant extermination techniques range from home owner applied sprays and baits to professional help. Most home remedies only superficially treat an ant problem. Randomly spraying store-bought insecticides may kill some of the ants while relocating their trails and may do more damage that good. To solve your kitchen ant problems, you will need to target the unseen colony. That’s where a professional kitchen ant exterminator can help.
First, we must identify the specific type of ant. The most common ants found in the Virginia and Maryland area are odorous house ants (aka sugar ants), pavement ants and carpenter ants. Odorous house ants are challenging since a colony may contain multiple queens and colonies. The most challenging infestation is the dreaded carpenter ant, (link to carpenter ant page) big black ants. They can severely damage your home’s structure. Too, unlike other kitchen ants, carpenter ants won’t bring common ant baits back to their nest making homeowner eradication very difficult. If you see carpenter ants call in a professional exterminator immediately.
Our kitchen ant solutions
Our approach is simple and the least invasive. We set bait stations on the exterior to draw the ants out while targeting the colony. We will inspect the exterior of your home and locate the colony from the outside and apply professional-quality, safe and proven baits accordingly. This draws the ants out of your home and resolves your problem quicker. When needed, we will apply bait to the kitchen interior. This ensures all ants are getting the bait they need to take back to the colony. Once you stop seeing ants in your kitchen of your home, our quarterly service plan will keep them on the exterior of your home where they belong.
Prevention is always easier and less costly than extermination.
