How Can I Control Ants in My Kitchen?

Most homeowners have discovered a line of ants marching through their kitchen at some point. The small size of ants makes them a particularly difficult pest to protect against in your kitchen. Food is the primary thing that ants are hunting for and your kitchen is a place where food is almost constantly available. In order to control ants in your kitchen, you must take a few proactive steps and be consistent with your efforts.

Promptly clean spills

The smallest of spills can be enough to attract ants inside. And, it is easy to forget about a small spill if you do not clean it up promptly. If you take the time to deal with spills right when they happen, it will reduce the chances that you forget about it and inadvertently invite ants into your kitchen. 

Take out trash regularly

An overflowing trashcan can provide ants with quite a meal. There are two important parts of properly dealing with your trash so ants don’t invade: keeping a lid on the trashcan and taking the trash out regularly. The lid on the trashcan will put a barrier between the food waste in the trash and the ants. Removing the trash regularly will prevent it from overflowing and attracting ants into your kitchen. 

Store food in secure containers

Ants have been known to find their way into cabinets and pantries on the hunt for food. Food that is not stored properly can draw ants inside to your kitchen. In addition, it is common to find crumbs inside of a pantry simply because food gets moved around in it regularly. If you have kids it is very likely that there are crumbs and food packages that are not closed properly. You can effectively deal with this issue by storing food in secure containers that are simple to open and close. 

Deal with dishes right away

Leftover food on dishes can attract ants – and other pests – into your home. As with spills, the sooner you deal with dirty dishes the better. Even small amounts of food or crumbs can attract ants into your kitchen. If you clean the dishes right away it will reduce your risk of drawing ants into your kitchen. 

Seal up breaches

If you want to control ants in your kitchen it is important to make it as difficult as possible for them to get inside. This means sealing up any breaches around your house that are allowing them access. The first places you should look are around doors and windows. Weather stripping and caulk can get damaged over time and cause breaches. Ants can also be helpful in your search for breaches. They often form a line going directly to the food source they want in your kitchen. If you follow the line in the opposite direction you may find exactly where they entered your house. Once you discover how the ants are getting it, make repairs yourself or bring in a pro to help you out. 

Ants are persistent in their efforts to get into your home and find food. The only way to effectively control for ants in your kitchen is to be persistent in your prevention efforts. If you promptly clean spills, take out the trash regularly, store food in secure containers, deal with dishes right away, and seal up breaches, you will be well on your way to an ant-free kitchen. And, if you want to take your prevention efforts to the next level, you can do that by setting up regularly scheduled pest control treatments for your home.

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