There are few pests in the world that are harder to get rid of than ants - you probably know this because you're here. I bet you've even tried a trick or two, and maybe you've been met with limited success. I'm going to tell you how to seal the deal, but it's only going to work if you follow the steps. This is not like learning how to get rid of mice or other common household pests. Ants can be a real nuisance and may often times require the help of a professional exterminator.
Before you pull out the magnifying glass and start frying the ants and sending them where they belong, realize that they are a critical role in the ecological circle of life. Though ants seem to be a pest to us humans, they do help us out by keeping other pest populations in line. If it's not ants, it'd be something else. Unfortunately ants are one of the hardest pests to get rid of because there are just so many in a colony. You'll find it very difficult to destroy an entire colony of ants, but you should be able to control local populations and that will help. But I ramble on... you probably don't care about the natural habits of ants, but it helps knowing what you're up against.
So what kind of ant are you really dealing with here?
There's a pretty good chance you're up against
an ant known to the science community as pavement ants, or also mistakenly referred to as house ants or sugar ants. These are the brown ants that you'll find digging up small mounds in the middle of your driveway or other places such as near sidewalks or on the side of a house. They're known to wander into a house, apartment, or building, or two, or two thousand.Another common type of ant that you may run into is the carpenter ant. If the ants have wings this is probably what you're up against. This is
a nasty little bugger itself because this can actually cause damage to the frame of your house. If you have these guys deal with them, pronto. A lot of times these ants are confused for termites because they appear to be eating wood... this is not the case though. The reason they're burrowing through wood is to expand their colony and become the next greatest ant empire, all within the friendly confines of your home. They tend to prefer dead, damp wood to build their nests, so if you experience some sort of water damage and the wood is rotting in place, these guys would love to speak with you. The most common type you'll run into is the black carpenter ant.If you live in the deep South, you may find yourself battling another type of deviant ant - the fire ant. They're also sometimes known as red ants. These are the ones that will swarm and start stinging a
threatening creature incessantly - yes, that means you. Maybe you've already had the pleasure, and that's why you're here - you want to know how to get rid of these nasty ants. They are red and tend to be very aggressive and persistent. These ants are typically found in moist areas and characteristically have very large mounds, some that can grow as large as one foot high. These large mounds only exist in large open areas like fields, and such. Just because you don't see a huge mound though doesn't mean you're dealing with a different kind of ant. These ants will usually make their home under objects such as logs, timber, rocks, and bricks.