Battling Bugs: 5 Ways to Keep Ants Out of Your Kitchen

As we are in the full swing of summer months now, you may find that more and more pests and bugs are becoming active. While Floridians are used to an increase of bug activity in the great outdoors, this can quickly become a problem if these pests wind up inside. Ants, unfortunately, are one of the greatest concerns to both homeowners and renters alike. If you’ve observed an increase in ant activity at home, chances are you’ve spotted ants in your kitchen and other areas where food is present. Don’t worry—here are five easy steps you can take to keep ants out!

1. Seal Your Food 

Your kitchen is a place where you can store all your favorite snacks, cook nutritious meals, and experience the comforting smell of fresh baked goods. Unfortunately, what makes your kitchen enjoyable for you and your family also makes it a great food resource for uninvited pests, especially scavengers like ants. 

Luckily, there are ways to keep ants from partaking in your snacks and leftovers. Ants often go for easily accessible food that they can pick up and carry away. If food is in a sealed bag or container, the chances of ants being able to access that food are slim to none. This also includes any food within your fridge and freezer. While your fridge and freezer are closed, ants may still be able to find their way into them, especially if your fridge seal isn’t fully secured and needs some maintenance. 

Investing in some high-quality food storage containers with a close seal or reusable bags is a great way to help ensure your food remains pest-free and untouched by any ants in your Tampa home.

2. Keep to a Consistent Cleaning Schedule 

Whether you have your hands full with children, have messy pets, or just occasionally miss a crumb or two falling out of your sight, food pieces may end up left out in the open after a meal. While they may feel fairly harmless, crumbs like this can lead ants directly into your kitchen, your home, and your food. By sticking to a consistent cleaning schedule, you can eliminate crumbs before ants have a chance to discover them. 

Something as simple as wiping down your counters and table after eating can work wonders in preventing ants. However, we also recommend doing a deep clean of your kitchen for proper ant control. Especially be on the lookout for sugary crumbs that are more likely to attract ants over other pieces of food. 

3. Check for Leaks 

Like most creatures, ants require a water source for survival, so a leaky faucet can attract ants into your kitchen. Furthermore, a leak can cause mold or water damage to the wood in your cabinets or floors if you have wooden floors. While carpenter ants don’t eat wood like termites, they can cause significant damage and prefer wood that is moist, moldy, or rotting. 

Make sure you check your kitchen sink for any signs of leaks or the areas surrounding it for water damage. If you have pets and use a water fountain for them, you also want to make sure you regularly change the water out and replace its filter consistently. By cleaning and removing these water sources, you’ll find ants won’t stick around for long. 

4. Inspect Your Windows & Doors

If you’re noticing ants in your kitchen, they’re getting inside your home from somewhere. While you may feel like they’re just appearing from thin air, the truth is that these pests can slip in through nearly unnoticeable cracks or holes. Only a thorough, careful inspection will help you find where they’re coming in from. 

We recommend you check the following areas: 

• Your window sills and their seals
• The mesh on your window screen 
• Cracks along your wall or foundation both inside and outside 
• The glass or plastic on your windows
• The seals along your doors

If you’re actively seeing ants, it may be wise to follow their path and see where they’re entering or exiting from. A pest control technician will also be able to help you identify potential entry points and create a plan on how to seal them. 

5. Invest in Regular Ant Control 

Even if you’re doing everything right to prevent ants in your home, sometimes, they can still find a way inside. The best and most effective way to keep them out of your home and kitchen is by investing in a regular pest control plan. Not only does a regular pest control plan provide inspections and treatments for other pests, but it also creates a barrier to keep ants out all year round. 

During these treatments, you get the opportunity to bring up any concerns you may have, and your technician will be able to treat the problem and provide you with a plan for further prevention. There are several other advantages to a regular pest control plan—if you’re interested in seeing how these plans can benefit your home, head over to our blog on the topic here!

Anti-Pesto Keeps Ants in Tampa Bay from Interrupting Your Dinner

At Anti-Pesto, we know the importance of a family meal eaten in peace with friends and family. Having an uninvited guest at a dinner party is uncomfortable and often awkward, but it’s even worse if that guest is an invasive pest. Our team is here to keep your kitchen a pest-free environment. Take back your meals, and keep ants out of your kitchen with our professional ant control services!