Nothing can ruin your day faster than seeing a line of sugar ants in the kitchen of your New York home. Sugar ants aren’t dangerous like carpenter ants or fire ants, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be rolling out the welcome mat. These ants can still ugly up your countertops, contaminate your food stores, and make you miserable. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to keep them from getting into your house.
Does Having Sugar Ants In My Home Mean It’s Dirty?
Sugar ants aren’t necessarily a single species of ant. Instead, “sugar ant” is a common name used for multiple species of ant that are all attracted to sugar. There is a specific species of sugar ant known as the banded sugar ant, but this particular variety is only found in Australia. American species that might be referred to as sugar ants include pharaoh ants, odorous house ants, and acrobat ants.
Having these ants in your home doesn’t mean it’s dirty. Sugar ants in New York can sniff out sweets from far away. So something as innocent as leaving a pie cooling in the kitchen window or having a cookie jar that’s not completely sealed can attract them. Keeping your home clean can certainly help you avoid attracting ants, but it doesn’t make you immune to an infestation.
Will Sugar Ants Go Away On Their Own?
Once you have an infestation, you cannot get rid of sugar ants by just leaving them alone. Several species Americans commonly call sugar ants have strong defenses against colony eradication. For instance, pharaoh ants are a polygynous species that can have dozens to hundreds of queens per colony. If you kill a few queens – no big deal. They’ll just move the other ones to a safer location.
That’s why things like ant granules and sprays don’t work for sugar ants. You’ll need to up your game to get rid of them. The good news is at BHB Pest Elimination, we have the knowledge and the tools to eliminate a sugar ant infestation in its entirety, no matter which species you have.
How To Prevent Ant Reinfestation In Your Home
Effective ant control starts with effective ant prevention. Fortunately, keeping sugar ants away is a lot easier than trying to get rid of them after the fact.
So if you don’t already have an ant problem, you can take the following preventative measures:
- Seal cracks and holes in your home’s exterior to make it harder for ants to enter.
- Ensure window screens are free of rips and tears.
- Install weather stripping in gaps in door and windowsills.
- Keep indoor and outdoor garbage sealed at all times.
- Store all pantry foods in airtight containers to mask smells.
- Don’t leave things like fruit bowls, cake plates, etc. sitting out uncovered.
Also, consider pet foods and bowls. Sugar ants aren’t attracted to proteins as much as they are sugar, but in a pinch, they will eat protein. That means pet food and dirty pet bowls can also attract these ants.
How Can I Get Rid Of Sugar Ants Permanently?
Getting rid of an existing sugar ant infestation requires serious ant control solutions that are out of most homeowners’ wheelhouses. The good news is the best pest control in New York is just a click or call away. Here at BHB Pest Elimination, we can help you get rid of any ant species infesting your house. If you’ve got an ant problem, we’ve got the ant solution here at BHB Pest Elimination!