Ant Control and Removal Near Spokane and Post Falls
The sight of a few ants scuttling around the house should raise concerns. Ants are not solitary insects, so there are hundreds or even thousands of others nearby.
Don’t let their small stature fool you. Ants are formidable pests. They damage your home’s structure, contaminate your food, attract other pests, and can even deliver painful bites.
It’s difficult to get rid of ants in the house. First, you need to know the type you’re dealing with to determine the most effective pest control method. Second, you need to find the colonies, destroy them, and exterminate all the workers, scouts, and egg-laying queens.
Kinds of Ants in the Spokane Area
Pavement Ants
This is the most common type of ant in the U.S. You will also find them in Washington and Idaho. They get their name because they build nests under cracks in the concrete inside or outside your home. They will also nest in walls, insulation, and under flooring. They eat almost anything and contaminate your food.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants in Spokane do not eat wood, they just live in it. But their enormous jaws chew through and destroy the structures of homes and buildings as they build and expand a nest for the colony. The largest ant species in the Pacific Northwest, a bite from a Carpenter ant hurts. They also spray formic acid as a defense mechanism that can irritate your skin and eyes. To get rid of them, you need to locate the nest and kill the egg-laying queen along with the workers and scouts.
Harvester Ants
You’ll find the Harvester outside nesting in bare patches of ground on your property. Walk around the nest, not through it. They defend their home aggressively with painful bites and stings. Females swarm to mate during the summer season. They eat seeds and other insects.
Velvet Ants
These are actually dangerous wasps in disguise. The females do not have wings. You’ll see them walking across pavement, patios, sidewalks, and driveways. Keep your distance as her sting is extremely painful.
Other species you may encounter include Formica, Mound, and Odorous House ants.
How to Get Rid of Ants
You might think a retail product like ant spray will solve your problem. But these DIY methods only kill the scouts foraging for food. Instead of wasting your money, just squash them or vacuum them up.
Your Croach pest control technician is a pro at Spokane ant identification. Next, we determine what is attracting them to your property or how they’re getting indoors. Then we begin ongoing ant removal to resolve the issue.
You can help prevent infestations by:
- Clean up spills, keep countertops and floors clean, and store food in air-tight containers.
- Wipe down the leaves of house plants and consider placing aphid-killing plant spikes in the soil. Aphids are tiny insects that excrete a honeydew substance on house plants that ants love.
- Eliminate moisture. For instance, fix leaks, keep your basement dry, and repair water-damaged areas (including your deck).
A basic problem with ants is prolific breeding. The queen mates once and then stores the male’s sperm to fertilize eggs as she produces them. Some nests have multiple queens that ultimately leave to start new colonies nearby.
Spokane has four distinct weather seasons that also affect pest activity. For example, an average of 17 inches of rain and 45 inches of snow each year drives pests indoors for a dry, warm habitat. Dry periods of drought push them inside for the water they need to survive.
Trusted Ant Control in Spokane-Post Falls
Trust Croach to get rid of ants in the Spokane-Post Falls region in every season with a tailored approach to fit your ant control needs.
For more information on how we can help you with ant removal, and other Spokane pests like bed bugs, cockroaches, spiders, rats and mice, and wasps, contact us today.
