Here in Conroe, we’ve got a ton of two things ants love: warmth and moisture. Our lakes and rainy East Texas weather provide the moisture, and our hot summers provide the warmth. That allows ants to thrive. While that’s fine and dandy if the ants are out in the woods somewhere, when they start setting up shop in your home, it becomes a problem. We’ve got several nuisance ant varieties here in Conroe, as well as a couple of dangerous ones, and none of them is a welcome sight in your home. Below, we’ll talk about some ways to keep them out.
Common Area Ants
While there are tons of nuisance ants in our area, there are three that can pose risks to your health and your property.
- Pharaoh Ants: Pharaoh ants get their name from the misconception that they were one of the ten plagues of Egypt. These ants are believed to have originated on the African continent, but they’ve used human trading networks to spread themselves around the world. Pharaoh ants pose a danger to your health because they spread several different strains of nasty bacteria including strep, salmonella, and staph.
- Fire Ants: Fire ants are also non-native species that invade the Texas ecosystem. These ants hail from South America, and they pose a problem to our local ecosystem because they outcompete native ant species and drive them away. The other big problem they pose is their sting. Not only do fire ants pack a nasty punch, but they also swarm, aggressively defending their nests against all perceived threats. That means you won’t just get stung once – you might get stung hundreds of times.
- Carpenter Ants: Unlike the other two ants on this list, carpenter ants don’t pose a danger to your health but your property. They dig through the wood to build their colonies, carving out dozens of yards of tunnels and chambers. This weakens the structural integrity of the wood in which the ants' nest – sometimes to the point of collapse. If left undisturbed, carpenter ants can give even termites a run for their money in terms of the amount of damage they do.
Ant Prevention Tips
Ants are tiny, so keeping them out of your house can be tough. No matter how much time you spend sealing cracks and holes in your home’s exterior, it seems like ants can always find a way in. That means the best way to keep ants at bay is to reduce attractants. Take measures like:
- Tightly cover all indoor and outdoor trash.
- Keep all pantry foods in airtight containers.
- Don’t leave pet foods or pet bowls out.
- Avoid leaving things like cookie plates or fruit bowls sitting on the kitchen counter.
- Reduce moisture from leaky plumbing or clogged gutters.
- Get rid of wood debris around your property, especially rotting logs or other carpenter ant attractants.
- Seal off potential ant entry points – even if you can’t eliminate every access point to your home, you don’t have to make it easy for them.
If even your most forceful attempts don’t keep the ants off your property, help is just a click or call away. Here at Chase Pest & Termite Control, we’ve been chasing away pests in Conroe for more than 20 years! We utilize thorough home and commercial property inspections to determine problem areas and develop a customized treatment plan to fit your needs, whether you’ve got fire ants in your shrubbery or carpenter ants in your walls! So visit our contact page or call us at (936) 243-4307 to schedule your free inspection today.