Who is to blame if there are ants and other pests in your premises? It's often mistakenly thought that it's all the fault of the housekeeping staff who don't do their job well. Here's an article that will detail the reasons why we may have an ant problem in our homes and premises as well as the appropriate solutions. PLEASE NOTE: I am not an insect specialist, but rather a housekeeping specialist, so hiring a specialist, such as an exterminator, could better equip you with insect protection. My role is to inform you about housekeeping.
What are ants and other critters doing in our house?!
Ants and other critters are constantly looking for food, and so are our homes and buildings! They live in sandy areas outside, near building foundations. They can be found especially near food. This could be in the dry food cupboard, fruit basket on the counter, in damp areas, on the edge of baseboards, etc.
Carpenter ants
Carpenter ants, for example, will find shelter in wood such as the frame, in the attic, in wall cavities, etc. They are slightly larger than the others and have wings. They must be taken care of since they feed on the wood of the house frame. Be careful with sawdust, damp wood. Here is a well-defined article about Carpenter ants written by Orkin Canada.
Regular ants
Regular ants are looking for food. Therefore, the actions of everyone in the house will be required to eliminate this problem! Food should not be left in bedrooms, for example.
Bedbugs
Unfortunately, these creatures feed on blood. Their food can be found in your bedding, mattress and box spring, furniture, clothing, cracks, electrical outlets, baseboards, and even light switches. Bedbugs bite humans at any time of day and can quickly become a nightmare for the person who suffers such an attack! How to recognize bedbugsHere is an article about it with supporting photos!
Fruit flies and flour beetles
These little critters love fruit that you leave on the counter or even nest in the flour container. As long as the food remains accessible, they will happily multiply! So it's best to take care of them very quickly. The fruit fly is very, very small and flies quickly. It will stay near the fruit. Here's an article about it. Orkin CanadaThe flour beetle is harder to spot. In fact, you'll recognize it by the trail it leaves in the flour!
The Ladybug and the Field Fly
My house is located near a potato field, so every early October, we are invaded by ladybugs. There is only one solution: vacuum them up daily until the problem is resolved. This can last a few weeks since the baby of a ladybug or field fly is very small, and we rarely see them at this stage. They multiply quickly.
And many other critters can take up residence in your spaces. It's therefore important to identify the insect to know what to do. Of course, an exterminator could better help you with this identification.
Eliminate the source of the problem
It's important to understand that if you don't completely eliminate the source of the problem, it could escalate to the point where you need to call an exterminator. You need to look for the source of the problem by looking at where most of these pests are coming from, so you'll need to do a thorough inspection of the spaces.
So here are some basic tips for prevention:
Insects attracted to food
It will take the cooperation of all building occupants to overcome this problem.
- Leave fruit and other foods uncovered on counters. During an infestation, it's best to keep them in the refrigerator or place them in a sealed container.
- Make sure there are no food residues such as bread crumbs, potatoes, or rotten fruit. Check all your food bags such as potato or apple bags. Empty the bread crumbs from the toaster by shaking it over the trash.
- Make sure the cereal bags in the cupboard are tightly closed
- When eating, clean up leftover food immediately after eating. Do the dishes immediately after eating (not at the end of the day or the next morning!)
- If you see insects in the flour, you will unfortunately have to throw away the remaining flour.
- If you collect empty liquor cans, they should be rinsed thoroughly before recycling, as their sugars are a very tasty food for ants!
- Clean out the pantry cabinet to make sure everything is tightly closed and there is no food left uncovered.
- Take out your garbage and compost bags promptly from your home. Every day, if possible, would be even better.
- After removing the garbage bag, before putting in another one, make sure to clean the trash can properly. This can be done with a garden hose. Use a light degreaser to clean effectively and scrub the walls (dish soap can do the trick with a clean cloth). Rinse thoroughly and wipe dry (you can also let it dry outside for 15 minutes).
- Sweep or vacuum your floor daily during the infestation period.
- Clean the drains (sink drain, toilet, kitchen drain, water trough drain) using a product with enzymes and bacteria. You can quickly eliminate the problem if it comes from the drains. Be careful to follow the dosage instructions on the product container.
PLEASE NOTE: Since we are not specialists in extermination, we will leave the extermination recipes to the exterminator websites.
Critters attracted to blood
At this level, specialized cleaning, such as steam cleaning will be necessary. It's a relatively simple piece of equipment to use, however, it requires equipment that operates at a high level to be truly effective. As long as there are still bedbugs, you will need to do the steam treatment. You must make sure to treat all surfaces of the mattress, for example, even in the seams.
A product that is also available in cleaning product stores is also available on this subject, it is the BugTek. This product is also used to eliminate spiders, ants, bedbugs, ladybugs, etc. But it will sometimes be necessary to call the help of an exterminator in certain cases.
