Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Riverside, CA has seen all kinds of pests become problems for people. One of the most common pests to worry about in North America is the ant. If not taken care of, they can overrun the whole house. Here are some tips for eliminating ants in the garage.
Follow the Trail
One of the most important steps to take to get rid of ants is to find out where they’re coming in. This will help you to prevent their re-entry, as well as locating the nest. When you see ants, follow them down their trail until you can find where exactly they’re getting in the house.
Clean Everything
Once you’ve found their trail, you’ll want to clean up everything that could be attracting them. Wipe up any food particles like dog food and crumbs from your kid’s snacks. Eliminate all water sources by checking your hot water heater or any other potentially leaky pipes.
This kind of cleaning not only takes away their food and water sources, you can also use it to disrupt their path. Ants leave a chemical trail that they use to find their way back to food. Using a good household cleaner will wipe away that trail.
Baits
You can also booby trap their trail by leaving bait traps to kill the colony. Place them along baseboards where you saw the ants. They’ll take the poison in the trap back to their colony and hopefully spread it throughout.
Go one step further as well by using outdoor bait like granules or sprays. If you can find the actual nest they’re coming from, take it out as well. Use a bait at the entrance to the colony’s nest so they’ll be sure to take it back home.
Seal Up Entry Points
Once you’ve gotten rid of the ants, it’s important to do everything you can to prevent them from returning. You have two weapons in this fight: caulk and weather seals. Make sure that the weather seal at the bottom of your garage door is not dry-rotted and is seated properly to create a proper seal.
Make sure to lock down your windows, baseboards, and any other entrances you find. Use a commercial grade caulk to seal up any cracks between the walls and foundation, both inside and out. Check the window sills in your garage and throughout the home for gaps and fill them in as needed.
Let Us Help
Eliminating ants in the garage is not a fun chore, but it can be tackled fairly easy with these tips. If you’ve discovered that your garage door weather seal is not as tight as it should be, give Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Riverside, California a call. We can take your call any time, 24 hours a day and set up an appointment that is convenient for you. Don’t delay when it’s time for garage door service, give us a call right away.
