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Common problems caused by ant infestation and how to prevent future infestation in your London property

Common Problems Caused By Ants

Black ants (Lasius Niger) are one of the most common species you are most likely to find in your London property. During the summer season, many people can notice convoys of ants crawling around in the kitchens or bathrooms. In most cases, the black ant infestation will not cause physical damage to your property but once ants get into your home, there is a little chance that they will leave on their own. Either you have to learn how to get rid of ants in your property or let the professional pest controllers take care of the ant infestation. 

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Why Ants Have Invaded Your Home

Ants can enter your home for many reasons, but most commonly, they are searching for food. Your London home just happens to be close to where their queen decided to set up her new ant colony. Just like every living creature, ants also have to eat to survive. They also have to feed their young.
Your home might represent a possible food and water source for the ants. It can also provide protection from predators and the elements, and also as a potential site for new colonies when they are ready to expand. Obviously, you want to prevent this invasion and colonization from happening.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are more than fifty species of ants found in the United Kingdom. 

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DIY Ant Control - Mission Possible Or Impossible?

Unfortunately, ant control is not a simple fix. Some ant infestations have nothing to do with how clean or dirty your London home is. An ant infestation can create issues for many homeowners in the late spring and early summer. Large swarms of winged ants set out to start new colonies, sometimes right in the gaps of your walls.
Wiping down the area where ants are travelling with a  disinfectant wipe will erase the scented trails they usually leave behind. Ants that have never been in your home can follow this trail directly to the food sources previous visitors have found.

Before you start treating the infestation the first and most important thing is to know what type of ants you are dealing with.
If you know the species you will know where to find the ant nest, what sources of food are attracting the pests, and which management methods will be the most effective against the infestation.
Black ants for example generally reside in their colony outdoors. Common black ants enter structures in order to scavenge for food such as sugar, starches, and even meat. Low black ant infestation is best treated by following the ant's trail back to the colony and treating the problem at the source. The next step against the ant infestation needs to be sealing off all entry points so any remaining or future ants won't be able to get into your house.
On the other hand, pharaoh ants infestation requires a more dedicated approach if you want to get rid of them. Pharaoh ants could easily enter any building, from commercial properties to hospitals, to your local shop and home. Getting rid of Pharaoh ants is an extremely frustrating and time-consuming task for many homeowners. However, as they make pheromone trails, which are invisible to the human eye, you might be able to see a line of them trundling back and forth from a food source to the nest. Make a note of where these annoying pests are heading to and from. In fact, as colonies can easily split you may find you have more than one nest. A more thorough inspection will have to be conducted by a pest management professional before they help you draw up the most effective pest control plan for battling pharaoh ants in your London home.

Prevention - The Best Way To Get Rid Of Ant Infestation

Preventing ant infestation is the best way to get rid of these tiny and frustrating insects. Having an ongoing service plan with a professional pest control company is the key to managing pest problems in your home. Your pest control technician will work with your specific pest issue and will create the best approach for getting rid of ants and keeping them out of your house in the future.
For your part, it's important to practice a high level of cleaning techniques if you want to keep ants away from your home. Most ant species are infesting your home looking for food, so the harder you make it for ants, the less time they are going to spend looking for food and water sources which means if they aren't finding what they're looking for, they will look somewhere else. We know achieving a spotless home can be a very difficult task sometimes. What looks like a clean kitchen at first might include a few granules of sugar on the table or floor or a couple of crumbs that fell behind the toaster, upon closer inspection. To avoid this, don't just wipe down surfaces you have to also hoover every day, paying close attention to skirting boards, behind furniture, and kitchen appliances. It's recommended to use the garbage disposal rather than leaving food sitting around in the waste bin.
As well as wiping down surfaces and hoovering the floors, proper food storage is also very important prevention against ant infestation. We all know ants can easily climb inside an open box of any food, even if the box is rolled inside the bag tightly. 
Using plastic containers is the best way to save your food from ant infestation. The lids should be locked tightly. Wash the outside and inside of waste bins and other containers regularly. Ants can also feed on the "invisible" residue you leave behind, such as the outside of a sticky food or spill you thought you had cleaned up. It goes without saying that you should keep as much food as possible stored in places that are harder for ants to reach.

If your London home or business has an ant infestation, you should contact a pest control expert as soon as possible to avoid a larger infestation in the future. Archers Pest Control experts will be able to provide you with professional advice on how to prevent and get rid of ants quickly and effectively.
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