Ants in the kitchen: Get rid of these unwanted dinner guests

Have you ever been preparing a meal and spotted ants on the kitchen counter? No one wants ants crawling around the place where food is cooked, and you certainly don’t want to see them on top of your food. So, how do you get rid of ants in the kitchen?

Although you can take steps to detract ants, if the infestation is bad, it is highly recommended you contact an ant control professional who understands how to eliminate these creatures.

A state-licensed Ehrlich ant expert can treat your property so the kitchen ants are completely removed. Call us at 888-984-0186 today or contact us online if you’ve seen ants in the kitchen.

Kitchen ants

Your first question might be: Why are ants in your kitchen in the first place? Well, they could have entered the property in search of food and water, if they were unable to locate food outdoors. Let’s be honest – the kitchen, with the spills that always occur, is probably a great place to get food.

If you notice ants in your kitchen, they’re most likely odorous house ants. These are small creatures (about 1/16 to ⅛ inches in length) and are brown to black in color. When odorous house ant nests are inside, they are prone to being close to moisture, such as near sinks (conversely, nests outdoors can be located beneath items such as firewood).

Actually, odorous house ant colonies typically contain around 2,000 to 10,000 ants and have multiple queens. The little ants favor sweets although they will feed on items like meat that have a good amount of protein.

Odorous house ants use trails left by other ants to find food, which can result in multiple ants in your kitchen. If odorous house ants are crushed, they give off a noticeable smell, and you will want to avoid that!

Risks of ants in the kitchen

It goes without saying that you need to get rid of ants in the kitchen as quickly as possible. Besides their nuisance, what exactly makes them bad? Actually, odorous house ants are capable of food contamination and that could be a problem in your home or especially in a commercial business where food is cooked and served to customers. This is why controlling ants in the kitchen is important – not to mention that ants walking on kitchen counters and around the sink is really, really irritating.

Getting rid of ants in the kitchen

Sometimes ant problems become so serious that you will need to contact an ant expert. Odorous house ants especially are difficult to do away with so hiring a professional will be the most reliable method of removing the infestation. But keep your chin up: Kitchen ants are no match for Ehrlich’s ant specialists!

Keep your kitchen clean

Here’s where the harder work comes in – always try your best to prevent ants from coming into your property. Keeping your kitchen – and the rest of your structure – clean will draw fewer ants to the premises. Additionally, cleaning will likely also help you prevent other pests, such as cockroaches. If ants have already crawled into the kitchen, you need to act right away and eliminate the food you’ve spilled or trash that’s laying around. Make sure you seal places where ants may be able to enter.

Remove ant trails

Ants leave formic acid trails for other ants to follow. The more ants that follow a trail—for example, if a food source has been found at the end of it—the larger it becomes, and then even more ants will follow it.

You can use basically any store-bought all-purpose cleaner to wipe away a formic acid trail. If you do, the ants will have nothing to follow, and they’ll have to start all over again. Although this won’t prevent them from getting into your home, you can head off a major ant infestation if you regularly clean the areas where they may have left trails.

Ant traps

Ant traps use a poisoned bait inside a small plastic container that only ants can get to. They need to be placed on a known ant trail, and once the ants have found the bait, they will carry it back to the colony and kill the queen.

One of the problems with ant traps is that they are not all effective for all types of ants. Since some ants are attracted to sweets and some are attracted to meat, having a trap for the wrong type of ant won’t do any good.

The other problem comes about if you have pets or kids. Ideally, ant traps should be placed out of sight like under cabinets and in drawers so that curious kids and nosy pets won’t get to them. But if ant traps are not placed on or near known ant trails, they may not work at all.

Ants on the kitchen counter?

Ehrlich pest specialists know how to rid your kitchen, and other areas of your premises, of these exasperating pests. After you contact Ehrlich, your dedicated pest specialist will conduct an inspection. Ehrlich will identify the source of the ants and any ant trails. After the inspection, we will give a recommendation for treatment and will base the treatment upon the species of ant so the issue is corrected.

If ants are in your kitchen or elsewhere in your home or business, reach out to Ehrlich for effective solutions today!