
Hundreds of billions of Argentine ants have invaded California over the years. They will enter your home by the thousands to escape floods that drown out their nests during winter storms (something that’s happened a lot in California during the past winter) and during a drought in search of food sources and water. Argentine ants have been known to crawl into bed with people and bite them during the night. If your home gets invaded, there are some things you can do to deter them and some things you’ll need a San Jose exterminator to do. Here is how you can fight an Argentine ant invasion in your home.
How to Identify Argentine Ants
Argentine ants are smaller than native ants. They grow to be about an eighth of an inch long when fully mature and are dark brown in color. The chest area is uneven and there is often a small lump just before the hind portion of the ant. The ants will usually give off a noticeable musty smell.
What You Can Do
Argentine ants are usually initially attracted to your home by the plants and vegetation around the outside of your house – especially during dry spells. Plants and vegetation are sources of moisture and the ants come to drink the water. They are also highly attracted to citrus plants. You need to regularly trim tree branches and vegetation away from the sides of your house to keep them away.
You also need to seal any cracks, even the smallest ones, around the foundation and side of the house so they can’t find an entry point into your home.
What an Exterminator Will Do
Once you have cleared the vegetation away from your home and sealed up the cracks, it will be time to call a San Jose exterminator to come in and eliminate the Argentine ants that have taken up residence in your home. Many over-the-counter pesticides and home-based remedies like boric acid are not very effective against an Argentine ant infestation and you’ll need products that only a licensed exterminator will be able to obtain.
A professional exterminator who is trained and experienced in dealing with this type of infestation will know how to find where the ants are nesting in your home and how to safely place the pesticides so they don’t affect you, your family, and pets. Something most homeowners are not experienced at doing by themselves.
An Argentine ant infestation is likely in many homes simply because of the massive size of the colonies in California. You can do some preventive measures to try to prevent an invasion into your home, but if they do get into your house, you need to call a San Jose exterminator to make sure you get rid of them.