Pest control operators say in nearly every case, ants come from outside.

Tips To Keep Ants Outside:

• Stop them from coming in by keeping plants away from the outside of the house. Ants like to live in many of those plants, or may use that as a vehicle for getting into the house. Keep the area around the foundation clean and clear of leaves, etc.
• Spray the area outside the home with pesticide.

Tips For Inside Your Home:

• Sanitize. Keep areas clean of crumbs and food. A problem area may be the kitchen rubbish can, where ants sometimes feed. You might want to rinse out items (i.e. soda cans) before you put them in the trash can.
• Watch the ants. Follow their trail. Most ants like to forage at night, so you might want to search for them in the dark with a flashlight. Watch where they are going. It might lead you to an inside nest.
• Most ants will respond to bait traps and ant poison (i.e. Terro). The one ant that pest control operators say doesn't respond to bait or poison is the one giving Hawaii residents the most trouble: the white footed ant. With that one, its just try to eliminate the colony and keep them out of the house.

When do you call a pest control company?

When you can't handle the ants anymore, get on the phone.