Enjoying Picnics Without Carpenter Ants: Tips to Keep Food Areas Ant-Free

 

Enjoying Picnics Without Carpenter Ants: Tips to Keep Food Areas Ant-Free

As spring morphs into summer, barbeque season is here. Millions of Canadians will take advantage of the nice weather and enjoy picnics outside with family members and friends, but ants are an unfortunate nuisance you must deal with whenever you want to eat outside. The good news is Truly Nolen offers effective carpenter ant treatment in Milton to ensure you won’t have to deal with the stress of an infestation. 

 If you want to enjoy summer picnics, cookouts and barbecues without worrying about ants, here’s what you need to know.

Why Ants Are Attracted To Picnics and Barbecues

Ants are always searching for food to bring back to the colony. Each ant within the colony has a specific job to do, and most of them are worker ants that are in charge of building nests and finding food. They have a varied diet and eat anything, including herbs, fruits, other insects and human food they find unintended.

Picnics are barbecues are perfect buffets for ants. People often leave food unattended while they enjoy outdoor activities, and many picnics take place on the ground so ants don’t have to expend much effort to reach the food.

Although they will eat any type of human food, ants are most attracted to sweet and sugary foods. These foods are often served at picnics and barbecues, so it’s no surprise that ants are attracted to large buffets of their favourite foods. Once they find a convenient food source, they call other members of the colony to help carry sustenance back to the nest. They will keep returning to the picnic until the food is no longer available.

What You Can Do To Keep Ants Away

Having a pest control professional treat your property with chemicals is a good way to deter ants, but there is no guarantee that the pests will not crash your meal. There are, however, a few things you can do to keep them away.

Keep your food inaccessible to ants by keeping each item tightly secured until you are ready to eat it. Keep fruit in airtight containers, store chips and crackers in Ziploc bags and wrap sandwiches in aluminum foil. If ants can’t smell the food, they won’t be attracted to the area, and even if they show up at the picnic, they will likely leave quickly if they can’t access food.

You should also clean up immediately when you are done eating. Many people leave food out and return to snack in between other activities, but this practice is almost guaranteed to attract ants. Dispose of any uneaten food and shake out your blanket or tablecloth. Wrap up extra food tightly and secure it in a picnic basket or place it back in your vehicle. By minimizing the amount of time food sits out, you give ants less time to overrun your picnic.

Let a Professional Help With Ant Control

Carpenter ant treatment in Milton is a little tricky because there are often several satellite nests in addition to the original colony. If you don’t get rid of all of the nests on your property, you will still have run-ins with ants during every picnic or barbecue. Working with a professional pest control team such as the one at Truly Nolen is a great way to keep colonies of ants off your property. We have extensive knowledge about carpenter ants that allows us to identify their nests and treat the whole colony to eliminate it so you don’t have to worry about the pests crashing your next picnic.

Call Today To Make an Appointment

Ants on your property can wreak havoc on your picnic plans, and when you need to know how to get rid of carpenter ants, the team at Truly Nolen Canada is ready to help. Call us today to make an appointment for carpenter ant control near me.