How to Get Rid of Ants in the House and in the Kitchen Around a Dog's Water Bowl

Ants will often invade your home to find food and water.

Chances are you've encountered an ant invasion in your home at some point. There are more than 10,000 species of ants, with the small black ants, pharaoh ants and fire ants often inviting themselves in for a visit. If you have a yard, you've probably also seen ant hills pop up in the springtime when the weather warms. Ants are notorious for raiding homes, particularly kitchens, in search of food and water. They will often overrun a pet's water bowl, especially in times of little or no rain. Fortunately, there are several simple ways you can stop the little invaders from visiting again.

Things You'll Need

• Rake
• Silicone caulk
• Caulking gun
• Indoor bait traps (both sweet bait, and grease/protein based bait)
• Outdoor ant bait traps
• Spray insecticide

Instructions

1. Clean your kitchen. This seems particularly obvious, but if you have crumbs or larger food scraps lying around, you are practically inviting the ants to come. Some ants are also attracted to grease, so if you have grease spots on your stove, or a mug of congealed bacon grease on the window sill, get rid of them.

2. Place bait traps near the areas of frequent ant activity. Some ants are attracted to sweet bait, while some prefer grease or protein. It helps to place both kinds of bait traps in the kitchen just be sure you are targeting the ants with the right bait.

3. Move your dog's water bowl inside when not in use. A water source is particularly appealing to ants, especially in the middle of summer, when natural water sources may become completely dry. If your dog stays inside most of the time, don't leave an outside water bowl to tempt the ants. If your dog stays outside most of the time, try placing bait traps near the water bowl. Outdoor bait traps usually have a stake attached so you can drive them into the ground, which prevents your dog from chewing on it.

4. Look for holes and cracks around the outside walls of your home. Ants do not need much of an opening to get inside your home. Fill in any holes or cracks you find with some silicone caulk. If there is any debris around the base of your home, such as leaves, or branches, rake or remove all of it. Ants will often use leaves as cover for nests, and they will use branches as ladders to climb higher up the side of your house.

5. Place bait traps near ant hills near you house. The ant hills nearest to your house are usually going to be the ones from which the home invaders are coming. Stake a few bait traps around the ant hills. The ants will carry the bait back to the nests beneath the dirt hills, which will kill the entire colony.

6. Check all of the outdoor faucets for leaks. If you have a leaky faucet, this could attract ants. The ants will build their nest close to the faucet, since it provides a constant water source. Fix any leaking faucets.

7. Spray around the baseboards of your home with an ant pesticide. This will both kill and repel ants from the area.

References

• Pest Mall: How to Get Rid of Ants
• Do It Yourself Pest Control: Ant Control Products and How To Get Rid of Ants
• The Frugal Life: Getting Rid of Ants