How To Get Rid Of Odorous House Ants In Your West Chester Home

What Are Odorous House Ants?

At first glance, odorous house ants are similar to other common home-infesting species of ants. They are small in size, measuring between 1/16 to 1/8 inch in length and are dark brown or black in color. But what makes odorous house ants particularly difficult to deal with is their trademark smell. When crushed, odorous house ants emit a strange scent that is often described as rotten coconut. 

Odorous house ants live both indoors and outdoors and feed on a wide variety of materials, though they are especially fond of sweets. These ants live in large colonies with thousands of members and can have several queens laying eggs or just one. 

How Dangerous Are Odorous House Ants?

There are plenty of harmful pests that can infest your home from wasps to spiders to fire ants. But while odorous house ants may put up a stink when you try to get rid of them, they aren’t an imminent threat to your safety and are mostly just a nuisance pest. However, they are known to contaminate food and surfaces around the home and should be taken seriously. 

Odorous house ants can transmit harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. coli that they pick up as they traverse nasty waste and garbage in the course of their scavenging. And like all ants, these bugs can cause distress, irritation, and outright anger when they swarm your cupboards in search of sugary snacks. 

Odorous House Ant Prevention Tips

When it comes to ants, prevention is the name of the game. Just cleaning up a little bit every day can drastically reduce the chances of an odorous house ant infestation developing in your home. And while you might not be able to completely stop ants from getting indoors, you can prevent them from finding the food they’re after. Here’s what you can do:

• Practice good sanitation: Clean up messes from food and drinks as they happen and be sure to wipe down tables and counters after preparing meals. Mop, vacuum, and sweep floors often to eliminate food debris.

• Dispose of trash properly: Always put trash in a trash bag and dispose of trash in a receptacle with a tight-sealing lid. Don’t let waste pile up indoors. If possible, dispose of trash outdoors in bins placed at least 20 feet away from the home.

• Use better storage: Make sure that ants and other pests can’t get into your pantry items. Store the perishable foods on your shelf in durable containers with locking or tight-sealing lids. Heavy plastic is great, but glass or metal will offer the best protection against the most pests.

• Seal cracks and gaps: Inspect the exterior of your property for any cracks in the foundation, around doors and windows, or around pipes and cables. Seal openings with silicone caulk as needed. Consider replacing old or damaged weather stripping.

If it’s too late for prevention and odorous house ants have infested your West Chester home, there’s no need to worry. You can get rid of your ant problem once and for all with help of professional pest control from the pros at Masters Touch Pest Solutions. Our award-winning team will provide you with the best service possible, eliminating your ants at the source with the safest and most effective treatment techniques. Get in touch with us today to schedule your free estimate.