As a homeowner, you must always be cautious about pest infestation. However, at times it becomes difficult for a regular homeowner to detect the problem. There are specific signs you should look for to understand whether your house is under pest attack.
Pests like mice leave obvious signs, which are not difficult to spot. However, identifying an ant issue is not easy. That’s because there are certain signs that you can easily miss. The section below talks about common signs of ant infestations. You should hire ant control professionals to inspect your home further and take the necessary steps if you spot one or more of these signs.
You Come Across Ants
This is the most obvious sign of ant infestation. Still, we often tend to ignore it thinking that it is natural to have a few of these creatures in and around our home.
To understand the intensity of the problem, you’ll need to be a bit watchful. Keep a close eye on the movement of the ants. If they form a trail, enter your home, or crawl up the walls, there are reasons to be worried.
Ants typically leave pheromone trails, which other ants follow. They do so to reach the food in your house. If you see that the ants have formed a line either away from or towards your doorstep, they are doing so with a purpose. In such cases, hire a professional right away to get rid of the mess.
Wooden Beams Are Making Hollow Sounds
If you suspect that your home has ants, inspect the wooden structures in your house. Knock the floorboards, wooden beams, and wooden cladding in the home. If this makes a hollow sound, you shouldn’t wait much before calling a pest control professional.
The above-mentioned problem occurs primarily when your home is under the attack of carpenter ants. These ants, as their name suggests, burrow into wooden structures and destroy them from within. When healthy, wooden structures make solid, dense noise upon knocking. So, when they make hollow sounds instead, it clearly shows that there are serious pest problems inside.
Sawdust Trails
Another sign of a carpenter ant attack in your home is a sawdust trail. If you find small sawdust trails at different corners of your homes (both outside and inside), it has resulted from an ant infestation.
Check areas around the window ledges, wooden beams, wood flooring, and skirting boards for sawdust piles. If you find one or more of these piles, contact a pest control company as soon as possible.
Discarded Wings
Spotting this sign would mean that your home has flying ants. This ant type attacks homes mostly during the summer months. That’s the time when the young queens come out of their nest to set up a new colony of their own.
Inspect the floor and areas around the doors and windows for discarded wings. If you find any, take immediate steps to get rid of the issue.
Final Words
Even if you don’t spot any of the above signs, it would be wise to hire a pest control professional once every year. This will help you to keep your home clean and hygienic.
