If you find even one ant in your home, there is likely to be more lurking nearby. If you live in an apartment building, the following steps should help you solve any ant problems you might encounter.
Contents
What are Your Options?
There are many ways to get rid of ants in your apartment, most of which can be done without the use of harmful chemicals. These methods range from deep cleaning the house to using natural ingredients like citrus or cinnamon or less traditional solutions like coffee grounds. You could also try all three ways and see which one works best for you.
Cleaning
Ants are attracted to crumbs of food, so try to avoid eating messily. You have to do deep cleaning from time to time. Cleaning is never an easy task, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Be sure to do regular deep cleaning, like vacuuming or mopping, and the ants will go away.
How-To :
- Get rid of all garbage in the house
- Sweep and mop the floor
- clear corners, lift the furniture and carpet
- empty the trashcans.
Vinegar
This is a usage of harmless chemicals that you can take from the kitchen.
How-To :
- mix water and vinegar
- put the mixture into a spray bottle
- Spray over areas
Lemon Juice
This is an all-natural ingredient that is environmentally friendly.
How-To :
- Pick a few lemons
- squeeze lemons into a bottle.
- Spray the lemon juice into holes and cracks
- Fill the openings with caulk
- Seals these openings
- Suffocating the ants.
Temporary Measures
You can make lines to prevent ant’s lines from ant’s chalk or cinnamon oil. This is a temporary solution. Use other methods to get rid of ants permanently.
How-To :
- Dip q-tip in cinnamon oil
- Make a line around the are that you see ants
- Utilizing chalk is even easier. You make the line right away.
FAQs
1. What do you do when you see ants in the apartment?
First of all, don’t panic. Ants are attracted to sweetness and moisture from spills or dirty dishes. So it might be a good idea to clean up the spill as soon as possible. If that’s not possible, remove any food sources from the apartment and close any rooms where ants can be found.
If the ants are coming from outside, it’s essential to contact the maintenance in the apartment and seal up any gaps around windows and doors.
2. What is the best way to get rid of ants in an apartment?
The best way to get rid of ants in an apartment is to make some rules. You can’t store any food in the apartment or leave any dirty dishes. Make sure you clean all the crumbs and other food scraps immediately.
3. I live on the fifth floor. How is it possible I have ants in my apartment?
It is not uncommon to see ants at home, but why do we have ants in our apartment if we live on the fifth floor? There are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that there may be a place where tenants can find food or drink spills. This could attract them and other insects that feed on sugary substances, such as flies and cockroaches. Nevertheless, it can often be due to a gap in the wall or other sources of leaks from below, so it is necessary to take a holistic approach to deal with this problem.
4. How do I get rid of Ants Permanently?
There are many ways on how to get rid of ants permanently. For example, some individuals pour boiling water on the ants’ nests. However, this method is quite dangerous because it can severely harm children or pets who contact the boiling water. Another way is to use some products which are designed to kill the ants. These products contain ingredients that will slowly kill the ants, and they’re safe for human use.
- You must clean up all food crumbs before using any of these methods to prevent attracting more ants into your home.
- If your powder ant problem continues even after removing all sources of food and water, then you might need a professional exterminator to take care of this issue for you.
Trace them down to their nest. It is the way to get rid of ants permanently.
5. Do All natural-based remedies work?
Natural remedies are often created by mixing different herbs, spices, and other ingredients to create a concoction. Natural remedies are often used for minor medical conditions.
All natural-based remedies work if the number of ants in your home is not many. If you have many ant nests, you need to call on pest control.
6. How do you kill fire ants?
Fire ants are a common pest in the Southern US. If you use environmentally friendly, natural solutions like lemon and vinegar, you can get rid of them, but they won’t kill the fire ants. To kill them, you need to mix up some fire ant spray and pour it on their mound or use a pellet.
The spray is especially effective in areas where the ground is moist or damp. If you have pets, keep them away from the mound when pouring it on, so they don’t get hurt.
Tips on How to Get Rid of Ants in the Apartment
Harmful ants can be a real problem when they find their way into your home. Apart from causing an annoying disturbance, they also present a risk to your family’s health. To keep them away, you need to take some preventive measures and know what to do when ants have found their way into your home.
Some of the things that you should do to avoid harmful ants from coming near your home are:
Keep Clean
You don’t need to deal with all the ants’ problems if you take more care to clean up. Make sure you keep the kitchen clean so that ants are less likely to hang around leftover food and something sweet, like sugar.
Don’t leave your windows open.
People in the apartment wonder how ants can make it past the floor below, up to a high floor. Some ants fly, so don’t forget to close your windows.
Natural Choices
All-natural substances like lemon or vinegar can be an effective deterrent for ants. Place lemon juice around windows and doors, paying particular attention to anywhere there are cracks or crevices. You can also spray vinegar on the entire kitchen counter and sink area to repel ants from coming in contact with food.
Essential oils
Aromatherapy scents have been known to soothe people, and in some cases, can distract pests such as ants, who will often avoid areas that contain certain aromas. It is an excellent alternative to chemical solutions and can be used in a variety of ways.
Contact Your Apartment’s Landlord
A modern apartment building is a large multi-story building with many rooms designed to accommodate the needs of multiple families. With this in mind, it is essential to contact the management team at an apartment community early on when dealing with ants, as they will be able to send a professional pest control company to your home who will be able to clean your entire apartment.
Professional Pest Control
You can have professional preventative pest control help to eliminate unwanted ants. Try to get the apartment owner to do the same for the entire building.
Dealing with ants in the apartment combines good cleaning habits, natural ingredients, and occasionally using chemicals when necessary. Communication is also needed to get help from the Apartment owner and the other people living in the apartment.
Sources: 1,2,3,4
