Fire Ant Control in the Carolinas - Helpful Tips for Homeowners

Nelon-Cole wants your home and yard to be safe from pests. Here in the Carolinas, fire ants are a common problem, often making it painful or even dangerous for activities in the backyard of your own home. If you are looking for a dedicated solution to potential fire ant problems, we at Nelon-Cole are able to help with a variety of lawn treatment solutions with proven results. Sometimes, however, you might like to try some ‘homebrew’ solutions with supplies that you may have on hand.

Here are a few tips and tricks that you can try.

•Dish soap/liquid and water: Make a solution of one part of dish soap and two parts of water. Shake the solution well. You can spray this solution on the ants to suffocate them and thus killing them. Another way is to use shallow dishes of soapy water to kill ants. Keep some sweets in the dish to attract the ants toward them.

•White vinegar and water: Mix a 50-50 solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray the solution on the ants. Vinegar does not smell after it dries up. Hence, you can use the solution to clean the floors, tiles, and windows of your house. This will deter the ants from coming into your house.

•Lemon juice and water: Mix a solution of one part of lemon juice to three parts of water. You can use it in the same way as the vinegar solution.

•Diatomaceous earth: Food-grade diatomaceous earth is composed of fossilized diatoms that have been ground to a powder. Sprinkle its powder wherever you find a trail of ants. When insects walk over the powder, the powder will scratch the waxy outer coating on their exoskeletons. This causes their bodies to dry out.

•Boric acid: Boric acid is a naturally occurring substance. When ants ingest boric acid, it poisons their stomachs, and they die. It comes in the form of a white or blue powder that you can sprinkle in the areas where ants are commonly found. You can also make boric acid sugar traps. Mix boric acid with corn syrup or sugar syrup and pour the mixture over cardboard pieces.

you may be surprised at the effectiveness of home solutions to fire ant problems in the Carolinas

How to keep fire ants away from your home?

Sprinkling a few substances in a line along the trails of ants can keep the fire ants away. These substances include:

• Cayenne pepper

• Cinnamon

• Ground orange

• Lemon peels

• Coffee grounds

Spraying essential oils may also help to keep the fire ants away. These oils are fragrant to humans, but ants hate them. Make a spray that contains 10 drops of essential oil mixed with a cup of water. Spray this solution both indoors and outdoors. Here are the oils you can try:

• Peppermint oil

• Lemon oil

• Lavender oil

• Cedar oil

ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR KEEPING ANTS AT BAY

fire ant control is best left to pest control professionals like Nelon-Cole, but there are steps you can take to help around your home

Keep your surfaces clean: If ants don't smell food, they won't be interested in entering your home. Clean up any food spills immediately.

Keep food in sealed containers: Keep all the eatables, especially sugar, honey, and other such sweet stuff, in tight containers.

Seal your house: Find all the little cracks and crevices through which ants could be getting in. These include under the door, around the windowsills, and in other little cracks in the foundation.

Now of course, trying some of these home remedies may yield differing results, and nothing is guaranteed. If, however, you are ready for a more ‘scientific’ and definitive solution to any fire ant problems, out trained professionals at Nelon-Cole are standing by to help you with a free consultation. We handle fire ant problems throughout the Piedmont NC and Upstate SC regions, so we know what methods are actually effective in keeping these pests at bay. Call us today at 888-7-TheWeb – we are standing by to come ‘declare war’ on the pests that invade your home or business. www.NelonCole.com

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