How To Keep Ants Out Of Your Oahu Home

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While Hawaii may feel like paradise, Oahu residents still have to deal with occasional nuisances – like these types of ants:

  • Argentine ants: Argentine ants may be small with dark brown to black coloring, but they can become invasive with their colonies growing into the thousands.
  • Hawaiian carpenter ants: As the largest ant species in the state, Hawaiian carpenter ants have orange coloring and are particularly troublesome since they ruin wooden structures by creating tunnels in them.
  • Tropical fire ants: Their painful stings make these ants more than a nuisance for Oahu homeowners, even if they prefer to build their mounds outdoors.
  • Little black ants: Another nuisance species, little black ants have black coloring and usually only grow up to 1/16 of an inch in length.

Whether you’re dealing with Argentine ants or tropical fire ants, keeping these pests out of your Oahu home isn’t always easy. Here’s what you should know about what attracts ants to a property, how you can eliminate these attractions, and the best way to eliminate ants completely.

What Attracts Ants To Oahu Homes?

carpenter ant near rocks

Like some other pests, ants use chemosense to detect different substances in their environment – like food and sugar. Using this sense, ants are attracted to most Oahu homes for the same three reasons: 

  • Food: While a lot of ants, like Argentine ants and little black ants, have a preference for sugary foods and sweets, they’ll eat almost any crumb or debris that you’ve got lying around. This even includes foods you might not think about, like pet food. 
  • Water: Ants need water like any other pest, and they’ll scout out water bowls or excess moisture in your home just like they will with food. 
  • Damaged wood: While some ant species may not be interested in wood, Hawaiian carpenter ants are attracted to homes that have damaged wood. 

How To Reduce Ant Attractions Around Your Property

While some homes may have more attractions than others, here’s what you can do to reduce potential ant attractions and prevent these pests from hanging around your property:

  • Keep food items sealed: Leaving out food, including crumbs or dirty dishes, can draw ants in – especially if it’s sugary items or sweets. Make sure you’re keeping a tight lid on leftovers, washing dirty dishes, and cleaning up any spills.
  • Don’t let your trash cans overflow: If they can’t get your leftovers, ants may head for the next best thing: your trash can. Make sure you’re regularly emptying indoor and outdoor cans, but also sealing trash cans too.
  • Seal off cracks and crevices into your home: Ants love to use tiny crevices and cracks in your foundation to get inside, but using caulk or another sealant to block off these entry points can stop these pests in their tracks.
  • Clear yard debris: Ants, including fire ants, don’t mind using yard debris to get inside your home or build colonies inside. Make sure you’re clearing yard debris from your property regularly, and inspecting any debris for ants before you bring it inside your home.
  • Get rid of damaged wood: Since damaged wood, especially water-damaged wood, can attract carpenter ants, you’ll want to get rid of or replace any that is on your property.
  • Keep up with regular lawn maintenance: Keeping up with regular lawn maintenance can help you spot ant colonies, like fire ants, early and make it harder for ants to hide.

The Most Effective Way To Deal With Ants In Oahu, HI

Even with reducing attractions and following the tips above to prevent ants on your property, these critters can sometimes still find ways to wander inside. In those cases, the best thing to do is call the residential pest control professionals at Pest Tech Hawaii. With core values based on respect and integrity, we’ve been faithfully serving the Oahu area and surrounding locations in Hawaii for years.

If you’re spotting ants in your home or you’re worried that you may have a fire ant colony on your property, don’t wait for your ant problem to grow and get worse. Call us today at Pest Tech Hawaii for more information about how we can identify the ants plaguing your property, eliminate them, and keep them from coming back.

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