Meet your new roommates: ants

Every year, once the days get warmer, occupants of many houses in Toronto have to deal with thousands of uninvited guests during the spring and summer months. The most usual types that you might come across in your home are either carpenter ants or sugar ants. The ones that usually live in our flats are mostly the little black Pharaoh or Pavement ants, often called "sugar ants", as they like munching on sweets. However, the real Sugar Ants live in Australia. They would be seldom found living indoors.

The other usual type, Carpenter ants, are bigger in size (up to half an inch long) compared to sugar ants. Sometimes people mistake them with termites, but whereas termites (white in color) eat wood, Carpenter ants (black in color) just burrow into wood to build a home for their colony. They often prefer old tree stumps or fence posts for nesting, but sometimes they find a good place indoors. If you want to make them go away, the best way is to get rid of the things they enjoy in your house.

Shutting down the cafeteria.

If you think they are just coming in for food, try to follow these easy cleaning routine steps for at least two weeks before moving on to some more radical action. The great place for ants is your kitchen sink area, as it provides them with food and water. So you should keep this place clean and dry. Therefore, try not to leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight and wipe every single drop of water in it so that the ants are not able to find anything to drink or feed on. Every night, wipe down all the kitchen tops with bleach or white vinegar. Vinegar is a very eco-friendly option, (which is just as effective) and also wash the floor with one or the other. And when you wash the sink, also pour a few drops of bleach or white vinegar down the drain. That's another practical tip. Store all groceries in air tight boxes. The rubbish bin should be taken out as frequently as possible, but once a day is a necessary minimum. Try to find out which entrance the ants are using to enter your house, and make sure this way is closed up. The easiest choice for this is probably some Expanding Foam - ask at your local hardware store. If they still find their way in after all your efforts, toss some bay leaves or cloves nearby and this should do the trick.

Finding the nest

If you wish to get rid of Carpenter ants and their nest around your home, you will have to get rid of all the rotten wood in your garden and any wet or damp spots in the house. But it's likely the ants have already moved into your house, usually if you cannot locate any nest outside but the ants are still inside your house. So you will have to find out the location of the nest. Wet wood is a favorite dwelling for Carpenter ants, so check out the garden for any old trees or firewood. Check around sweaty pipes, washing machines, dishwashers and any other damp spots. Remember that the damage made by one ant colony (as there can be up to 3 or even 10 thousands ants in it) can be quite extensive and possibly dangerous, depending on its location within the house's wooden structure. Sawdust can give away the ant nest, as Carpenter simply love feeding on wood. Or a dry rustling sound can be detected with a stethoscope or heard when it's quiet around. There are also professional companies that can clean your house from the ants, but if you don't deal with the ant favorite places around, they will come back again next year. If you don't want the ants to come back, you will have to get used to keeping your kitchen perfectly spotless, or no bait will be of any help.