An ant infestation can be a minor annoyance or a costly health hazard. It needs to be handled immediately, but an ant spray won’t take care of it. So before you rush to the store to buy insecticide for some DIY (do-it-yourself) pest control, here’s why it won’t solve your ant problem.
7 Reasons To Not Use Ant Spray
There are many problems with using an ant spray, from risking harm to your family members to worsening the ant infestation. Here are a few things to consider:
1. Poisonous Sprays
The ingredients that make a pesticide able to kill ants can also make it dangerous to humans and pets. While sprays like Raid® contain natural ingredients like pyrethrins, they also include potentially harmful chemicals such as cypermethrin and imiprothrin. Depending on the ingredients of the pesticide, it can be dangerous for babies and your furry and feathered friends. Symptoms of pesticide exposure may include headache, dizziness, weakness, and nausea.
2. Ant Spray Allergy
Some individuals are allergic to ant spray; even the smallest amount can trigger them. These allergic reactions could be respiratory or skin-related. Skin issues include redness, swelling, pain, itching, and blistering. Inhaling the pesticide can cause difficulty breathing, chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, and even an asthma attack. In some cases, the allergic reaction to ant spray can worsen and become life-threatening.
3. Colony Segmentation
Ant control treatment is only effective if it kills the entire colony. For example, using something like Terro Liquid Ant Baits in the wrong ant hills will cause colony segmentation. Most liquid ant killers will take out a few ants and leave the others to flee to different locations. It’s extra challenging to contain a scattered colony where there is ant activity in several places around the sprayed area.
4. Large Colonies
Getting rid of all carpenter ants or sugar ants in a colony is difficult. But just how big can a colony be? Over 100,000 workers with several queens in the case of odorous house ants. Some species, such as Argentine ants, can recognize their kind and merge colonies, cooperating and expanding their nests over 560 miles. Other ant species here in Arizona include the menacingly-named fire ants and crazy ants, with nests containing thousands of workers and hundreds of queens.
5. Property Conditions
Ants can invade your property because of ideal breeding conditions. Excessive moisture due to factors like leaking hoses, faucets, sprinklers, and clogged gutters attract ants. They also come looking for food in places such as trash cans, pet food bowls, and gardens. Using a spray won’t do anything if you don’t know where the ants are coming from. Professionals like Budget Brothers Termite & Pest Elimination can help identify trouble areas behind ant infestations.
6. False Victory
You can do substantial damage to ants with various so called ‘miracle solutions’ like boric acid, baking soda, and even fire ant bait stations. However, most colonies are tough to get rid of. Ants often hide in difficult-to-reach spots. For example, carpenter ants in Arizona get inside the walls, ceilings, and floors and create nesting areas. Even if you kill the first few ants you see, the queen ants will keep laying eggs, and the ants will keep coming.
Extermination is a long process. You may stop with a false victory or get frustrated. Meanwhile, you’ve doused your property in a spray that can harm babies and pets.
7. Even the Best Ant Spray Isn’t Good Enough
After trying many products, we found the right ant killer: Taurus® ant killer, a multi-tasking “non-repellant” insecticide. In addition to ants, the safe and super-effective Taurus® ant killer target pests such as termites and spiders, who eat ant bait and take the product back to their colonies without smelling or tasting it.
However, even the perfect methods and ideal spray won’t eliminate an ant colony like an expert exterminator can. You can apply Taurus® ant killer yourself, but certain DIY tutorials will have you digging a six-inches-wide and six-inches-deep trench against your home’s foundation and drilling through anything in your way.
It’s easier to call in the professionals. You need experts who know how to safely use products like Taurus® ant killer and have the knowledge and equipment to destroy ant colonies in Phoenix homes.
Choose the Best Experts
Not many people associate ants with diseases, but they can cause foodborne illnesses by carrying bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella, and clostridium. There is also the risk of cross-contamination to toddlers, elderly, and chronically ill family members, so contact an exterminator as soon as you see a problem.
Budget Brothers Termite & Pest Elimination is determined to protect your home and property from ants. Our company has been an Arizona leader in pest control for over 25 years, thanks to a team of trained and experienced professionals. Contact us for fast, friendly, and safe ant extermination.
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