Enjoy the warm weather, summer barbecues, and s’mores-making nights on your deck. However, ants can severely damage any deck, and no deck is safe from this threat. You need to locate the ant mound as soon as you see ants on your deck so you can eradicate the problem.
In the presence of food, water, or a colony, ants may swarm on your deck. Clean the deck, remove food and water supplies, then track the ants back to their nest to eradicate them. Boiling water, sugar, or a combination of the two can be used to eradicate a colony. Any ants that are still there can be eliminated with a homemade vinegar-based treatment.
When you see ants on your deck, you need to take immediate action to prevent any damage. The causes of the ant infestation and secure methods of extermination are discussed below.
Is it true that ants ruin decks?
Over 13,800 ant species have been named out of an estimated 22,000. They may not be deadly to humans, but they can cause serious damage to your deck or house.
In fact, ants like to establish their first mounds in areas with easy access to both food and water. And if your deck or house has this, they may be establishing a nest nearby or within the deck’s wood. Especially if you’re dealing with Carpenter Ants, the damage they do to the woodwork and the holes and tunnels they dig in the deck might render the porch and the house’s foundations dangerous.
That’s why it’s so important to figure out what’s attracting the pests in the first place, and to take preventative measures before the property’s foundation is seriously damaged.
Reasons why ants might be swarming your deck this summer.
There’s Snacks Out There
Ants tend to build a colony in favourable conditions, which indicates that they will be hunting for food sources. If you see a line of ants marching across your porch, they may be gathering supplies for the colony.
Generally, ants like to eat sweet substances, such as honey and sugar. If you tend to host BBQs on your deck or you love spending time with your family eating on biscuits and s’mores, you should ensure that there are no crumbs and leftovers on the floor since this can attract ants.
Food may be found on the way to the deck.
Ants may be crossing your desk even if there is no food there. To get to the source of food and carry it back to the colony, ants may cross the deck, as in the case of garbage cans on one side and the mound on the other.
Keep in mind that ants have a built-in pedometer navigation system that allows them to quickly determine the quickest path from foraging areas to their colony. They may frequently use this path, which includes your deck, to get to the food sources. Taking away their food supply may assist.
A Colony Can Be Found Close By.
You may see ants on your deck even if there are no food sources on or around your deck. Science has proven that ants may forage up to 200 metres away from their nest. If you haven’t seen a column but have seen ants, they may be foraging for food and may have come from a nest in the area.
Wet Wooden Decking
Wet wood might attract ants or encourage an existing colony to expand. Ants may be coming from a specific area of your deck that is either more shaded or retains moisture for longer than the rest of the deck. Although they have trouble with dry wood, wet wood is ideal because of its pliability and ability to retain moisture for use in building colonies.
Location Near Food Preparation Areas And Sanitation Facilities
All of the aforementioned causes of an ant infestation have something to do with the availability of food and water. You should still think about the ants’ ability to find food, even if your deck is dry, clean, and far from trash cans.
Your deck is probably the entry point for those pesky ants if you’ve seen them in the rooms that correspond to your kitchen or bathroom. Within a few months, you may notice ants in your kitchen or bathroom if you don’t take action.
Infestations can be exacerbated by weather.
Recent research has revealed that weather and climate can either foster or curb ant infestations. Ant infestations, like those of many other pests, are most common in the warmer months. However, their occurrence increases dramatically in hot, humid, or rainy seasons.
During these times, ants will seek out food sources that are secure and accessible year-round, rain or shine, so that they don’t have to worry about being washed away or starved to death. While they may be able to circumvent these challenges by always finding the quickest route, it is still in their best interest to establish a colony in close proximity to a steady supply of food and water.
Remove Ants in 8 Easy Steps
Ants, as we’ve seen, pose a significant risk to the stability of your deck. Damage to your home could increase dramatically if the colony is allowed to expand unchecked. This, in turn, can lead to the need for pricey maintenance or refurbishment. And ants have a habit of establishing new colonies in the same general area year after year.
Perhaps the best way to fix this is to get in touch with a professional who can do whatever needs doing to get rid of the issue. If your deck or house has not yet been seriously damaged, however, you can implement some do-it-yourself fixes.
DIY ant control products should not contain any chemicals that could be harmful to human health.
In the video below, we discuss some simple and risk-free methods for dealing with an ant infestation at home.
If you want to know how to get rid of ants and keep them away, read on!
Get Things Started with a Home Inspection
Examining the extent of the damage is always the first order of business. The presence of ants in your home makes it difficult to get rid of them without resorting to harsh treatments. In this scenario, it can be worth it to pay for expert pest control.
If you’ve only recently spotted the ants on your desk, it’s important to figure out why they’re there. In the case of ants, for instance, a nearby leak could provide them with a steady supply of drinkable water. If you’ve noticed ants on your deck, it’s a good idea to do some maintenance checks to see if there are any underlying problems.
Remove Any Wood Piles From Around The Deck.
Wet or moist wood is a great area for ant colonies to begin. The ants could be nesting in the surrounding wood pile if they have access to it from the deck. Dry or wet wood can be stacked to provide a constant source of moisture for the colony, and it can also provide as adequate protection from the elements.
It’s possible that the ants are crossing the desk to get to the food inside the house, if they’ve established a colony in the stacked wood.
The mound should be doused with boiling water.
One of the most important things to remember while trying to get rid of ants on your deck is that they will always come back unless the entire colony is eliminated. And to achieve that, you’ll need to locate the ants’ nest.
Follow the ants back to the mound instead of killing them if you ever see them on your deck. About three litres of boiling water can be used to destroy the nest and its queen.
Be very cautious, though, because boiling water can scald you easily. Yes, you can use this method to get rid of weeds and other unwanted grass in your yard. Therefore, if you spill over to your flower beds, you might be harming anything growing there.
Use Vinegar and Baking Soda
Do-it-yourself options with white vinegar and baking soda are a safer alternative to the hot water procedure. The mound can be sprayed with the resulting solution once the two common home components have been combined. You may require more than a few of sprays, but this treatment can help you get rid of ants.
Compound Borax with Sugar.
Making bait for the ants is a safe and smart technique to get rid of them. Ants, as we have seen, are drawn to sweets like honey and sugar, which may be why you see them on your deck.
You can make a solution that is both tasty and lethal to the ants by combining sugar, water, and Borax. Since it is their job to bring food back to the nest, they will gather everything they find and bring it to the colony’s central mound.
As a result, it’s possible to eradicate an entire colony with as little as a few sugar baits and the queen bee.
Make a wall out of chalk or used coffee grounds.
Ants can be deterred with chalk or coffee grounds instead of toxic chemicals. Ants don’t like to get their feet wet in coffee grounds since they contain caffeine and nitrogen, two substances they try to avoid. Also, the ants’ pheromone path can be disrupted by using either chalk or coffee grounds.
Losing this aroma will cause them to get disoriented and unable to locate their mound. Thus, by incorporating these elements, you can ensure that they will stay away from your deck or patio. To be clear, this is only the case if the ant colony is located off the deck.
Use glass cleaner to eliminate any remaining ants.
When you’ve finished dealing with the mound, you can go on to eliminating the ants from the deck. Spray the last of the ants with a mixture of white vinegar, baking soda, and glass cleaner. If you haven’t already treated the colony and killed the queen, you won’t see any results from this method.
Vinegar Is Effective Against Ant Trails
For many people, ants are a problem only during certain times of the year. If ants are a yearly problem, one solution is to try to divert their primary path. Using this method, they won’t be able to associate the area with the same odours and return to it. Cleaning the floor with just water might not be effective, but vinegar can get rid of the smell.
Limiting the Spread of Ants
It can be difficult to get rid of an infestation once you’ve begun treating it. The ants may return annually to the same spot once they’ve established their colony there. As a result, your hard work may only be beneficial in the short-term, while also causing a yearly hassle.
Prevention is, ultimately, the best method of dealing with ant infestations. They can’t get onto your deck or into your house if you keep the area around it clean. To do this, you could eliminate all potential food sources in the area and seal off all possible points of entry into the home.
You can also discourage ants from entering your home by spraying insecticide near the entrances and exits.
Conclusion
If you find an ant infestation on your desk, you need to take immediate, decisive action before the ant colony spreads and does significant damage to your home. Having food and water nearby are the most common causes of ant infestations, which could explain why they have invaded your workstation.
For instance, the ants may be able to go into your home through your desk and then into your kitchen or bathroom. The weather may also play a role. When you see ants on your desk, you can try putting hot water on the mound or spraying the ants with vinegar.
