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Are Ant Exterminators Expensive? (A Simple Guide)

Are Ant Exterminators Expensive? (A Simple Guide)

Ants are nature-friendly but not home friendly!

Ants are abundant insects that assist you by feeding in organic wastes, dead animals and plants leaving fungi and bacteria growth which leads to a perfect soil atmosphere. They dig tunnels and holes which ventilate the soil, which is good for vegetation.

But at home, they are nothing but PESTS! To get rid of these infiltrating pests you need an exterminator. And if you are looking for an ultimate exterminator, you have come to the right place.

Ants

Let us guide you about:

  • How to contact a suitable ant controlling company?
  • When should you make your first call?
  • How and what to tell your neighbours?

Keep in mind that your complete ant control result depends on your first step, which is: “Contacting a Perfect Exterminator”.

The Guidelines in this Page:

  • What Makes you Call for Professional Ant Control?
  • What is the Immediate Time to Call for an Ant Exterminator?
  • Are Ant Exterminators Costly?
  • What will you Brief the Ant Control Company?
  • Selecting the Correct Ant Exterminator
  • Measures to be Taken for your Pets During Treatment
  • Just Before and After The Exterminator Leaves…
  • Should you Warn your Neighbours?
  • Finally…

What Makes you Call for Professional Ant Control?

Ants are social insects i.e. they share common nests, communicate and cooperate with each other and have a systematic division of labor among themselves. They always look for food which they carry back to their nests and hence do not wander too far from their colonies.

They also make colonies near to the source of food. They make sure that the source of food and the nest is nearby. So, if you see ants crawling in your kitchen or other indoor areas, rest assure their nest is nearby.

In no time you would see a vast invasion of the ant army at your home. Your immediate action would be to get rid of them. But will you call a professional ant killer? Or try doing it yourself?

Why do you need professional assistance?

Ants move systematically in tracks and they are not really scared of human presence near them. A weak trail can be dealt with easily by you. But huge infiltrations of ants need immediate professional help.

Why?

Even if you wipe out a trail of ants from your kitchen, walls, doors, and corners of your house, there are numerous ants that are ready to attack your home at the colony nearby.

  • Any spot inside your house could be a suitable place for an ant colony. They build nests according to their needs. It could be the foundation of your home, inner walls, attics, everywhere.
  • A single colony has a queen ant that reproduces continuously.
  • A single colony has an average lifetime of 15 years.
  • Ants find holes, cracks which are almost unreachable for humans, to build their nests.
    Therefore it is always recommended to call a professional exterminator to solve the problem from its root.

What is the Immediate Time to Call for an Ant Exterminator?

Normally you would find a series of ants crawling at your house here and there. Since they do not affect you so much or cause your family major health hazards, you tend to ignore them. But we forget that these tiny pests when in a group can cause major damage to our households.

They may have already built a nest inside or near your house, which in the future can cause serious damage to it. The more time you waste calling for professional help, the damage keeps on increasing.

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Can I do it myself?

Homeowners get used to few ants, scrolling inside the house, looking for food. But during an infiltration, detecting them at an early stage helps in exterminating. Here are the ideas:

  • Identify possible entry points by following the ants and their trails.
  • Seal the small gaps, holes, cracks through which the ants shuttle. This prevents further exploration by them.
  • Use insecticide sprays on the ants which kill them immediately.
  • Make ant baits with simple ingredients like borax and sugar. Keep them near the trails and identified nests.
  • It is advisable to use bait stations, if you have children or pets in your house. The harmful chemical content may be injurious if ingested by them.

Take a quick look, how a bait station works:

How bad can it get?

A few crawling ants at your home may look harmless but a major infiltration by these ants can be a disaster. These few crawlers slowly upset your daily life. Even after that if you tend to neglect them, ant colonies in or near your house can lead to major devastation.

  • Wood structures at your home are a perfect place of nest and networks of tunnels for the Carpenter Ants. They bore through every weak wooden structure which finally weakens the framework of the house.
  • Ants build their nests inside or adjacent to your home because of the easy accessibility of food. They have sharp pincers called mandibles by which they cut through light food packages. If you don’t store food items correctly, they will be penetrated by the ants and you will finish up throwing them away, regularly.
  • Thick trails of ants on your wall, floors, ceilings and other corners of the house are also nuisances as they are gross to look at.

Are Ant Exterminators Costly?

Compared to other infestation control solutions for complex situations, hiring an exterminator is less costly. However, you should have an idea about the price figures for appointing an ant control service before calling them. Here are some:

One Time Visit:

Price ranges from $90 to $250. The price depends on the size of the property and the level of infestation. The price varies only in the case of Carpenter Ants. Here the treatment is severe and the exterminator has to put a lot of effort. The price may rise up to $500. Carpenter Ants are stubborn species and it takes a lot of sweat to get rid of them.

Annual Contract:

For larger premises with complex structural plans, the exterminators suggest an annual contract. In a year they can visit your site monthly or quarterly. Annual contract varies from $600 to $1500 depending on the vastness of the property and the seriousness of the infiltration.

Extra Expenses:

Homeowners must consider some extra costs when an exterminator needs a helping hand. The helper needs to do some extra work to clear multiple nests, especially for the garden or backyard of the house. A cordial expense of $2 to $5 per nest is reasonable.

What will you Brief the Ant Control Company?

Hiring an ant control company is the first step. But when an exterminator comes to your house, correct and effective communication with him or her makes his or her work easier. Asking the right questions and giving the right details are the keywords.

Finding out the nest(s):

This is the first step. No matter how expert an ant exterminator is, you are the correct person to guide him or her towards the nest(s) of the ants. The larger the property, the more time it takes for him or her doing it alone. Try pointing out the correct places from where these infestations commence.

Before you make the call to the ant control company, it is better if you make your own initial inspections which might help the exterminator. This will also reduce his or her time of inspection.

Check for possible ant nests in:

  • Foundation of the house.
  • Wooden frames.
  • Inside the walls.
  • Wooden and foam flakes.
  • Underneath the stack of firewood.
  • Indoor vegetation like indoor plants and flower tubs.
  • Rotten or soggy wood.
When did all Begin?

You should brainstorm and find a tentative time when you remember the first traces of infiltration started. This will definitely help the exterminator to come to a conclusion about the seriousness of the damage and the next step to be taken.

Investigate the Infestation:
  • Follow the trails of ants on your wall, floor and other places to find the nest.
  • Find out wooden and foam flakes. Certain ants like the Carpenter Ants chew on these and build their nests.
  • If you see a lot of dried discarded ant wings on the floor, be prepared to call the ant control company soon, as these wings belong to the flying ants. Flying ants shed their wings after mating. Then they make their individual colonies.
Annoying Odour:

Most ants, especially Odorous ants release a stinking odour due to the release of their natural pheromones. It smells like rotten coconut. Though being bothersome at first, but this odor leads you to the ant colony.

Infested Food:

Ants come to your house for food. A study from Vanderbilt University reveals that ants have more than 400 odour receptors. That is why they can smell food from a distance. If they find your house a lucid source of food, very soon they will make a nest near or inside your house as it will be easier for them to access food. They will invade different foods at your house and that is also a good source to trail them and find their nest.

Selecting the Correct Ant Exterminator

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During the initial and simple cases of infiltration, homeowners can handle the situations by basically applying rudimentary insecticides, either homemade or available at pest stores. But when the situations take a serious turn, it becomes essential to call the ant control company and they send an ant exterminator.

Following are the simple points which you should consider while appointing an ant exterminator from a pest control company:

References:

Select a pest control company that can provide you with a list of satisfied customers with their contacts. Contact them and ask for feedback. This information should be available on the website of the company. This information gives you an indication of the quality of work which you desire to receive from the exterminator.

Credentials:

Make sure that the company is real, registered as a pest control expert, and has a trade license. You can ask the exterminator to show you the required documents when he or she arrives at your premises.

Check the rating and standing with BBB (Better Business Bureau), a private non-profit organization which protects customers against illegal business houses and have their own rating of services provided by different private companies. Their rating helps you to choose the correct company.

Check whether the pest control company has reputed ant exterminators who have real experience in their job which is supported with trustworthy associated documents. If these things are properly checked, rest assure everything is on the track for the treatment of infestation.

Years of experience:

The time span of a company in this particular industry is also very important. The more years spent in the industry increase its client base giving a positive assurance to the quality of service.

Ingredients used in the pesticides:

The main reason for you to call a pest control company is for the safety and security of your family. You might have little children, aged people in your family.

You will have to make sure the ingredients used by the exterminator cannot affect anyone’s health in the family. Ant exterminators use various forms of insecticides (ant baits, sprays, etc.) for which they are licensed. Whatever may be the method, they do use chemicals which are proper to get rid of ants.

Make sure they provide you with a list of chemicals that they propose to use before applying them so that you could take necessary measures for the safety of your family.

Guarantee:

Every pest control company gives a guarantee for their services. It assures clients about their work competence. This guarantee often works as a fall-back solution for both the client and the company if the pest control activity did not work effectively.

Check out what Missy Henriksen, from National Pest Management Association, had to say:

How many treatments:

The number of treatments to be used depends largely on the type of the ant species, the seriousness of the infiltration, and the time span of treatment. This can be discussed among the client and the exterminator before or after the first treatment.

Measures to be Taken for your Pets During Treatment

Mention about your pet(s) and the kind, to the pest control company when you make your first call to them. When the exterminator arrives at your place, make sure he or she is also aware of your pet(s). The company, as well as the exterminator, must make necessary arrangements for the pet(s) so that they do not ingest the pesticide and make appropriate measures to safeguard it from them.

Kennel / Pet Carrier:

Dogs and cats have a strong sense of smell and during the pest treatment, they might get closer to the insecticides. It is better to keep them in kennels or pet carriers temporarily for the day, where they are at a safe distance from the infected property.

Keep a room untreated:

Keep a room in your house or in your property where the exterminator does not apply the required pesticide. Secure your pet(s) inside that room during the treatment time. It is also advisable to keep a member of the family in that room so that he or she can act quickly, take action for any adverse situations. Pets feel relieved being with a member of the family.

A Wet towel:

If you have an aquarium of fish or a cage containing birds, surround a wet towel around them. The wet towel acts as an active hindrance for the aerial harmful chemicals to enter into the aquarium or to the cage.

Just Before and After the Exterminator Leaves…

Let the exterminator ensure you about the safety to return to the treated infected area. Once he or she gives assurance and leaves your premises, conduct a post-treatment recce. It is always advisable to have a close conversation with the exterminator before doing a recce.

If aerosol insecticide has been sprayed, it is not sensible to re-enter the area before 3 to 6 hours. Observe infected areas for a couple of days. If ants still trail in those areas, give a follow-up call to the company who promised a guarantee of their services.

Should you Warn your Neighbours?

Ants make colonies near the availability of food. If you exterminate them from your property, the still-living ones may end up to your neighbor’s house. It is essential to let them know about your activities regarding ants. They will be warned and will take precautions too.

Your neighbors may also have kids, aged people, and pet(s) at their home. They might face the same problem which you probably might have fixed and taken safety measures. They must be aware of the facts.

Lastly, if you share your experience with them, they might take preliminary measures to stop ants to infiltrate in the first place, unlike you.

Finally…

  • Do not take ants casually. They are not just crawling weak insects in and around your house.
  • More time you spend in calling a professional ant killer, more the damage is done to your food and home.
  • Follow our guide and get rid of these infiltrating pests. A qualified person awaits your response, to help you get rid of your ant problems.

Skip the research and talk to the exterminator to kill Ants

Click here and access our exterminator search tool- instantly get free quotes from the authentic house of exterminators in your local area.

Get FREE QuotesProcess Takes About 30 Seconds

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