I haven’t had many problems with animal infestations in my time as a landlord but one problem that seems to come up over and over is ants.
As a property owner, I’m always looking for ways to reduce my expenses to get rid of ants. I think some landlords are way too quick to just call for help when they could very easily do it themselves or find an alternative solution.
The first couple of times my tenants called me to get rid of ants my first thought was to get the place sprayed, but this has turned out to be a costly and very temporary solution.
Ants Don’t Like the Heat
One thing I’ve noticed is that ants tend to make their way indoors during times of excessive heat. So there’s not always a whole lot you can do at this point. If I ever get reports of ants during the summer or during an excessive heat wave I usually tell my tenants just that. Spraying for ants might not work since nature will continue to drive them inside.
Normally, you get ants because they are looking for a food source or water. But if the heat is what’s driving them inside, they’re going to keep coming and there’s not a lot you can do to get rid of ants.
Keep Your Food Sealed
This might seem like an obvious one but if you’re experiencing trouble with ants, make sure that you put all your food in plastic containers or ziploc bags around the kitchen area. Ants especially love sugary substances so make sure that you wipe down and clean up any juice spills or dirty dishes.
Dry Them Out
If ants can’t eat or drink, they will tend to die off or move on. One tip I’ve found that really works well to get rid of ants is to make sure your sink area is completely dry once you’re done cooking or cleaning dishes. That way, the ants won’t have anything to drink and they’ll have to find water somewhere else, hopefully outside of your house.
Ant Traps and Spray
Ants are pretty dumb but apparently not quite dumb enough to walk right into an ant trap. During my last infestation, I laid out a few ant traps and over a 2-week period they didn’t catch one ant. Maybe it’s natural selection or maybe the traps just don’t work that well but I haven’t had much success using traps to get rid of ants. Bug spray works pretty well but you have to be careful spraying that stuff around your kitchen area.
Try and avoid spraying on surfaces that you will be eating off of. I like spraying in cracks or corners where you won’t ever place food. Find the entry and exit points and try to spray there too.
Hopefully, all these efforts will combine to help you get rid of ants in your rental property!
Do you have ants or a bug problem in your rental property? If so, have you fixed the problem and how? Share in the comments below!