Blog Post

Why You Have Ants in Your Home

  • By Admin
  • 06 Jul, 2018
Ants in the house are a big problem: where you see a single ant, a colony is most likely nearby. But why do you have ants in your house in the first place? Find out why and how to get rid of them for good.

Your House Is a Reliable Food Source

Ants seek food, particularly proteins and sugars. Crumbs inside pantries, open food containers, sticky juice spilled on the floor, and unclean bowls left in bedrooms and on the floor are all temptations to ants.

When an ant finds a reliable food source, they go back to their colony to alert other ants of the supply; ants quickly make their way indoors and come back to retrieve more food. The more food sources you leave in your home for ants to thrive on, the more ants you will see.

Your House Is Protective

Ant colonies are most active in the warmer months, so you'll see ants in your home during the summer. Ants don't typically build nests in areas that are easily disturbed or that can't be accessed via a tunnel, so you'll find nest entries (little dirt hills or holes) inside cracks in your cement basement, near door frames, or in other areas where a tunnel can be built.

Your cool, protective house is an ideal place for ants to call home, especially if you have easy access for them. Look for ant hills along the baseboards in unused rooms, such as a mudroom, pantry area, crawl space, or even where you store your water heater.

If your home has an attached shed, ants may create nests in there as well and work their way into your home via intricate tunnels. Spray all ant nests near your home, such as on your sidewalks, in your driveway, or in your garden to keep ants from getting in your house.

You're Bringing Ants Inside

Ants can be brought indoors in a variety of ways, from your clothing after gardening to the plants you bring inside at night. Inspect all toys, pet fur, and shoes before allowing them indoors, and shake away all ants you do see. A single ant is not a problem, but any ant that gets inside may find a way out and bring the rest of their colony with them later.

What to Do

Unfortunately, a small ant creates a serious problem. Spraying and killing the ants roaming in your kitchen, basement, and other areas of your home won't eliminate your problem. You have to find the nest and destroy it so the queen won't be able to reproduce the offspring that are invade your home.

That means you need an exterminator to locate any ant nests in your home so colonies are destroyed effectively.

You can do your part to keep ants away by keeping pantry and cupboard areas clean of sugar, crumbs, and other foods, as well as keep pet food dishes off the floor (especially near windows and doors where ants come inside). Also, rinse out beverage containers before throwing them away so no remaining sugary liquids will attract ants.

Remove food and beverage items from the outside of your home as well: dishes left outside will attract ants, as will food debris left on the ground and garbage.

Your ant problem will be assessed by our pest removal specialist. After determining the type of ant you have in your home (house ants are most common) and the severity of your infestation, our team of specialists will use special tools to remove your ant problem for good. Call us at Copeland Exterminating Service today.
By Admin 12 Sep, 2018
Most homeowners do not find the sight of ants scurrying around their home appealing. But the overall distaste of these insects is not the only danger of having them in your home. While surprising for most people to learn, some ants can affect your home and your health. By learning about these dangers, you will understand the importance of preventing and controlling an ant infestation.

This guide and your pest control professional will help you learn about the real dangers of having ants in your home.
By Admin 15 May, 2018
Mosquitoes are a common pest in every part of the United States. Mosquitoes feed off other living creatures by drinking their blood, and in doing so, are common carriers of dangerous diseases, such as the Zika virus. Mosquitoes can also carry yellow fever and malaria, among other diseases, although it's rare to be infected with these types of illnesses by an American-native mosquito.

You have many mosquitoes plaguing your property, and despite your best efforts to keep the creatures at bay, these pesky, hungry pests keep biting you and your family. To get rid of mosquitoes on your property for good, you must first understand why they are invading your home.
By Admin 15 Mar, 2018
You have rules about closing containers, cleaning up spills, and wiping down all equipment at the end of the shift. You have a pest control service come in and spray a couple times a year when you see bugs. Sometimes you set a few mouse traps when staff find rodent droppings.

Despite your best efforts, you're fighting pest invasions in your restaurant or food-handling facility. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the solution to your problems. With IPM, you take a preventative approach to bug and rodent control by focusing on the details. Here are three pest attractants you may be overlooking.

You have rules about closing containers, cleaning up spills, and wiping down all equipment at the end of the shift. You have a pest control service come in and spray a couple times a year when you see bugs. Sometimes, you set a few mouse traps when staff find rodent droppings.

Despite your best efforts, you're fighting pest invasions in your restaurant or food-handling facility. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the solution to your problems. With IPM, you take a preventative approach to bug and rodent control by focusing on the details. Here are three pest attractants you may be overlooking.
By Admin 24 Jan, 2018
Mosquito bites are itchy and uncomfortable, but beyond the discomfort, they can also be dangerous. Mosquitoes are known to carry a number of viruses and parasites that cause disease in humans. The following are four of the most common mosquito-borne diseases.
By Admin 21 Nov, 2017
When you think about a pest that burrows into the wood structures in your home, multiplies at a rapid rate, and leaves you with thousands of dollars’ worth of damage, any homeowner is bound to be a little nervous. Termites are perhaps one of the scariest pest issues that a homeowner can face, so if you discover you have a problem with termites, a worried reaction is to be expected.

The key to handling a termite infestation is knowledge and a good pest control agent. While most homeowners know what termites are and even understand their threat, they do usually have specific questions. Here is a look at some common questions that worried homeowners have about termites.

Just How Quickly Can Termites Reproduce?
The rate at which the termite queen will produce eggs depends on the age of the colony. In the earliest development of a colony of termites , a queen will not produce as many eggs, but as the colony gets more populated and older, the queen can lay as many as 1,000 eggs per day.

It is the tendency of termites to reproduce more as the colony grows that is most dangerous for homeowners. What looks like a small, manageable problem with termites at first can evolve into a full-on infestation if left unattended for a long period.

Are Termites a Health Hazard to Humans?
Termites themselves are not a known health hazard to humans. Even though they can accumulate in your home and could be deemed unsanitary, termite droppings are actually consumed in some parts of the world because they have nutritional value and are primarily composed of digested wood particles.

However, there is some concern that people could be allergic to termites and their fecal matter. So you should take notice of any skin reactions or allergic sensitivities if you have a major infestation in your household and come into close contact with the termites, their nests, or their droppings.

Termites are not predatory creatures. Instead, they are often sought after by predators like birds, ants, and other insects. Therefore, getting bitten by a termite would be unlikely even if they are in close proximity or get on you. A soldier termite could possibly deliver a bite if handled, but for the most part, termite bites are not a concern.

How Long Does It Take for Termites to Cause Significant Damage?
One of the primary problems with termites is the fact that they have an almost insatiable appetite for the cellulose in the wood they consume. These insects keep going through your wood for food 24 hours a day at a fast rate. Even worse, they stay hidden away, burrowed through tunnels they create in the wood, so you may not see damage even though you know the termites are present.

Measuring how long it takes for termites to cause significant damage is difficult because:
  • Termites eat through material at different rates according to the density of the material
  • Termite colonies can range in size so dramatically
  • Termites don't always feed in the same places all the time
While it is hard to determine exactly how quickly any damage to your home can occur, you should know that termite colonies can consist of millions of bugs in their largest state. With this large amount of termites eating every day, all day, severe damage is definitely imminent.

Even though a termite infestation can be a scary situation, it is a situation that can be handled with a good plan, ongoing treatment, and professional pest control help. Contact Copeland Exterminating Service  for help if you have an infestation of termites in your home.
By Admin 20 Sep, 2017
Your future house is a major investment, and you want to make a choice that gives you and your family a safe place to live for many years. While you naturally want to pick out a house that has the ideal layout and design, it is also important to focus on practical matters such as pest control.

Even the most beautiful house can quickly become uninhabitable when pests such as termites invade, and a major pest problem can become a huge financial drain if you are forced to repair serious damage to your house's structure.

The good news about pest control issues and home buying is that you have control over knowing exactly what you are dealing with when purchasing a house. Use this guide to detect pest problems as you tour new homes and identify strategies for dealing them.

By Admin 20 Sep, 2017
Fall is an excellent season to spend time outdoors. The temperatures have dropped to a comfortable level, and the bugs have relocated until next spring. In order to fully enjoy playing football on the lawn with your children or having friends over for a few final outdoor barbecues, you'll want to keep your yard looking great. Follow the six lawn maintenance tips below and you'll have an inviting property that is also healthy and thriving. 
By Armand 18 Jul, 2017
Termites thrive in humid environments, and your South Carolina home is at risk for being invaded by these destructive critters. While pre-sell inspections help, it is still possible to find yourself dealing with an infestation years later. When you suspect a termite invasion, it is important to act fast by checking for these signs of a problem.
By Admin 31 May, 2017
Copeland Exterminating Service proudly provides education and information to our customers to help homeowners better understand the habits and behaviors of pests. This knowledge helps in the war against bugs and home invaders. In this installment, we want to discuss roaches.

What does it mean when you find roaches in your kitchen?

You can be alerted to the presence of roaches in your home by smell, by finding roach egg cases or roach feces, by finding dead roaches, or by seeing them scatter when you click on a light at night. If you finding roaches out in the daytime, you already have an infestation on your hands.

Roaches come in looking for food, water, or shelter. They want to eat and mate. They like to live in things such as newspaper stacks or piles, in cardboard boxes and paper bags, in clutter, or in trash that has accumulated. They like paper especially, but will find ways into anything for food such as the oven or microwave.

Give Copeland Exterminating Service a call today and let us provide residential pest control. We can block any entryways from outside and spray inside in likely hiding places. We look forward to helping you!
By Admin 15 Mar, 2017
As the weather warms up, so do the termite swarms. The Southeast will again start bracing for a heavy termite season  as spring approaches, so if you live in the area it’s good to be educated about what you’re up against.

Termites, also known as silent destroyers, are extremely prevalent in the southeastern US and have been known to cause more than $5 billion worth of property damage to homeowners in the area. These costs are created when termites chew through wood, wallpaper, flooring and other parts of the home. Here are some of the most common types of termites to watch out for and where they are located:
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