The Basics of Ant Control

It doesn’t matter where you are in the country: ants remain the top callback pest within the pest management industry. Whether you’re in Maine battling odorous house ants, California dealing with Argentine ants or Florida fighting the tawny crazy ant, these pests continue to drive callbacks and ultimately are responsible for a substantial amount of lost revenue. While manufacturers have made great strides in the development of a large array of products that are more effective against a wider range of ant species, as an industry, we still have trouble with the basics of managing our customers’ ant problems. With spring now here, what can we do to lay the foundation for a more successful ant control season?

PLAN AHEAD. Time, for a pest management professional, is a luxury that we can rarely afford, especially during the busy pest season. Customer requests for service often outnumber the number of hours within a given workday. As a result, the amount of time spent at a customer’s account is limited. Corners tend to be cut, causing an increase in the number of service callbacks and, ultimately, an increase in the number of customer cancellations. However, this can be avoided.

The first step is to create a daily route schedule that allows the pest management professional to spend an appropriate amount of time at the customer’s location. This is especially true for services requiring ant control! As our experiences have taught us, ants tend to require a greater amount of time when completing a thorough service. The simple solution is this: Don’t schedule more stops in a day than can be adequately serviced during a normal operational day.

INSPECT BEYOND THE ACTIVITY. Identifying where the ants are active currently is only one step in the inspection process. It’s also very important, especially during that first visit, to find out where the ants are coming from, where they are going, where they may be nesting, the size of the colony, how the ants are entering into the structure and lastly, all active and potential food sources.

When conducting an inspection within the interior of the structure, the pest management professional should pay close attention to any sanitation or structural concerns, such as food scraps, improper food storage practices, or cracks and openings around doors, windows and utility lines, to name a few. On the exterior of the structure, it’s important to identify plantings that may be too close to the structure, honeydew-producing insects that provide a food source and the accumulation of debris around a structure that may lend itself to the perfect nesting site. This information is needed to develop a more effective long-term control program that not only targets the ants that are visible to the customer on the day of your service, but also those that remain hidden.

OPEN THE TOOLBOX. Controlling ants within or around a structure requires more than just the simple application of a pesticide. As experience has taught us, there is no silver bullet that will control ants. We need to approach every ant job with the expectation that we will utilize all the tools within our pest management toolbox, including the use of all the different types of chemical formulations and application methods.

Some of the more common non-chemical tools may include pruning shears, caulk and a garden rake. These can be used to remove tree and bush limbs and branches that are providing ants with a superhighway into the home. Caulk should be used to seal openings around pipes and utility lines. The garden rake is a great way to ensure your chemical is evenly applied throughout mulch and other ground coverings that are used around the immediate perimeter of the structure.

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION. Lastly, communicating with your customer is often the most overlooked step in an effective and profitable ant control program. Providing information on what you saw and what you did during your service visit, as well as providing details on what the customer can expect after your service visit, can mean the difference between success and failure. This communication strategy can be essential in creating a partnership between the customer and the pest management professional.

By engaging customers in your program, they become more likely to provide key information regarding your strategies between service visits. This partnership, ultimately, results in a more effective control program and a highly satisfied customer.