WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A lot of emotions can arise when pests are found in the home. Anger, frustration and even fear can be felt when you encounter a critter eating your food or contaminating the home in some other way. One of the most common nuisances people face especially in warm months is odorous house ants or sugar ants.

These small, dark-colored ants seek out sugary foods and water whether outside or inside, and can produce a smell similar to blue cheese or turpentine if their bodies are crushed.

Keeping your home free of ants is no small task, and there are several measures you can take to prevent their introduction:

• Trim vegetation away from the outside walls of the home. Plants can be used by ants to then find nooks and crannies in walls to find their way inside.
• Keep windows, doors and pet entries closed as much as possible to keep the points of entry to a minimum.
• Keeping the home free of sugary foods out in the open, as well as stop leaking faucets and keep eyes on open water sources like pet bowls.

While cleaning is a good measure to take for prevention, a messy home is not the only reason ants will proliferate inside your residence. Bio Bug wants people to know to not take it personally if you see a trail of ants in your home.

“Odorous house ants in a structure indicate a larger issue,” Bio Bug pest management expert Steve Cornwall said. “OHA colonies feature multiple nests and multiple queens that can sometimes span miles. That’s why they are so hard to get rid of. Long term control usually requires professional treatment.”

Odorous house ants are difficult to remove from homes once their colony has become established. If you see one ant, there are likely more out of sight.

If you find yourself facing an ant problem, bait traps can help to assuage to problem. Place slow-acting baits along trails and places of entry. Spraying ant-killer products directly onto ants likely won’t work to eradicate the colony as it may kill a few, but it won’t bring the bait back to the queens in the colony.

Bait traps you buy at the store can work on some ants but it may only solve part of the problem. Consider contacting a professional if the ants are getting out of hand as Bio Bug has stronger pest management tools at their disposal not available in stores.