Ants like apartment complexes because of the abundant access to food and water. If you suspect you have an ant problem in your apartment building, read this guide to learn how to prevent them or deal with an infestation.
How to prevent ants from infesting an apartment building
Ants are extremely common pests, but there are many things you can do to help reduce the possibility of ants taking over your apartment complex.
Follow up on tenant complaints
When one resident complains about ants in their apartment, you may want to take action for the whole building. Staying one step ahead is crucial to handling existing ant intruders and preventing more from joining.
Ant prevention checklist
If multiple tenants complain about ants, notify all tenants in the building and ask them to take preventative measures within their living space. Your list of requests to tenants should include:
- Keeping food sealed and properly stored
- Cleaning up spills on floors and tables right away
- Regularly vacuuming and sweeping
- Taking out the trash daily
- Emptying and cleaning pet’s food dishes often
Tenants appreciate upfront communication and clear direction. A head’s up about an ant problem makes it easier for residents and management to monitor their space and try to prevent a spread.
Signs of an ant infestation
Ants leave a handful of telltale signs in their wake, making it reasonably easy to tell if you’re dealing with an infestation. If your apartment building is prone to ant problems, keep your tenants and staff informed of what to look out for, especially as the weather warms up.
- Ant trails: Ant trails are typically one to four lines of ants, all marching in the same direction. If you see ants in this formation anywhere near your apartment building, a scout ant may have told them it’s time to move in.
- Ant mounds: You may find ant mounds outside in warm months everywhere. If you see them along the exterior of the building or near the entrances and exits, they may be working their way indoors.
- Ants on food: If you leave an apple you started eating out, forget about it for a couple of hours, head back to grab it, and it’s covered in ants, you probably have an ant infestation. One or two ants are common wanderers and may not be cause for alarm, but it’s always a good idea to inform management and for management to take a tenant complaint like this as a serious sign.
- Insect wings: If you find insect wings or other debris near window ledges or close to outdoor entrances, it’s a possible sign of an ant problem. Some ants have wings for a short period and usually swarm during the summer when young queens leave the nest to start their colonies.
- Sawdust trails: Carpenter ants are attracted to wood. Check for piles of sawdust near wooden beams, window ledges, baseboards, and wood flooring. If you see small trails of sawdust around the building, inside or out, there’s a chance you have a carpenter ant infestation.
How to get rid of ants in an apartment building
It’s important to act quickly at the first sign of an ant infestation in your apartment building. After communicating with tenants and stating the steps they can take to help reduce the problem, there are several things maintenance and management staff should do.
- Thorough cleaning: Vacuum all the floors in common areas like hallways, laundry rooms, community spaces, and unoccupied units. Clean surfaces, countertops, cabinets, tables, and railings with warm soapy water. Increase the number of times you clean shared spaces. This time can also act as a walkthrough to check the status of an ant infestation.
- Trash management: If your building operates with a trash chute or community trash room, ensure the collection area stays clean. Take the trash out at least once a day. Clean up any messes, especially those caused by food debris.
- Door and window seals: Have your maintenance staff check the seals of shared doors and windows. Replace any cracked, worn, or missing door seals and window sweep immediately. Make sure community doors and windows aren’t left open without appropriate screens to prevent all types of pests.
- Contact professional pest control services: Hawx service providers can treat current problems and put treatment plans in place to minimize the chances of ants returning.
Pest control services
The best way to take care of an ant problem in your apartment complex is by hiring a pest control professional like Hawx Pest Control. Our friendly and knowledgeable technicians are ready to help you all year round. With proven methods and the best products and practices available, Hawx is the leader in pest control solutions. Call us today for a free estimate to get your pest problem under control.
