This is ant season in the San Francisco bay area. Everybody’s got them, including me. Why are ants such a problem at this time of year? First of all, it’s the rainy season, and ants don’t like to get wet. Like you and me, ants cannot breathe under water. Ants would prefer to be in a dry place, like your apartment, rather than a wet ant nest. Ants also don’t like to get cold. In winter, they would prefer to be in a warm place, like your apartment rather than a cold ant nest. Ants are amazing and resourceful creatures, which explains why they have been on Earth, essentially unchanged, for millions of years. Ant nests are complex and wonderfully engineered structures. Ant nests have chambers that are warmer than the outside air, they have food storage, sleeping, and nursery chambers, and they build drainage systems throughout their nests to take away rain water from the chambers in which they live.
So, how do you get rid of ants? First of all, you must take away their source of food. As long as ants can get to an easy meal in your apartment, you will never get rid of them. Ants can get into cabinets, closed boxes, and garbage cans. They have no difficulty climbing up walls and kitchen cabinets. If you have ants, put your food in containers that they cannot get into. For example, transfer breakfast cereal from boxes to jars with tight fitting lids, zip lok bags, or store the cereal in your refrigerator. Take out your kitchen garbage frequently. Keep your floors and countertops free of food. A stale crust of bread can feed a whole colony of ants for a week, and the whole colony will come to get it.
Second, spray places where you see ants with Orange Guard. This product can be hard to find in stores, so if you don’t have it, come to me, and I will give you a free bottle. Most brands of ant killer contain worrisome chemicals, like arsenic. Orange Guard is the only ant killer approved for use by the state health department for use in restaurant kitchens. That is because it is non-toxic, at least non-toxic to people. The active ingredient is orange peel oil, which is very toxic to insects. Oranges produce this oil in their peels in order to prevent insects from boring through to get the juice inside. Orange Guard kills ants instantly, and any ant that crosses an area that you previously sprayed with it will die immediately. Your apartment will smell like oranges for a day or two after you use the product, but your ants will quickly disappear.