No matter what business you maintain, a lack of ant control can have a negative effect on you – bottom line. Biting ants, like the fire ant, can drive customers away from outside areas where they can congregate before being drawn in to purchase food and other products. Odorous house ants crunch under foot and leave an unpleasant smell. Tawny crazy ants mob electrical outlets and can pose a power outage or fire threat. Carpenter ants bore tunneling through wood, costing business owners thousands in repairs. There are many types of ants, and each comes with their own set of problems. Fortunately, the solution for all ant pests is the same.

Inside Ant Exclusion

All ants are looking for food and water. Knowing this can help you deter them from coming into your business.

  • A proper sanitation program is essential. Ants do not require much food to thrive. They can live on crumbs in a break room, unprotected outgoing trash, food and drink spills.
  • All food storage needs to be protected. Seal containers to keep ants out.
  • Interior leaks, and areas where pipes are sweating, should be addressed to keep ants from finding a drink.

Outside Ant Exclusion

If ants have a hard time getting into your business, they will be less of a problem inside. Here are some ways you can exclude them.

  • Use a caulking gun to seal all cracks and gaps in your exterior walls, especially around windows, doors, piping, outlets and AC units.
  • Seal any cracks in basements walls.
  • Move debris and lumber away from exterior walls so that ants don’t live and breed close to potential entry points.
  • Fix leaking spigots and external pipes.
  • Make sure all gutter systems work to channel water away from the building.

Outside Ant Prevention

Pest management professionals should address any exterior mounds and nesting to reduce infestations, to make customers comfortable, and to keep satellite colonies from being formed inside your walls.

Copesan pest experts are ready to help. Call them to advise on ant control exclusion specific to your business, and to provide services where needed.

Looking for more on ant prevention in commercial facilities? Watch our Keeping Ants Out of Commercial Facilities YouTube video!