Thanksgiving is a time for your family to get together and enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal. However, it's also a time when ants may invade your home. This Thanksgiving, make sure to take the following precautions to keep bugs away:
Store Ingredients Carefully
You may purchase a lot of sugary foods that you don't usually keep on hand in preparation for your Thanksgiving meal. If you're not careful, the marshmallows you bought for your famous sweet potato casserole may end up being food for ants. These insects are attracted to foods with sugar, so be careful to store sugary foods out of the reach of creepy crawlies. When you get home from the grocery store, transfer your sweet ingredients out of their original packaging and into glass or plastic containers that have tight-fitting lids.
Protect Your Pastries
Delicious pecan or sweet potato pies are a hit with your Thanksgiving guests—and with ants. Leaving your uncovered pastries on the counter until it's time for dessert is a sure way to attract unwanted guests to your Thanksgiving meal. To protect your homemade pies and avoid attracting pests, store your cooled pies in your refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.
Clean as You Cook
Preparing a large holiday meal can create a mess. Dirty pots, pans, measuring cups and other utensils can build up in the sink, spills can accumulate on the counter tops and garbage can overflow from your kitchen bin. It's tempting to put off the cleanup until after your guests have gone home. However, to avoid attracting bugs who want an easy meal, you should clean as you cook. Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away, and wipe your counter frequently. If you drop something on the floor, pick it up before bugs find it.
Take Preventative Measures
Before Thanksgiving arrives, take steps to insect-proof your home. Since ants are so small, it may not be possible to keep all of them out. However, you can make it harder for them to slip inside and crash your holiday party. Seal gaps in the exterior of your home that insects could use as entry points (like cracks around your windows or gaps beneath your doors).
Nobody wants ants to invite themselves to Thanksgiving dinner! To keep your holidays as pest-free as possible, take precautions to keep bugs outdoors where they belong.
If you find yourself needing ant extermination services, contact us today!
