With spring here and summer on its way, Santa Clarita is reminding residents about some all natural solutions to a seasonal invader: ants.

The reminder is ahead of the city’s annual celebration of the earth and environment, the Earth Arbor Day festival, the KHTS Santa Clarita Home and Garden Show, the Emergency Expo, and the KHTS Arts and Crafts Fair, which will all be held at Central Park for two days: Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30. For more information about this mega event, visit SantaClaritaHomeandGardenShow.com.

Specifically, the warning addresses Argentine ants, the well known all-black variety known for swarming picnics or anything else edible left out during the summer.

Got Ants?

This is the time of year when those pesky little insects invade our homes in an orderly, single-file line that somehow turns into a full blown attack.  When that happens, we want to get rid of them fast!

Don’t Panic!

If you come home and find a swarm of ants inside, don’t panic. There are a few simple steps to take care of the problem:

1. Don’t disturb the ants just yet. They’re too busy to even notice you. First, find out what the ants are after (usually leftover food or spills) and where they are coming from.
2. Look outdoors to identify their entry point into the house.
3. From the inside entry point, spray the line of ants with hot soapy water and wipe up with a sponge. Ants communicate through scent-trails and the soap erases that trail.
4. Now the ants are in disarray and don’t know where to go, quickly grab the item the ants are in or on and put it outside in the trash. Clean up the area with more soap and water. Diluted vinegar works well too.
5. Next, temporarily block the entry points, inside and outside, with a smear of petroleum jelly or even a piece of tape.
6. Outside, spray the entry point and general area with soap and water.

However, we should focus on preventing the ants from getting inside in the first place. There are safe alternatives to using potentially dangerous pesticides that would be better to use around our family and pets, and would also be better for our surroundings.

Ways to prevent an ant problem:

• Avoid leaving food or even dirty dishes out on the counters or in the sink. Clean up crumbs and spills immediately, especially anything with sugar.
• Don’t leave uneaten pet food out for extended periods of time and always store pet food in an airtight container.
• Keep landscaping neat and clear of weeds and debris to prevent ant nesting.
• Caulk any holes or cracks, on baseboards or around pipes, that ants might be coming through.

Last resort, if you must apply chemicals:

• Carefully read and follow the directions.
• Place ant bait stations containing boric acid in and around your home. Boric acid is minimally toxic to people or animals, but is deadly to ants.
• If you use spray, more is not better. “Spot” apply, rather than drench entire areas.
• Avoid applying ant spray when there is rain predicted in the next couple of days.
• Whether you purchase and apply a pesticide yourself or use a professional pest control company, make sure your sprinkler system is turned off for at least two days following treatment to avoid runoff of polluted water into the storm drain.

There has been a problem with excessive amounts of pesticides being washed off properties, into the gutter and into the Santa Clara river. The river helps replenish the local groundwater, which supplies approximately half of our drinking water. We need to make changes to the way we approach  the ant problem, in order to be pollutant free. In addition, you waste money by applying chemicals before it rains or before running your sprinklers because the chemicals wash away without doing their job in the first place.

The bottom line…seal up your home to prevent ants from entering and don’t leave anything out for them to want to come in. If you must use chemicals, use them sparingly and don’t let them be washed away.