Ants are nuisance pests that you don't want in your home. Some ants are destructive, such as carpenter ants, but most ants are just annoying, although they may swarm and ruin any food you have out. Most ants won't bother you, but some ants bite or sting. Even if you have tiny ants that don't do anything but march indoors and carry out crumbs they find on the floor, you may want to take steps to eliminate them. Here are four ideas to try.

1. Watch The Trail

Follow the ant trail to where the ants enter your house. Plug up the hole that lets them get inside and then wipe down the ant trail to get rid of the scent they leave behind that attracts other ants. Once you see how ants are getting inside, you'll know what to look for as you go around your house looking for other holes to seal.

2. Set Out Ant Bait And Glue Traps

You may want to smash ants you see on the floor, but more ants will probably follow, so smashing may not be very effective. Try leaving glue traps around to catch the ants. This lets you know how bad the ant problem is. If you're catching several ants in the traps, you may want to call an ant control professional to eliminate the infestation.

Another thing to try is ant bait. Match the type of bait to the type of ant that's infesting your house. Some ants like sweets and others like fat or protein. If you don't know the type of ants you have, try different kinds of bait until the ants take it. You could also call a pest control professional to identify the ants and to put out the right kind of bait for you.

3. Seal All Food

If you have pets, it may be difficult to stop leaving food out. However, if you can seal all your food, there won't be any odors to entice the ants to come into your home. Also, be careful about setting pet food outdoors near the house as that could draw the pests closer to your home. Try to keep your kitchen neat so there are no crumbs on the floor and keep a lid on the trashcan to control odors that attract ants.

4. Seek Out The Colony

If your attempts at ant control aren't successful, and you're tired of seeing the pests march in your home, call a pest control company to find and treat the colony. While putting out bait will eliminate it as the ants carry the bait back to other ants, if you want the ants gone fast, then treating the area around the mound or colony could be a good idea.

The ant control professional might follow ants to see where they head as they carry food back to the nest. Once the ant colony is located, the exterminator can apply liquid pesticide to eliminate it. Contact an ant control service for more information.