Well hello there, neighbors. Fred Talley here with Faith Pest Control.

If you’re reading this, chances are you just walked into your kitchen to make a cup of coffee and found a black ribbon of ants marching across your granite countertops like they own the place. Believe me, I know that “sinking feeling” in your gut when you realize your home has been breached.

Up here in Jasper—from the Foothills to Big Canoe—we deal with everything from tiny little Odorous House Ants (those are the ones that smell like rotten coconuts when you squish ’em) to the big, wood-destroying Carpenter Ants.

Before you go grabbing that can of yellow spray from the hardware store, let’s talk about how to handle this the right way.

Not all ants are created equal. If you see big, beefy black ants hanging out near windowsills or damp wood, you might have a Carpenter Ant issue, which can actually hurt the structure of your home. If they’re teeny-tiny and heading straight for the sugar bowl, they’re likely just looking for a snack. Knowing who you’re fighting helps us know how to win.

This is the hardest piece of advice to follow. When you see ants, you want them dead now. But if you use a “repellent” spray (the kind that kills on contact), you might actually make the problem worse.

Many ants, especially Fire Ants or Argentine Ants, react to sprays by “budding.” They sense the danger, panic, and the colony splits into three or four new colonies to survive. You might kill fifty ants today, but you’ve just guaranteed five hundred more next week.

While you wait for professional help, do these three things:

• Wipe the trails: Ants leave behind invisible “scent trails” (pheromones) so their buddies can follow them. Use soapy water or a vinegar solution to wipe down the area and break the trail.

• Dry it up: Ants aren’t just hungry; they’re thirsty. Fix that leaky faucet and wipe the condensation off the bottom of the fridge.

• Seal the snacks: Put the cereal in Tupperware and make sure the pet food isn’t sitting out overnight.

Most ant problems in Georgia start outside. Take a walk around your foundation. Are there tree limbs touching your roof? That’s an ant highway. Is the pine straw piled up six inches deep against your siding? That’s an ant hotel. Keeping your mulch a few inches away from the foundation can do wonders for keeping the critters out.

At the end of the day, you want someone you can trust in your home. That’s why we do what we do. We don’t just “spray and pray”—we look for the nest, we use professional baits that the ants take back to the queen, and we make sure the job is done right the first time.

If you’re tired of sharing your kitchen with six-legged roommates, give us a holler. We’ll get you back to living in a pest-free home, just the way it ought to be.