As a business owner, the last thing you want to deal with in your business is ants. They can transmit disease, get into your food supply, damage property, and cast a negative light on your reputation. If you have an ant infestation on your hands, call a pest control expert in Nashville TN right away to mitigate effects on your business.

In the meantime, read about the impact of ants on businesses, from retails shops to restaurants to offices.

Damage to Inventory and Equipment

Ants can be problematic if they get into your food supplies, particularly when they are allowed to breed and multiply there unseen. This can pose a health threat to humans, which can put your food service business in jeopardy. Ants can also damage wooden structures, property, equipment and even appliances, depending on the location of their nests.

Carpenter ants in particular can tunnel through wood and establish their colonies inside. Did you know that carpenter ants can cause as much property damage each year as natural disasters?

Ant Bites

Ant bites are always a possibility, and they can be pretty painful. In fact, bites or stings from a fire ant can result in intense, instantaneous pain, followed by days of itching. And if you’re allergic to their bite, you may go into anaphylactic shock.

The four most common types of ants found in Tennessee include:

• Carpenter ants
• Fire ants
• Little black ants
• Odorous house ants

Disease Caused By Ants

Ants carry and spread bacteria and food borne disease, including Salmonella, E. coli, Shigella, smallpox and dysentery. If you run a restaurant, bar or café, your employees and customers are all at risk if ants are running rampant around food sources.

Signs of Infestation

Increased Infestation

Any infestations can quickly spiral out of control. They breed like crazy, and the few ants you do see out on countertops are usually just the tip of the iceberg. They are building large colonies behind the scenes, scrounging for food at your establishment, and bringing it back to feed the others.

• Visible ants: Physical sightings of these common pests is your largest clue.
• Colonies: You will also see signs of underground colonies, such as disturbed surface soil or dirt.
• Debris: Ants often discard waste and debris, including dead ants, when building their colonies in places like gaps in wood. This debris is call frass, and it looks like a dark sand-like substance.

Ant Bites

Take these simple precautions to reduce the presence of ants in your business. But keep in mind it often takes professional extermination to quickly and efficiently eradicate colonies. In your home, you may have time on your side as you try to troubleshoot the situation. When owning a business where customers are involved, you need to act fast.

• Take away their food source. When you do this, you drastically reduce infestation risk.
• Clear away discarded and unwanted food, and wipe up spills immediately. Don’t leave out pet food for too long. Ants will get at that too.
• Seal food well in air tight containers and bags.
• Don’t leave sweet sticky foods or baked goods out. Ants love sugar.
• Store juices in the refrigerator.
• Clean utensils immediately. Don’t leave dirty cutlery in the sink after using.
• Take out the trash several times daily.

If all else fails, seek professional help. Skilled pest control experts in Nashville can identify the source, provide a solution and protect your commercial property.

Contact PureGuard Pest Control - Ant Exterminator

If ants are invading your restaurant, retail or other type of business, don’t hesitate to call our professional ant exterminators in Nashville TN. Contact us today to book a free inspection and get a quote at 615-502-2855.