Perimeter Power Spraying for Ant Control

What Perimeter Power Spraying for Ants Is and When It Is the Right Call

The application follows the house. The technician sprays the foundation from grade up to a set height, the band of soil or mulch out from the wall, the thresholds and frames of doors, window wells, the base of steps and porches, and every place a pipe, wire or vent passes through the wall. A trail along a walk or up a downspout is treated too. Power spraying puts down more product than a hand sprayer, which matters on block and rough surfaces that soak it up.

The product is a residual. It stays active on the surface after it dries, so ants crossing it days or weeks later still pick it up. For recurring service we use a microencapsulated product made to hold up through rain and sun. It lasts 90 to 120 days after application, which is why our prevention program schedules its visits around it. On a one time job the interval is shorter and depends on the weather.

Perimeter spraying is the right call for ants coming from outside, for a house with ant pressure on several sides, and as ongoing prevention. It does less on its own when the nest is inside a wall, where injection is needed, or when ants are already trailing through the kitchen, where bait finishes the job. It does not reach fire ant colonies in the lawn, which are treated at the mound. It does not correct the damp mulch or wet crawl space that keeps ants near the house, so we point those out.

Expect the technician to walk the whole exterior. If you are on our program, the visit starts with web dusting around the house and the spray follows. The product dries in an hour or two and is not visible once dry. Keep pets and children off treated surfaces until dry, and avoid power washing the foundation afterward. Ant activity indoors may continue for a few days as workers already inside die off. The treated perimeter holds the ant population reaching the house at the lowest practical level while it stays active.