Separate questions: Ants and One year home inspection. (Plano, West: house, buy)

[kygirlintx]

We moved into a new construction home in West Plano and our warranty expires in June. Is a One year home inspection worth it? Your thoughts?

Also we have noticed black ants/farms outside our home. In the past three weeks they have infested us on the inside. I found them on our stove this morning...tons of them! We have found them in several different places. Will an exterminator help? I've never had an ant problem in my life but this is really insane. This is our first home in TX so not for sure about the best solution to this problem.

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by kygirlintx

We moved into a new construction home in West Plano and our warranty expires in June. Is a One year home inspection worth it? Your thoughts?

Also we have noticed black ants/farms outside our home. In the past three weeks they have infested us on the inside. I found them on our stove this morning...tons of them! We have found them in several different places. Will an exterminator help? I've never had an ant problem in my life but this is really insane. This is our first home in TX so not for sure about the best solution to this problem.

For the ant problem go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy the spray that is in a jug with a handle and spray the entire perimeter of your house. We do this every 3 months or so and never have any ants or spiders in the house (it usually works for several types of bugs). While there, also buy some granules that will kill the ants and go around and sprinkle it on all of the mounds. They might be popping up because we've had some good rain lately.

I don't know what to recommend to get rid of the ones on the inside because we have pets and I'm really weary of using stuff in the house, especially in the kitchen.

[jcl_cls02]

With the one year inspection, I believe it was worth it before my 1yr warranty ended on my previous home. My inspector found a couple of non-major issues that that builder was quickly to resolve. For instance, the inspector reported that my AC units were not cold enough and it was low on freon. I opened a warranty request for warm AC and it was fixed and tuned-up. The builder pretty much used the inspection report to fix any issues the inspector found. Other issues like the grading on my backyard wasn't ideal and the inspector noted that. The builder resolved it by re-grading my backyard and making it right. I was able to get some new grass too where it was spotty. You need to make the appointment now with the inspection because inspectors are booked and your warranty date is coming up soon. Good luck.

[globe9]

I had some mounds in the front yard and noticed them crawling on the wooden gate in the fence. I bought Suspend and sprayed all around the perimeter of the house and inside the house(it's certified safe to use in food preparation areas and doesn't have an odor). A day or 2 later, no more ants or any bugs at all for that matter. Suspend really works well and gets great reviews. It's what the pros use and isn't particularly cheap. I paid about $35 for a bottle on Amazon, but you only use at most 1oz of the stuff to a gallon of water, so even though the bottle is small, it should last a few years at least and $35 is much cheaper than what a pest professional would charge. It is recommended to be sprayed every 3 months. I couldn't be happier with it.

[bencronin04]

Sorry to thread jack, but what does everyone recommend for spraying around the perimeter of the house for pests that you can pick up at your local Lowes/Home Depot.

[jcl_cls02]

Ortho Home Home Defense Max has been good for me. I use the spray model with built in hand pump.

[lemonegg]

Ants have been driving me up a wall lately. The ground near my house is just crawling with them and they all want to come inside. Sprays only work very short term, at least for me. I recently tried using ant bait around the outside of the house and now I don't see all of those ants.

I suggest spraying cracks and around windows and doors and the bait all around the outside of your house.

[jsafstrom]

The warranty home inspection will likely save you much more money in repairs by having the builder make repairs than the cost of the home inspection. Especially if you didn't get a home inspection prior to moving in. Plus you will have a report you can reference later on. Just make sure you use a home inspector that has good reviews - google,yelp, angie's etc.

There is a product called Max Force quantum ant bait that worked great for me. I found where the ants were coming in around the door and after 1 day of treatment no more ants. They eat and take it back to the colony and kills 'em all. I'm not sure if you can get it at the big box stores.