Has your  home or yard been overrun by crazy ants? No, we don't mean Aunt Mildred but one of the 12,597 known species of ants that may be paying you a visit this summer. Like some relatives, they can be erratic, arrive in groups and tend to overstay their welcome.

Ants can be troublesome anytime but are most active between April and mid-October according to Scotts, which markets the Ortho brand of lawn chemicals. While they are not known to carry disease, ants can contaminate your food and the sight of them parading through your home can be unnerving. To get rid of them, think small—seal or caulk cracks and other entry spots around doors and windows and along baseboards, walls, and cabinets.

Scotts also recommends keeping foods that attract to ants—which can be almost anything—in tightly sealed containers. And as soon as you’re done cleaning up after a meal, stash the trash in an outdoor garbage bin.

Outdoors, ants can become a problem by protecting insects that damage plants, such as aphids, scales and mealy bugs, from attack by their natural enemies. And according to Scotts, certain ants stroke aphids to increase their production of honeydew, or carry them to un-infested plants to supply them with ample food. Okay, that's just weird.

Carpenter ants are no picnic either and leave piles of sawdust along baseboards. Like termites, carpenter ants gravitate to moist soil and rotting wood so make sure the soil around your foundation is graded properly and that your gutters are directing runoff away from the house.

Ants aren't alone in their ability to vex homeowners. Grubs, chinch bugs and other critters can harm your lawn. A simple drench test will quickly reveal whether you have a problem. Begin by adding 8 ounces of liquid dish soap to 2 gallons of water. Then sprinkle the mixture over one-square yard of lawn, covering both healthy and damaged turf. Hidden insects will move to the surface within minutes, letting you identify which you have and how many.

If you have an infestation, take appropriate measures. As for easing Aunt Mildred out the door, sorry we can't help with that.

—Ed Perratore