Where do ants hide? It’s a question that boggles the mind of many people who have ants in their home. The reason is that more often than not they’re within wall cavities. Some people have had ants in their home for years and never call a professional. This can be a huge error as the damage they cause can be extensive.
Over the course of the average pest control season we get hundreds of calls in regards to ant control. The type of ant residing in your home may be a nuisance ant such as a pavement ant, but more often than not it’s carpenter ants. On average 8 out every 10 calls we field from April-August is for carpenter ants. We’ll send a technician to the home, but the reality is we can’t see through the walls any better than the next person. So, where do ants hide and how do we get rid of them?
Typically a nuisance ant like the pavement ant is coming from the exterior. In contrast ants such as carpenter ants, odorous house ants and little black ants will nest in wall cavities. However, of the three the carpenter ant is the most commonly found ant found within a home. The remainder of this post will deal with them specifically. Do you have carpenter ants?
When a carpenter ant builds a nest within a wall cavity there’s likely going to be moisture present. In our experience the area where most moisture accumulates in a home is around window and door frames. A carpenter ant colony depending on age can range in size from several hundred ants to several thousand. So knowing where to look is of vital importance.
The picture below is what the typical window frame looks like before drywall goes up. All windows have three areas where ants love to hide:
- Window header at the top
- Rough opening in the middle
- Voids beneath the window
The problem with ant control is that you have to be able to identify the affected windows or at a minimum know how to rule out unaffected windows. A good pest control technician knows how to do this using a material called a flushing agent. A small amount of this aerosol will force ants out of hiding and expose the location of the nest.
Once the affected window is found the next course of action would be to drill small holes in strategic areas and insert an insecticidal dust. In 100% of the cases if ants are present they’ll exit quickly and the nest will cease to exist.
The control of ants can be difficult, but with some experience in construction and knowledge of ant biology it’s possible to eliminate ants and then prevent their eventual return.
If you have ants, contact Envirocare Pest Control, LLC at 1-888-879-6481. We can help!!