Ants use natural bridge in Lincroft, NJ

A commercial office in Lincroft, NJ, regularly serviced by Cowleys was having issues with ants infesting several offices on the second floor. When you see infestations like this, the questions start coming. How were the ants even getting to the second floor? After all, it’s not like they could take the elevator! And why are they even bothering foraging up there here when there are no obvious sources of food or water? It seemed like a lot of work to get up there for very little payback. 

I found the answers during my inspection. I discovered their travel route: There was a creeping vine climbing up the side of the structure that managed to reach a window on the second story of the building. Once the foraging ants were up there, they did what foraging ants instinctively do. They went into the offices to take a look around and see if there was anything interesting that they could bing back and share with the rest of the colony. The lesson here is that if you give ants an easy route into your building, they won’t hesitate to exploit it. Although creeping vines give buildings that stately “Ivy League” college appearance, insects will use these vines as a natural bridge to look for openings to access the building. It’s often how ants wind up on higher floors of a building when there is no infestation on the floors below. 

I treated the interior areas where ant activity was observed by the office workers, and also treated the exterior perimeter for the invading ants. Despite its aesthetics, I recommended that the vegetation be removed from the side of the building. As long as vines were allowed to remain, there would always be a risk of re-infestation.