Pests We Treat - Follow the ant trail: pavement ant control in Cream Ridge
Ants are one of the most commonly encountered house-infesting insects that I treat regularly. In New Jersey, there are many species of ants that find their way into homes, but one that is a particular nuisance is the pavement ant. Here is a video of ants in a Cream Ridge bathroom.
These soil-nesting ants invade homes to forage for food and water. It’s especially common to find them when they are looking to escape very dry or very wet outdoor conditions. These little ants can find their way inside your home through cracks in foundation walls. Their sheer numbers that can be frightening. A large pavement ant colony is like a small city with over 10,000 workers.
The common name of pavement ants is based on location — where they often form their nests. They often build their colonies under pavement, so you’ll find them crawling around sidewalks, patios, courtyards, and similar outdoor structures. You’ll know if pavement ants are around if you see sand and small soil particles near cracks in pavement. That’s the debris from excavated pavement ants nests. The foraging ants come and go as they please through pavement cracks, looking for food. While sweets are at the top of their list, they’ll settle for grease and dead insects.
If a pavement ant colony has formed nearby your home, there are several methods that I’ll use to eliminate the problem Any pest control treatment starts with a thorough perimeter inspection. You need to know how the ants are gaining entry to your home. If the ants are active, it’s relatively easy to find their pathway because ants follow pheromone-scented trails. Once you locate their trail, you can determine how they are entering and exiting a structure. The secret is patience. Sometimes, I’ll intently watch in silence for five minutes to determine where they are going, why they are going, and how they are going.
Once I find the point of entry, I can start treatment. There are several different tools in my ant-killing arsenal. One method is applying a residual aerosol into wall voids, cracks and crevices, and any other gaps used by the ants to gain access. It’s important to be precise, and not just spray all over the place. Aerosol, with the use of a straw, is extremely effective and very pinpointed. If the entry point is large enough, applying a light dust application around the hole works wonders. After I top that off with a light chemical application on the ant trail, the infestation will be resolved within a couple of weeks.
These are residual products. They do not kill the foraging ants immediately. Instead, we want to use them as a Trojan Horse, and delay their death, keeping them alive long enough to bring the chemical back to spread it throughout the colony. Once the queen and the rest of colony are gone, there will no more surprise ant visits in your home.
If you are having trouble with pavement ants in Cream Ridge, contact a professional pest control technician who knows how to treat the infestation and has the products that will kill the queen and her colony. Before you know it, these bothersome pests will be gone.