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Spring has sprung! The flowers in your yard are blooming. The grass is growing. The ants are marching through your kitchen. Wait. What? Why are ants in your kitchen?
Ants often show up in Middle Tennessee homes in the spring, looking for food, water, or shelter. You may notice them after a storm or a particularly cold spring night. Although it’s not uncommon to see ants in your house at this time of year, it’s still unwelcome, and it can become a major problem if nothing is done about them. Find out what you need to know about spring ants with All-American Pest Control’s helpful guide.
Why Do Ants Suddenly Show Up in Large Numbers?
Most pests that you see in your house tend to show up solo. You might spot a single spider or a lone mosquito. Not ants! Usually, as soon as you notice one, you quickly realise that a dozen others are right behind it. Why does this happen?
Ants are foragers. They move around looking for food. One ant might get into your house while on the hunt for a meal, but if it finds a good food source, it’s not going to keep it to itself. That ant will create a pheromone trail so that the other members of the colony can follow it to the free buffet. Within hours, you might have dozens, or even hundreds, of ants in your house. If it feels sudden, it’s because it is!
How Does Spring Weather Trigger Ant Activity Indoors?
Ants don’t move around much in the winter. In fact, unless they’re already nesting in your house, they don’t move around at all. Instead, they nest deep underground and go into a state of dormancy until spring.
When the weather warms up, ants come out of their dormant state and get active again. They’re eager to get back to work, looking for food, taking care of their young, and growing their colony. However, even though the spring weather gets them moving again, it can also cause problems for them.
Heavy spring rains often flood outdoor ant nests, driving colonies indoors as they search for a dry location. The temperature can fluctuate a lot in the spring as well, but your house provides a steady temperature that ants feel safe in.
What Food and Water Sources Are Attracting Ants Inside?
Your house is a smorgasbord for hungry ants. If you’re at home right now, just take a close look at your kitchen, and you’ll probably see what we mean. Do you have any open food on the table? Is there a sticky spot on the counter you haven’t wiped up yet? Can you see a crumb or two on the floor? Has your dog left a few pieces of kibble in his dish? All of these overlooked items are a feast for ants.
That’s not the only thing that attracts ants inside your house. You probably offer a lot of water sources, too. Pet water dishes, drippy faucets, leaking pipes, and humid bathrooms all provide ants with a moisture source that is very attractive to them. It doesn’t take a lot of food or water for ants to start showing up in your house.
How Are Ants Getting Into Your Home?
Now you know why ants are getting into your Tennessee home, but do you know how they’re getting inside? It doesn’t take an open door for ants to move inside. These tiny pests can access the tiniest holes and cracks to make their way indoors. Common ant entry points include:
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Cracks in foundations or walls
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Gaps around windows and doors
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Openings around utility lines
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Poorly sealed door frames
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Torn window screens
How Does Landscaping Around Your Home Attract Ants?
The food and water inside your house aren’t the only things attracting ants. Your yard can be a contributing factor as well. If ants are nesting in your yard, it increases your risk of an infestation.
Damp mulch and soil near your foundation attract ants closer to your house. Once there, they can use trees and shrubs that touch the sides of your house as bridges. This makes it easier for them to find their way inside.
Are Certain Types of Ants More Likely to Come Indoors?
Ants can come indoors for a few different reasons. Some come inside looking for food. Others need water. Some need a reprieve from the elements. Carpenter ants are specifically attracted to damp or damaged wood.
Although most ant species can get indoors for any of these reasons, the ones you’re most likely to find are carpenter ants, odorous house ants, acrobat ants, and pharaoh ants. Fire ants sometimes get indoors, but are usually a bigger problem in yards.
If any type of ant gets into your house, it’s important to properly identify it. Different species can require different treatments in order to effectively eliminate them, so proper identification ensures the fastest and most effective solution.
What Should You Do First When You Notice Ants Indoors?
Once you start seeing ants in your house, what should you do? There are several things you can do on your own to try to stop the problem before it becomes a larger issue.
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Wipe down the areas where you saw ants
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Remove all visible food sources
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Clean the ant trails to disrupt pheromones
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Fix leaks and moisture issues in your house
Although these steps may not eliminate the issue, they can help slow its progress, allowing you to determine your next steps.
Why Do Sprays Alone Not Solve Ant Problems?
If you have a can of bug spray on hand, you might be tempted to simply spray the ants you see and call it a day. Unfortunately, this isn’t an effective way to solve an ant problem. Sprays will kill the visible ants that you target, but they do nothing to eliminate the colony. The nest will remain active and ants will return to your house.
What Solutions Actually Help Eliminate Ant Colonies?
Instead of just treating the symptoms of an ant problem, you have to get at the root of the issue. Spraying the ants won’t work, but using the appropriate bait will. Bait systems allow the ants to carry the bait back to their colonies, leading to the full elimination of the ants. When using bait, it should be placed near the areas where you’ve noticed ant trails and it should be left long enough to affect the colony.
Also, not all baits will attract all ants. You have to use the bait that is best suited for the ant species in your home, which is why professional pest control is best when dealing with ants!
When Should You Call Professional Pest Control for Ants?
If ants have shown up in your house, should you call the professionals at All-American Pest Control right away, or should you try to take care of them yourself? We’re always here to help, but there are several things that might indicate that it’s time to give us a call:
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Ants keep returning even after you’ve cleaned
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Ant trails reappear daily
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You suspect there are nests inside your walls
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Your DIY ant prevention methods aren’t working
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You don’t know which species are in your house or what bait to use
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You want to be certain that the colony is eliminated
Ready to Stop Ants Before They Take Over Your Home?
If you nodded your head in agreement when reading the last section, it’s time to give All-American Pest Control a call. We can stop ants before they take over your house with targeted and effective treatments that eliminate the colony at its source.
Our professional ant control, combined with your preventative work to seal entry points and remove attractants is the best defence against ants, especially when done early in the season. Contact us to get started today.
Your Trusted Nashville, TN Pest Control Experts
Since 1961, All-American Pest Control has been your go-to team of trusted pest experts for homes, businesses, and home builders throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Our expert team offers termite treatments, mosquito reduction, rodent removal, ant and spider control, and wasp nest removal—keeping your property protected year-round. As a local, family-owned company, we take pride in offering reliable, professional pest solutions with outstanding customer service.
We proudly serve: Adams, Ashburn, Barren Plains, Bethpage, Bransford, Castalian Springs, Cedar Hill, Coopertown, Cottontown, Cross Plains, Gallatin, Goodlettsville, Greenbrier, Hartsville, Hendersonville, Madison, Millersville, Orlinda, Pleasentville, Portland, Ridgetop, Springfield, Westmoreland, White House, and the entire Robertson County, Sumner Country and Greater Nashville areas.
For trusted pest control in Nashville, TN, and these surrounding communities, contact All-American Pest Control today! Call (615) 824-8814 or Schedule a Free Consultation online.