Seeing a Few Too Many Ants?

Ant control starts with identification, because which ant you have changes what to do about it. Carpenter ants nest in damp or damaged wood, so finding them is a sign that the house has a moisture problem. Treating the ants without finding the water solves nothing. Odorous house ants and pavement ants are a nuisance, but they do not threaten the structure. Spraying the visible trail is a common mistake, because it removes the foragers while the colony carries on.

An ant trail across a kitchen counter is the most common pest call there is, and it is also the one where the wrong first move is easiest to make.

The wrong first move is reaching for a spray. The right one takes about thirty seconds: work out which ant you are looking at, because the answer changes everything that follows.

Three species account for most home calls along the Front Range, and each one needs a different response.

Carpenter ants. The one that matters. They are the largest of the three and are typically black. They dig into wood to nest in it but do not eat it, and they prefer wood that is already damp or damaged. So finding them indoors is a sign of a moisture problem somewhere in the structure. The water might come from a leaking window frame or failed roof flashing. It might also be a damp beam where the house meets the foundation, or a crawl space that stays wet. Ant control that treats the ants without finding the water is only treating the symptom.

There are other signs besides the ants themselves. Look for coarse, sawdust-like shavings near baseboards or window frames, sometimes with insect parts mixed in. On a quiet night, you may also hear a faint rustling in the hollow space inside a wall.

Odorous house ants. Small, dark, and the most common nuisance ant in Front Range homes. When crushed, they give off a musty smell, which gives them their name and is a reliable way to identify them. They do not damage the structure. Moisture and sweets draw them indoors, and they push inside hardest in midsummer heat and after heavy rain.

Pavement ants. Small and brown to black, nesting under rocks, slabs, driveways, and sidewalks. They come indoors along slab edges and turn up in bathrooms, kitchens, and ground-floor rooms. They can sting to defend themselves, but the sting is minor. Also not a structural threat.

The practical shortcut: if the ants are large and black and you are finding sawdust, start looking for the moisture problem. If they are small and it is July, you almost certainly have a nuisance ant looking for water.

Spraying fails because the ants on the trail are only a small part of the colony. Removing those foragers leaves the nest, the queen, and the eggs and young ants untouched. New foragers replace them within days, which is why the trail comes back and why it can look as if the product failed.

With some species, the outcome is worse. Certain repellent sprays can cause a colony to split up and move into several separate nests. One problem then becomes several, in different parts of the structure.

Baiting is a different and better kind of ant control for most nuisance ants: foragers carry the bait back and it reaches the colony. It is slower, and the temptation to spray the trail while the bait works is exactly what ruins it. If you are baiting, stop spraying. If you are not sure which ant you are baiting for, call (303) 346-7087 first.

Ants respond well when you change the conditions that draw them in, and several of these steps make a difference on their own.

• Find and fix the moisture: leaking spigots, dripping supply lines under sinks, downspouts discharging at the foundation, damp crawl spaces
• Wipe trails with soapy water or a vinegar solution to remove the scent trail, so replacements cannot follow it
• Store sweets, pet food, and pantry staples in sealed hard containers
• Pull mulch, soil, and dense plantings back from the foundation, and keep branches off the siding
• Seal gaps at slab edges, around the gaps where pipes and wires enter, and along window and door frames
• If baiting, place stations along the trail and leave them alone. Do not spray

Where that stops working is worth knowing: recurring trails after the moisture is fixed, ants appearing in multiple rooms at once, large black ants with sawdust nearby, or any sign of activity inside a wall. Call Guardian Pest Management at (303) 346-7087 and describe what you are seeing, including the size and color of the ant.

Guardian Pest Management is family owned. Sean and Michelle Meade have run it since 2000. We serve Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Castle Rock, Parker, Centennial, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Greenwood Village, Roxborough, and Cherry Hills. Sean and Michelle personally bring more than 30 years of pest control industry experience, earned before Guardian was founded. That was earned before Guardian opened. We hold a 5.0-star Google rating in South Metro Denver.

Our first step is identifying the ant, because the species decides the approach. From there, we find the nest or the way the ants are getting in, instead of treating only where they are visible. With carpenter ants, we also look for the moisture source that brought them, since that is the actual problem.

Home service does not require a long-term contract, so a single ant control visit is a real option. If what you have is a nuisance ant and a leaking pipe, we will tell you to fix the pipe.

Related reading: what starts moving in spring, and when; what a summer barrier treatment does; where DIY pest control goes wrong; and whether quarterly pest control is actually necessary.

Call Guardian Pest Management at (303) 346-7087, or start at myguardianpest.com.