Ants are probably the most common insect house pests, and some species can be more than just a nuisance when they become prevalent indoors. A few ant species that are well established in Massachusetts burrow into soft and damp wood, resulting in costly damage. Black and red carpenter ants are the two most common wood-infesting ant species in the northeast, but the little black ant also nests within a variety of finished wood sources, including structural wood, siding, floors, patio wood and individual wood items. As a result of becoming saturated with rainwater, exterior window sills and door frames commonly sustain damage from wood-infesting ants, and nearly all ant pests gravitate to kitchen cupboards and pantries in order to consume stored foods.
While a nuisance ant presence within a home can sometimes be remedied simply by cleaning and eliminating indoor conditions that allow pests to thrive, professional pest control intervention often becomes necessary. When it comes to eradicating active ant infestations, pest control professionals strategically place bait stations in and around homes in order to destroy all indoor and/or outdoor ant colonies. In order to prevent further ant invasions, pest control professionals eliminate moisture, food buildup and other indoor conditions that allow ants to survive and reproduce within homes. However, it is important for homeowners to understand that a small number of ants are bound to reappear in homes that have undergone an ant pest treatment.
Ants have thrived on earth for more than 130 million years and experts estimate that as many as 10 quadrillion individual ants are crawling about in the world right now. So, due to their small size, advanced infestation behaviors, and massive abundance, homeowners will always find a few ants within their home on occasion. Extreme climatic conditions, like heavy rainfall or flash floods, see ants invade homes in order to secure temporary shelter. In this case, ants will invade even the most inhospitable homes in an effort to escape deadly outdoor conditions. Remedial ant pest treatments, like bait, will not make homes ant proof forever, so maintaining an indoor environment that does not favor ant survival is necessary to keep homes from being reinvaded by ant pests.
Have you ever experienced repeated ant infestations?