What Memphis Homeowners Ought To Know About Pavement Ants 

5/14/2021

Pavement ants are considered nuisance ants. They usually stay outside but can be driven in by drought, flood, or high temperatures. Pavement worker ants are 1/8th to 3/16th of an long. They are dark brown or black and do not have wings. They have two nodes between the thorax and abdomen. They do not generally sting but can infest the walls, under floors, or in insulation. Since their colonies can hold 10,000 ants, they can quickly become a problem. 

Problems Pavement Ants Cause Inside Homes

Pavement ants cause problems because, when they come in, they can come in huge numbers. Anyone who has seen a trail of ants in the kitchen understands the nuisance these ants cause. Having a swarm of ants inside is very disconcerting. Worse, these ants may set up a new colony in your Memphis house. That is the last thing you need!

Preventing Pavement Ants

Exclusion includes sealing all cracks and crevices in the foundation that could allow the ants to enter. Holes in the brick facade also need to be sealed. Make sure you seal gaps between pipes and the wall where the pipes enter the house. The same goes for electrical and cable wires. Make sure that there is a good seal around windows and doors. Repair or replace window screens with holes and worn weather strips under doors. If you see a trail of ants, follow it back to where the ants are getting in and seal that hole. Then wipe up the trail with a mild detergent to wash away the pheromones that attract more ants. 

Make sure that any firewood or potted plants you bring inside do not have ants in them. Keep firewood away from the house. Keep mulch 12-18 inches away from the foundation, as ants often nest there. Cut back vines, shrubs, tree branches, and similar vegetation so ants cannot use them as bridges to the house.

Sanitation will not keep ants out of your house, but poor sanitation will invite them in. Ants, like all creatures, require food, water, and shelter. Eliminate these, and ants will likely go elsewhere. 

• Make sure you promptly clean up spills in the house. 
• Stop any water leaks inside or on the outside of the house. 
• Moist areas need to be dried out. 
• Keep food in plastic or metal containers that ants cannot penetrate. 
• Make sure there is a lid on the trash can and the compost pail that fits tightly. 
• Empty the trash and compost pail frequently into the outside containers. 
• Clean the window sills where dead creatures pile up because these are food for ants, too.

Got Ants? Get Professional Help! 

Once you have ants in your house, they are very hard to control. DIY treatments rarely work. In fact, ants are second only to termites in difficulty of control. Dart Pest, Lawn & Wildlife can get rid of your ants. When you contact us, we will send one of our trained pest control technicians to your house. The technician will do a thorough inspection, inside and outside. After that inspection, we will present a plan of action to get rid of the ants. We will give you a list of options as to recurrent treatment plans or a one-time treatment. If you have further problems, call us and we will re-treat until the ants are gone. Contact Dart Pest, Lawn & Wildlife today at (901) 479-0760 to get rid of your ants. 

Tags: home pest control | pest prevention | ants in memphis