Ants

They're everywhere, eat almost anything, and have few natural predators .....Ants!

Ants are among the most difficult to control pests in the world. The pest control experts at the National Pest Control Association list 20 common varieties of house-infesting ants in the U.S.

In most cases, ants are merely a nuisance, but some species can cause damage such as contaminating food, destroying seeds, damaging plants, and even attacking and injuring animals, including humans.

Carpenter ants can sometimes do more damage to your home than the dreaded termite.

IDENTIFICATION
Carpenter ant species come in a variety of colors. They are called carpenter ants because they chew through wood, hollowing out "galleries" for their nests. Outdoors they'll nest in tree holes, wood piles, leaf litter and debris. Indoors they prefer to nest in moist or water damaged wood. Once established, they can expand to dry wood. A key indication of a colony's location is the presence of sawdust or "frass" piles, tiny bits of wood and dead ant body parts deposited outside the nest.

HABITS
Carpenter ants will create satellite colonies that contain workers, larvae and pupae. These satellite colonies are frequently located close to food sources and are the most common type of colony found in structures. In homes, carpenter ants like most of the same foods people do and forage for crumbs on the kitchen counter, in dishwashers, garbage cans, etc.
Carpenter Ant workers have been known to travel as far as 100 yards from the colony to search for food and water. Therefore, carpenter ants found in one structure may be coming from a colony on a neighboring property or wooded area nearby.

CONTROL
Methods for controlling ants in your home will vary depending on the species of ant and their behavioral patterns.

Suburban Pest Control employs and trains technicians in this delicate art of ant control.