There is no need to worry about ants in the home, as these insects pose no threat to health. However, because ants can get into the tiniest crevices to find food, they can be a nuisance in the pantry. The best thing to do is tolerate them while taking steps to remedy the situation.
Are ants active in winter or spring?
In nature, ants spend the winter buried deep in the ground. They emerge in the springtime and resume their activities.
However, if you find them in the house:
- During the winter: The nest and queen are inside the house or very close to its foundation. The ants are looking for food and water.
- Only in spring and summer: The nest and queen are outside the house. The ants are only coming inside to look for food and do not want to move inside. In the springtime, ants are also drawn to warmth as they wait for temperatures to rise outdoors.
Possible causes of an ant intrusion
- A young queen has been introduced into the house through a crack or travelled indoors on heating wood, boxes and other objects brought into the house.
- Satellite nests have formed, with or without the queen. Pharaoh ants frequently migrate from one dwelling to another.
Infestation or impromptu visit?
Are there ants crawling across the floor upstairs? Ants crawling in a single-file line along the kitchen walls or floor? How did they get there? Should you be concerned about them?
- A few isolated ants exploring a room, counter or windowsill. They are usually foraging worker ants. Less frequently, it is a queen looking for a shelter to found her colony. Remove any ants you see.
- A large number of ants are in one area continuously. It is recommended to seek help from a pest management professional.
- Winged ants are coming out of cracks in the walls or ceiling. They then try to escape through the windows. Generally, the presence of winged adults is an indicator that there is a fully established colony of ants somewhere inside the house or near the foundations. You can ask help from a pest management professional.
In Quebec, carpenter ants are the only ants that harbour winged adults over the winter. In other species, the adults leave the colony in the summer.
Prevent and control ant intrusion
Ants need water, food and shelter for their nest. By blocking their access to these essential elements, you can keep them from getting into your house.
Here are some tips to prevent ant infestations in your home:
- Keep food in hermetically sealed containers.
- Manage waste carefully. Do not leave anything edible (leftovers, food waste, bread crumbs) on countertops and floors or in the sink. Keep all surfaces clean.
- Create a barrier around pet food bowls by placing them in a dish filled with soapy water. Check bags of pet food.
- Rinse all food packaging before disposing of it. Place organic waste in a sealed container or outdoors in a compost bin, ideally located away from the house.
- Install sticky barriers to keep ants from climbing. Double-sided tape works well for this purpose. Place it around table legs or plant stands.
- Find the places where ants are entering your home and seal them off with silicone-based caulking, which cracks less easily than plaster. Seal off the edges of baseboards and around windowsills as well as any cracks you see. Place screens in any openings, including vent openings.
- Inspect, clean and repair gutters.
To prevent carpenter ants from building a colony in your home:
- Eliminate sources of humidity that could affect wood.
- Repair leaky pipes and roofs
- Make sure humid areas in your house are well ventilated.
- Eliminate any rotting wood around your house.
- Don’t store large pieces of wood near the foundation.
Store heating wood by elevating piles of logs above ground levek. Cord wood away from buildings. Before bringing wood into the house, knock logs together so that any insects on them will drop to the ground. Once you have brought in the wood, inspect it regularly and remove any ants found indoors.
In the event of major infestations, it can be difficult to eliminate ant colonies, and it is recommended that you consult pest management professionals. If the infestation involves carpenter ants, it may take as long as two years to eliminate the entire colony.