Ants make their living on persistence. They slip through hairline cracks, forage with clockwork reliability, and return to the same jackpot until it runs dry. When a client tells me they’ve “tried everything,” what they usually mean is they’ve killed thousands of workers and never touched the engine of the colony. Managing ants is less about swatting what you see and more about shaping behavior, starving the nest, and closing the routes that keep them in business. The approach changes with the species, the building, and the time of year, but the fundamentals hold steady.
What follows reflects what works on the ground for a pest control contractor who has crawled under decks, opened baseboards, and chased trailing workers with a flashlight and patience. It’s written for homeowners who prefer to manage their own property intelligently and for facility managers who want to hold a pest control service to a high standard. If you call in an exterminator, you’ll also know how to talk to them and what to expect from a thorough exterminator service.
First, identify the ant that’s bothering you
Every smart plan starts with species. I’ve seen clients burn weeks baiting carpenter ants with sugar gels while the colony feasts on dead insects outside. I’ve also seen odorous house ants brush past a liquid perimeter treatment as if it were a garden mist, because their trails run through the structure and into plantings that get frequent water. Identification is not a nice-to-have, it is the map.
Common household offenders in North America:
- Odorous house ants: Small, uniform brown to black workers, coconut-like odor when crushed, love sweets, nest in wall voids, mulch, or under stones. They readily split colonies and move queens, which makes heavy spraying a mistake. Baits work well when fresh and placed correctly.
Argentine ants: Uniform light to dark brown, form massive supercolonies, trail aggressively along edges and roots, prefer sweets and proteins depending on season. Perimeter treatments can help, but you typically win with a combination of reducing moisture, relentless sanitation, and multiple bait placements.
Pavement ants: Brown with parallel ridges on the head, nest under slabs, along drive edges, and in masonry voids. They accept both sugar and protein baits. Target expansion joints and cracks, and do not ignore food waste in garages.
Carpenter ants: Large black or red-and-black ants, prefer damp wood voids. They feed on honeydew and sweets but need protein. Killing foragers does little if the parent nest sits inside damp framing. You may need to locate a satellite nest in a window frame, chimney chase, or porch beam and physically remove or directly treat it.
Pharaoh ants: Tiny yellow ants that specialize in hospitals and high-rises. They fragment readily when sprayed. Only targeted baiting will end the problem. If you suspect pharaoh ants, stop spraying immediately and bait with care.
Not every homeowner can key ants to species under a loupe on the kitchen counter. That’s the point of a professional inspection. A reliable pest control company will collect a sample, use a hand lens in the field, or take it back for ID. If your exterminator can’t tell you the species or at least the likely group, press pause on any broad-spectrum treatment.
The difference between a few scouts and a persistent infestation
Ants are always scouting. A couple of workers on the counter after a big rain isn’t the same as lines of traffic every afternoon. Persistence has patterns. It shows up as regular foraging at the same time each day, the same seam on the baseboard, the same seam behind a dishwasher panel. You’ll often see renewed intensity after irrigation cycles or heavy weather.
I like to ask four questions during an inspection:
- Where are they entering, and where are they going? A sticky note, a flashlight, and five minutes of quiet will answer this. Follow the trail back to its entry points and mark them. Then follow the trail forward to the food source you may not have realized you were providing.
What’s the moisture story? Look under sinks, behind the refrigerator, around windows, and below bathrooms. A slow drip will beat any bait.
What season and time of day? Argentine ants push hard in warm afternoons, odorous house ants often shift trails after rain, carpenter ants go nocturnal in summer. Timing guides bait placement and interpret “no activity” during the wrong hour.
Is there outdoor pressure? Mulch pulled tight to the foundation, dense ivy, wood stacked against siding, and sprinkler heads soaking weep screeds all make your interior a pit stop on a well-traveled highway.
If you track those variables for even two days, your plan writes itself.
Why repellent sprays often make ants worse
Many over-the-counter aerosols and perimeter sprays are repellent. They kill on contact and smell toxic to ants long after they’ve dried. For some species, especially odorous house ants and pharaoh ants, repellent treatments split colonies, strand queens, and drive trails deeper into the structure. You’ll see fewer ants for a week, then twice as many in three rooms.
Non-repellent insecticides, used correctly by a pest control contractor, can have a place for certain ant species and structures. The goal is transfer: workers pick up a micro-dose, carry it back, and share it across the colony. The key is judgment. Spraying a repellent barrier because “that’s the package” is how you lose two months and goodwill. If an exterminator company proposes a general spray without inspection and species identification, ask for an evidence-based plan instead. A good exterminator will explain where a non-repellent fits and where baits do the heavy lifting.
Baits win when they are fresh, targeted, and matched to appetite
Ants follow food. If a professional could keep only one tool for household infestations, it would be bait. Success depends on a few details people tend to skip.
Rotation between sweet and protein. Appetite changes with season and colony needs. In spring, many species crave carbohydrates to fuel workers. Later, colonies pivot to proteins for brood. Put out two small bait placements side by side and see which one draws traffic within 30 to 60 minutes. Refresh whichever wins.
Small, multiple placements. Instead of a golf ball of gel in one kitchen corner, place pea-sized dots near trail intersections, at entry points, and under appliances where trails run. Outdoors, tuck bait stations near shaded foundation lines and irrigation valves where trails are active. More points of access equals better distribution into the nest.
Zero competition nearby. Baits fail when crumbs, pet food, fruit bowls, or sticky recycling bins offer a richer scent profile. Clean thoroughly first. I’ve watched colonies ignore industry-grade bait to gorge on jelly drips behind a toaster.
Protected placements. Sun bakes gels. Sprinklers and dew flood stations. Keep baits in shade, on the underside of horizontal runs, or inside tamper-resistant stations. If you can’t keep a gel in place, use a bait station labeled for your target ants.
Patience. The point is to feed the colony, not the kitchen. You want the line to steady, then thin, then fade over several days. If you kill the foragers immediately, you never starve the brood.
When clients say baits don’t work, I ask how often they replaced them. Gel dries hard within a day in a warm kitchen. Stations collect dust and lose volatility. Freshness matters. A good pest control service will return to rotate baits, adjust placements, and tighten sanitation until traffic collapses.
Moisture, vegetation, and building details that keep ants coming
Ants need water, cover, and a bridge to your structure. Most “mystery” infestations turn out to be obvious once you look from an ant’s eye level.
Mulch against the slab. Wood mulch holds moisture and shelters ants. Pull it back 8 to 12 inches from the foundation. If you must mulch, switch to stone near the perimeter or use a thin, dry layer that doesn’t stay wet.
Irrigation timing. Afternoon watering keeps the soil warm and damp into the evening when ants forage. Water at dawn, then let the top inch dry before sunset. Make sure sprinkler heads are not soaking siding or weep holes.
Plants as highways. Ivy, jasmine, rosemary hedges, and mature shrubs press leaves and stems against stucco, forming perfect bridges. Trim vegetation back 12 to 18 inches from the building and raise canopies. For clients who insist on lush plantings, I set an expectation: you will always fight ants more than your neighbor with a bare perimeter.
Compromised seals. Silicone around a sink that pulls away, a missing escutcheon around a pipe, a garage weather strip with a 3-millimeter gap, a dryer vent flap stuck open, all become entry points. Ants don’t need a hole you can see, they need a seam that holds scent and shelter. Spend an hour sealing, and half your trail mapping becomes irrelevant.
Rot and condensation. Carpenter ants don’t create moisture problems, they follow them. Window corners stained from years of condensation or a shower bench that leaks into framing invite nests. Fix the moisture first, then remediate the nest. Spraying the surface won’t touch the problem.
A pest control company that treats the exterior without addressing moisture and vegetation is buying you a few quiet weeks. A contractor who trims, seals, and resets irrigation earns you months.
Inside the kitchen and bath, small habits outweigh big chemicals
There is a rhythm to a kitchen that either feeds ants or starves them. During high-pressure seasons, I’ll coach clients to run two or three small habits like a checklist for three weeks. It’s not forever, but it matters.
- Wipe sugar and oil, not just crumbs. The smear from a peanut butter knife or a splash of juice beneath a fruit bowl will keep a trail active for days. Hot water and a little detergent beat disinfectant wipes for this job.
Empty and rinse recycling. A sticky soda can in the bin is a bait station in disguise. A five-second rinse and a hole punched in a bottle cap to release odor prevents trail lock-on.
Rotate pet feeding. Set meals, then pick up bowls and wipe the area. If free-feeding is non-negotiable, create an obstacle: a shallow pan with a thin water moat around the bowl, or a silicone mat that can be lifted and rinsed daily.
Audit the dishwasher. Food debris collects at the filter and lips. Clean the filter weekly if you’re battling ants. Check for a weep at the supply line and a drip at the door seal.
Close the night shift. Before bed, dry the sink, hang dishcloths, and run the disposer with hot water. Ants follow scent more than sight, and a dry sink is a dead end.
When those steps run alongside proper baiting, I’ve seen heavy activity collapse in 5 to 10 days. Without them, you are laying out bait on a buffet table.
When the ants live inside the structure
Sometimes the colony is not outside pushing in. It’s inside pushing out. You can tell by warmth: ants appearing from an interior wall in winter, or consistent traffic at an upper-story baseboard with no exterior heat source nearby. In multifamily buildings, pharaoh ants and odorous house ants often nest in warm utility chases and move across units.
Approach differs:
Find the void. Listen at night for carpenter ants tapping. Use a non-contact moisture meter on suspect walls and trim. A thermal camera can reveal warm voids with heavy activity. I’ll drill a pinhole behind a baseboard or inside a cabinet and insert a borescope to confirm.
Targeted dusts and foams. For carpenter ants and pavement ants nesting in voids, a non-repellent foam labeled for wall voids reaches galleries that sprays can’t. A light application of silica or botanical dust through a pinhole can desiccate a nest. Precision matters, especially in kitchens and baths where ventilation and food contact surfaces are close.
Selective bait placements inside voids. With odorous house ants and pharaoh ants, inject a measured amount of the right bait into the void and set small placements along emergence points. Then leave it alone. Don’t clean away the trail markers you need to carry the bait in.
Structure repairs. If you find wet sheathing, delaminated plywood near windows, or a leaking tub drain, schedule repairs. An exterminator service can stabilize a situation, but a carpenter or plumber solves it. A pest control contractor who also understands building envelopes will lay out that sequence rather than over-apply chemistry.
The role of perimeter treatments, used with judgment
Non-repellent perimeter applications can support a bait-first plan for species like Argentine and pavement ants, especially in high-pressure landscapes. The product should be non-repellent, applied as a narrow band where ants travel, and kept off flowering plants to protect pollinators. Granular baits labeled for ants can be broadcast lightly in mulch beds, but I prefer targeted placements because irrigation dilutes value and broadcasts invite non-target consumption.
Expectations matter. A perimeter treatment is not a force field. It reduces pressure, it does not excuse sanitation lapses or a leaking hose bib soaking siding. If a pest control service sells only a spray, you are buying maintenance, not resolution.
A seasonal calendar that helps you stay ahead
In my own accounts, I plan for shifts through the year rather than reacting to each flare-up. A homeowner can do the same.
Early spring: Inspect for moisture, clear vegetation, pull mulch back, seal gaps. Place a few test baits outdoors on warm days to check appetite. Address carpenter ant satellite nests if you find wet wood.
Late spring to midsummer: Run sanitation habits hard in kitchens. Use sugar-forward baits if trails appear, then rotate to protein as brood demand rises. Add non-repellent perimeter treatments if exterior pressure builds.
Late summer to early fall: Watch for trail changes after storms or irrigation adjustments. Refresh seals and door sweeps that have worn in heat. Many colonies push hard now. Stay disciplined with bait freshness.
Late fall and winter: If you see ants indoors in cold weather, suspect interior nests or utility chases. Avoid repellent treatments. Focus on baiting and diagnostics. This is also a good time to schedule repairs and upgrades, since pressure from outside is lower.
This rhythm prevents the common cycle of ignoring ants until they’re everywhere, then overreacting with the wrong tactic.
What a thorough professional service looks like
Not every problem needs a professional, but a persistent ant issue often benefits from one good cycle of inspection and follow-through. A competent pest control company will:
Ask about timing, moisture, and food sources, not just “where did you see them.” Expect them to walk the site with a flashlight, inside and out, at floor level and along utility lines.
Identify the species or explain the likely group and how that shapes the plan. If they hedge, they should still articulate why they’ll bait instead of spray, or vice versa.
Use baits first for species that split under stress, and reserve non-repellent perimeter treatments for supporting roles. Repellent sprays should be rare in ant work inside structures.
Place multiple small bait placements, mark them, and schedule a follow-up within 7 to 14 days to rotate baits and adjust. They should replace anything that has hardened, been ignored, or been eaten.
Address building and landscape contributors: mulch, irrigation, vegetation, seals. Some exterminator companies offer light exclusion work. If they don’t, they should at least document what needs doing.
If your exterminator rushes to a truck sprayer in five minutes, or refuses to discuss sanitation and moisture, you’re buying a temporary quiet. A good pest control contractor will leave you with fewer ants and fewer reasons for ants to return.
Special cases and problem-solving from the field
Bait shyness in odorous house ants. This species can sour on a bait lot if a placement goes stale or was over-applied. When that happens, clear all baits for 48 hours, https://milogdvx694.wpsuo.com/seasonal-guide-fall-pest-control-preparation-1 clean trails with soapy water, then reintroduce a single fresh bait in a high-traffic spot. Once feeding resumes, ladder additional placements along the trail.
Ants in electronics. Warm electronics attract ants, especially in garages and server closets. Never spray into equipment. Cut power if possible, remove dust, and use small bait placements on cards near cord entries. If an active nest is inside, a light application of a non-repellent aerosol labeled for that use, with power disconnected and adequate ventilation, can help. Document everything and let equipment fully dry before restoring power.
Multifamily and pharaoh ants. Spraying a single apartment drives pharaoh ants into neighbors. Management must coordinate a bait-only plan across stacked units, utility chases, and common areas. I’ve seen three months of complaint calls drop to silence after a coordinated two-visit bait rotation and a housekeeping tune-up in laundry rooms.
Carpenter ants that keep returning to a porch beam. Every time, there’s moisture. I’ve opened beams to find failed flashing at a ledger or a downspout that dumps near a post base. Fix water, replace damaged wood, then consider a residual treatment in the new void. Without that sequence, you’ll just be treating a symptom each spring.
Landscape crews undoing progress. Weekly blowers push debris against foundations, and irrigators reset timers to “green it up,” soaking slabs. Coordinate with your landscaper: perimeter dry zones, trimmed plants, morning irrigation, and a no-blow zone against the foundation.
Safety and stewardship
A responsible plan keeps people, pets, and non-target insects safe. Baits, used correctly, are low-risk because they are placed in small quantities where ants travel. Keep them out of reach of children and pets, wipe up any smears on food-contact surfaces, and prefer tamper-resistant stations outdoors. Avoid spraying flowering plants or drift in gardens. If you keep bees, alert your pest control service. They can adjust placement and timing to avoid foraging hours and sensitive plants.
Read labels. Follow them. Labels are law for a reason. Professional products are not inherently “stronger,” they are often more precise. The difference between a safe outcome and a regrettable one is attention.
When to escalate
If you’ve run two to three weeks of disciplined baiting, tightened sanitation, and addressed moisture, but trails remain or spread, escalate. That could mean:
- Hiring a pest control service to identify species and apply non-repellents in targeted zones you can’t reach safely.
Opening suspect voids to confirm and remediate a nest, particularly for carpenter ants in damp wood.
Coordinating across property lines. Argentine ants, for example, move freely across fences. Neighbors with irrigated beds pressed to a shared wall will keep pressure high.
Persistent ant problems are solvable when you treat the colony as the customer. You’re offering them a meal they can’t refuse, cutting off the freebies, and closing the doors they prefer. The rest is timing and follow-through. When a pest control contractor walks you through that logic and backs it with neat bait placements, clean seals, and a plan to revisit, the odds swing your way. And once you’ve turned a heavy infestation into quiet, keep two or three of those small habits and a fresh bait on hand. Ants don’t give up, but they do move on when your place is the hardest stop on the block.
Clements Pest Control Services Inc
Address: 8600 Commodity Cir Suite 159, Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: (407) 277-7378
Website: https://www.clementspestcontrol.com/central-florida