# Ants in the house



## eharri3 (Jul 31, 2013)

Generally speaking, occasionally finding ants in the house during the warmer weather is not evidence that there is a colony in the house. It doesn't mean that there isn't, but you could also be looking at stragglers that found there way inside from an outdoor nest while in search of food. Even if you see swarmers, the chance that they will actually find a mate and start a colony inside the home is small.

Ants in the house during the colder fall and Winter months can indicate you have a problem: Swarmers have gotten into the house and succeeded in starting a colony that has thrived in the warmth of the home throughout the Winter.

You have a few options: You can call an exterminator, try to track the ants to their nest and treat it directly, or you can get baits. Carpenter ants are known to be pickier than some of the other species out there when it comes to food, and some say trying to bait them will be hit or miss, but there have been some baits that claim to be able to attract them. My normal pest control routine involves multiple baits of various brand both inside and outside the house as soon as the weather starts to warm up, and before I actually start seeing ants on the ground. I also have an exterminator do a preventative spray on my peremiter and basement once a year in march. Then once that starts to lose effectiveness I put 7 dust or some other insecticide around my foundation about once per month in late summer and fall. The stuff has seemed to work well, as I regularly find dead insects that made it no further than the window sill. 

If you wait until you see a bunch anything the problem will be harder to eliminate.


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## BCSapper (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. I'll look into the baits when I'm in town this weekend. The snow is melting pretty quickly now so I should be able to see if they are on the outside too.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Need to ID the type of ant you have.
Carpenter ants can be very destructive, seeing them in the basement would tell me there may be some issues with the way the walls here built when that basement was finished.
Moisture and rotting wood behind those walls is a common issue in basements.


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## TheDoc46 (Jan 22, 2012)

Get the gels and granuals from doyouownpestcontrol.com also buy some suspend SC and spray the entire house, especially cracks and crevices. 

Its what I did, on my own home and i've not seen an ant since.


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