Ant Identification & Prevention

Some insects enter our Bronx homes, and we have no idea what they are, while others we recognize instantly.

The ant is an example of a common household pest and an insect that most New York homeowners can quickly identify by its three distinct body parts and defined waist. Other physical features of ants include six legs, short antennae, and winged reproductive members. Ants are social insects that live and work together in large groups, and most ant colonies will successfully maintain multiple nesting sites.

Listed below are some of our area's most common species of ants:

• Carpenter ants
• Crazy ants
• Odorous house ants
• Pavement ants

Ants vary in size, color, and behaviors depending on their species. Having a professional come to your property to identify the species present and perform the correct treatments to eliminate them is always best.

Ants invade our properties in large numbers, are a nuisance, contaminate food, and are quite challenging to eliminate, but most are not dangerous.

Notice we said most? Some ants in our region are dangerous; take, for instance, the carpenter ant. While these ants aren't dangerous to people, they are dangerous to our property. Carpenter ants will nest inside wood, especially water-damaged or decaying wood. The presence of carpenter ants should alert homeowners to a likely moisture problem in or around their homes. 

Ants can become a problem on any of our Bronx properties. They have adapted to living in urban areas with people and know how to take advantage of the necessities we provide them with. Ants love to forage for food from our garbage cans, dumpsters, gardens, pet food, and compost piles.

If ants can find food and shelter in your yard, they will take full advantage and eventually find their way into your home. Some of their most common entry points include cracks in the foundation, gaps around windows and doors, and spaces around utilities like wires or cables entering your house.

Once ants find sources of food and shelter in your home, they will keep returning day after day, and sometimes they will decide to stay and create an indoor nest.

You will find ants in and around your New York home in many places.

When crazy ants decide to nest in our homes, they build their nests behind walls, usually near hot water pipes, air conditioners, or electrical equipment.

Odorous house ants build their nests near moist areas, such as behind walls or under floors near sinks, tubs, air conditioners, or leaky pipes. They create outdoor nests under mulch, fallen trees, leaf piles, and landscaping ties.

Carpenter ants tunnel through and nest within wood. Their popular nesting sites include fallen trees, tree stumps, and your home's structural wood.

The damp soil found in cracks in driveways, sidewalks, and landscaping rocks provides pavement ants with outdoor nesting sites. Inside our homes, pavement ants build nests between bricks, cement blocks, under floors, and behind wall voids.

Get rid of ants with the help of the certified & trained professionals at Caliber Pest Service. We will work with you to not only accommodate your unique pest control needs but to create a lasting relationship with you. Based on your family's and your property's specific needs, we will develop a home pest control plan that will work for you! Our proven pest control methods ensure that ants are eliminated and won't want to return. 

If you are looking for a high-caliber solution to your Bronx property's ant problem, please get in touch with us at Caliber Pest Service today!

We want to provide a few easy-to-follow tips to help make your property less attractive to ants.

• Keep food out of easy reach by keeping lids on trash cans and keeping outdoor eating areas free of food. 
• Eliminate moisture in and around your home that could damage your structural wood or provide a water source for ants.
• Maintain a crushed stone barrier between any soil and your foundation.
• Regularly check your home's exterior, sealing any openings you discover.
• Make sure vents and chimneys have covers and seal up spaces around the utilities entering your home.

If you want more information about ant control in the Bronx, call Caliber Pest Service!