The ant pest species that can be found in the northeast establish nests in both yards and houses, and treating ant infestation within yards is not necessarily easier than treating indoor infestations. This is because indoor ant infestations can be eradicated by removing the central nest where the queen ant is located, but removing outdoor nests can be difficult due to their underground location. Some ant pests that nest within yards may cause economic harm by damaging valued turf grass, as well as ornamental and garden plants. While eradicating existing ant infestations within yards is certainly difficult, simple perimeter treatments can effectively prevent ant pests from invading a property.
European fire ants are well known for nesting within yards where they build multiple unsightly dirt mounds, but ant pests that nest outdoors can still become a problem indoors. This is especially true in infestation cases that see outdoor nests located near a home’s foundation. Ants that nest within yards may wander into homes in large numbers in search of human food sources, but these infestations are nothing more than a mere nuisance compared to infestations that see an active indoor nesting site. Outdoor nests do not necessarily need to be located close to a home’s foundation in order for the worker ant inhabitants to infest the home, as worker ants are capable of foraging long distances.
In order to locate food sources that are far away from the nest, worker ants emit trail-following pheromones while foraging so that they can return to their food sources and find their way back to their nest. Worker ants that forage within homes leave behind a trail-following pheromone that allows numerous other workers to also find and enter the home. This is why worker ants that nest outdoors can rapidly become abundant within homes. Indoor ant nests are most commonly located in cabinets, appliances, door frames, window frames, subfloors and concrete slabs.
Have you ever suspected the presence of an ant nest within a hidden area inside your home?
