Why Do Black Ants Come Inside A Clean House?

Ants are tiny and relatively harmless, but they can still be an unwelcome visitor to any home. Even when you’ve thoroughly cleaned and dusted every nook and cranny in your house, these little pests can still be seen crawling on the floors and kitchen counters. To get rid of incessant ant infestations, it’s important to know the reasons why they’re coming indoors and how they find their way inside your space.

So why do you still see black carpenter ants entering your clean home? There are several reasons why black ants are coming into your home. Typically, they invade homes in search of food sources and water. They could also be looking for shelter from the weather changes or they’re attracted to the decaying wood near or within your property. Lastly, it’s also possible that they’re coming from nearby houses and have migrated to your property.

Is A Clean House Enough To Keep Ants Away?

Carpenter ants are one of the popular species of black ants that can be found both inside and outside your property. If you’re trying to prevent an ant infestation, it’s a common measure to keep your home clean and spotless especially during the seasons when they’re known to be active. But regardless of how much you’ve sanitized and decluttered your home, there are incidences when you can still find black house ants indoors.

A black carpenter ant infestation can happen anytime to any homeowner and here are some of the possible reasons why these pests come to even a clean house:

They’re persistently looking for food and water sources

Like other pests, carpenter ants need to eat in order to survive, which is why they’re very hardworking in their hunt for food and water. This type of ants mostly likes to consume proteins from living or dead insects. They’re also attracted to sweets so if you’ve left any sugary foods unattended, it’s likely that they’ll come into your kitchen pantry to feast on them.

Once they’ve started going in and out of your kitchen, they leave behind pheromone trails for other ants to easily find the food. This ant trail is one of the reasons why ants could be increasing in number in your home.

It’s also possible that you may have faulty pipes or leaking water sinks that can be attracting these ants. Carpenter ants like to build their nests near damp or moist areas so they don’t run out of water to drink. You should check your water structures or pipes and fix any leaks to prevent any ant invasion.

They’re looking for warmth and shelter from the changing weather conditions

Most indoor ant activity can be spotted during winter when they’re seeking shelter from the cold temperature outside. It’s likely that they’ve entered through holes or gaps in your foundation and have established their satellite nests or colonies in the warm and hidden areas in your home. They mostly stay dormant during this season, but if they encounter any leftover food or stumble upon your well-stocked pantry, you may see them actively going out of their nests to get food.

They’re migrating from your neighbor’s home

As social insects, ants don’t tend to stay in one place. They like to move around together in search of new habitats. You may also have a sudden ant infestation because they’ve migrated from your neighbor’s home. If anyone near you has had a recent or ongoing ant infestation, it’s possible that they’ve also spread to your home to establish their nests.

This can happen during the swarming season for carpenter ants. Once their colonies have matured and reached maximum population, the winged ants or reproductives can fly from their nests to look for a new place to start a colony. It’s easy for flying ants to flock to your home, assess its conditions and liveability, and build their new nesting place there if they get comfortable.

They have found decaying or rotten wood in your home structure

Your house may be clean indoors but tree branches and piles of firewood laying outside your property could be their main target. These stacks of wood and tree stumps may be inviting carpenter ants to your home. These ants are notorious for chewing on any wooden materials to create their galleries or tunnels to their nests.

If your home has a decaying wooden foundation, carpenter ants can infest the wood and further weaken your home’s structure. This can amount to thousands of property damage, so it’s best to replace or remove any rotten wood in your home and make sure to have the new wood treated so the ant infestations don’t happen again.

Where Can You Typically Find Carpenter Ants Inside?

Carpenter ants can build two types of ant colonies indoors. The first one is the parent colony, which is their main nest that houses the queen and some workers. The other one is called satellite nests, where most of their worker ants are. The ants that you find inside the home may have originated from a parent nest located outside from stacks of woods or in trees. When indoors, they usually like to build their satellite nests in:

Small wall voids
Hollow spaces
Attic vents or foam insulation
Behind baseboards
Under the water sinks or toilets
Behind wooden framings such as doors and windows
Hidden behind kitchen cabinets or counters

How To Keep Ants From Coming Inside The Home

There are simple pest control measures that you can do to curb the increasing carpenter ant population in your home. From using natural ant repellents, placing non-toxic ant baits, to sealing their possible entry points, here are some of the ways that can help keep black house ants at bay:

Prepare ant repellent solutions: There are several natural ingredients that can be used to repel ants at home. Some of these are lemon juice, lemon eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, and tea tree oil. They can be used to prepare a DIY spray which you can apply on visible ant paths both inside and outside your home. This will erase their scent trails by covering it up with another smell that deters them.
Keep your garbage in the trash can outdoors: When taking out the trash, make sure to place it inside the bin and cover it properly. Don’t let garbage accumulate indoors since this can attract carpenter ants to scavenge the leftover food in the trash. Clear the bins regularly to eliminate any food residue.
Clean up after cooking and eating: The kitchen is every ant’s favorite hangout spot, so make it a point to avoid leaving any crumbs after eating and cooking. Wipe the surfaces and counters to remove food debris. You should also sweep the kitchen floors thoroughly and consistently to eliminate the ants’ access to food bits.
Place all food items in tightly-sealed containers: Limit their food source by storing snacks, sweet foods, and even pet food in plastic containers.
Set up ant baits at active areas: You can buy non-toxic ant baits like boric acid or food-grade diatomaceous earth and place them in bait stations for the carpenter ants. Ant baits can eliminate the entire colony slowly so you need to be patient when you use this method.
Seal all possible entry points to your home: The best way to control carpenter ants at home is to close off all possible entryways. Check any small gaps and openings, and use a sealant or silicone-based caulk to cover the holes and prevent them from entering indoors.

Signs That You Need Professional Help For Your Ant Infestation

Aside from carpenter ants, there are thousands of ant species that you should look out for such as pavement ants, acrobat ants, sugar ants, pharaoh ants, and odorous house ants. To know if you have an ongoing ant infestation at home, here are some common warning signs that you need to know:

You notice multiple active ant trails inside and outside your home
You spot an ant mound that looks like a pile of soil or dirt on your floors or along baseboards
You see discarded wings by window sills or doors
You notice visible damages on any wooden structure or furniture at home
You see live ants in your home throughout the day

These telltale signs can mean that you need to immediately call a professional pest control company to help with your ant problem. They can help inspect and locate the actual sites where carpenter ants are coming from and set up barrier treatments or bait stations outdoors to keep them from coming indoors.

Professional Pest Control Services For Ant Elimination At Positive Pest Management

pest control worker confident in doing his job with pesticide sprayer

It can be a frustrating occurrence to see black house ants invading your once clean and infestation-free home. The best way to manage your ant problem and ultimately, to maintain the sanitation of your home is to enlist a professional and reliable pest control service like Positive Pest Management.

We’re a team of highly-competent pest control experts who are always ready and eager to help get rid of ants at home, as well as other kinds of pests and insects. We’re equipped with the latest tools and use quality pest control treatments to address and exterminate any kind of pest problem you might have. Contact us today and get a free quote.