People have specific expectations about winter, including the presence of snow, ice, wind, and weather that is below freezing.
During the winter, ants are not as common.
However, during the winter, ants may become a problem inside of dwellings.
The following are the species of ants that are most likely to be seen inside a home during the winter in Ontario:
- Carpenter ants
- Pavement ants
- Ants known as Pharaohs
- Acrobat ants
The carpenter ant is the species that does the most damage and is the most prevalent. Carpenter ants are able to do extensive and expensive damage to the structure of a house because they nest inside of wood. The Ant Library in our Pest Library is a great resource for learning more about ants, including some fascinating facts about ants and additional methods for getting rid of ants.
At this time of year, the majority of the ant infestations that need our assistance are brought to our attention by the homeowners:
- During really nice warm sunny winter days when an unknown leak in the house has caused water to back up and wake up a nest of dormant ants or disturb a colony of still active ants.
- When an ant infestation is caused by an unknown leak in the house.
- When an ant infestation is caused by an unknown leak in the house. In the end, these ants are discovered either in the kitchen crawling around the floors, windows, or on the counter, or in the bathroom crawling on the walls, floors, and in the cabinets and even in the sink, tub, or shower stall.
2. During the course of house improvements, most often during the process of installing new windows or doors.
The majority of homeowners are taken aback when they find out that their home has an ant infestation. This is particularly true if they immediately damage a huge nest and see thousands of ants beginning to flood out of a wall hole after they have disturbed the nest (which is very common with carpenter ant infestations). It is quite difficult to think that so many ants have been living within your house and you have been unaware of their presence; nonetheless, this is a common occurrence.
Why do I have ants in my house while it’s freezing outside?
Ants may be a problem at any time of the year, but if you find ants inside your house (or your company) in the winter, this is often an indication that you have a colony of ants living in your home already. Ants can also be a problem in other parts of the world.
How exactly did they manage to get inside?
Ant colonies are often located outside, although during the spring, summer, and autumn months, ants may be found searching for food and water inside of buildings such as houses and businesses. Ants colony locations are typically found outside.
In the process of searching for food, ants from a colony that was in your yard or on your driveway next to your house might make their way inside via cracks and fissures in the outside of your property. Ants often construct their nests inside of houses in one of the following locations: wall voids, door frames, window frames, ceilings, insulation, beneath floors, behind cupboards, or baseboards.
Carpenter ants, which are drawn to damp areas, like to set up their nests in places where there is a likelihood of water leaking, such as around pipes, drains, kitchens, and bathrooms, as well as in and around the frames of windows and doors.
Ants do not want to construct their colony inside of a house or company
Ants, on the other hand, normally do not want to construct their colony inside of a house or company; nonetheless, this does happen because ants have discovered a way inside, and the circumstances are hospitable – it is warm and offers a sustainable supply of food and water.
The following is a typical and real-life illustration of how ants may enter a residence and how an infestation might be found: A house had a fissure on the outside beneath the siding that was near a window. This fracture allowed water to gently leak into the wooden window frame, but there were no indications that there was a problem.
Because of the persistent moisture, the wood behind the siding started to rot over the course of many years, which created an environment that was ideal for the colonization of carpenter ants. Carpenter ants were able to enter the house in their hunt for food since there was already a break in the facade, and once inside, they discovered the ideal environment in which to establish a colony. When the window’s frame was removed during the process of installing a new window, it was found that the wood had completely deteriorated and that it was infected with hundreds of carpenter ants.
When winter arrives, do ants hibernate or remain active?
It’s possible that an ant colony in your house is just partly dormant or is still active during the winter. They may enter a condition similar to dormancy if their nesting place is too cold and remain in this state until they are rouse. If an ant colony is locate in a warm area that also provides a sufficient amount of food and water, such as in the kitchen next to an appliance that is in use, the colony may continue to be active throughout the winter and may even increase in size.
What is the Most Effective Strategy for Eliminating Ants from the Home?
First, determine the Ant species
Call a certified pest control in Toronto if you see ants in your house during the winter months. Ants may be a troublesome pest. Why? Because the most essential thing that professional ant exterminator will do is assist you in accurately identifying the kind of ants that are infesting your house in order to ensure that the appropriate treatment is apply within your property, Why should we care about this?
Treatments for eliminating various kinds of ants must be tailor according to each species. If you want to get rid of ants inside your house, for instance, an interior spray treatment will work on carpenter ants, acrobat ants, and sidewalk ants, but it won’t work on pharaoh ants. It is necessary to use bait treatments in order to get rid of pharaoh ants
The next step is to search for the ants and find their nest.
Our ant control specialist will first identify the kind of ant they are dealing with, and then they will trail one of the ants to investigate the possibility of finding the nest. There may be more than one nest depending on the kind of ant and the length of time that it has been since the infestation was discover. It might be difficult to find the nest, but doing so is very necessary in order to get rid of the ants that are in the home.
The next step is to treat the ants inside.
After finding the location of the nest, they will be able to apply the appropriate treatment to the inside of the structure in order to assist get rid of the ants. Eco friendly Pest Control products do not harm the environment and are suitable for use around both humans and animals.
Fourth Step: Preventative Surface Treatment
When you have an ant problem in the winter, the only ants that the treatment for ants inside your home will help you get rid of are the ones that are already there. Ants were able to enter your home, and if the problem that allowed them to do so is not correct or address, then it is likely that ants will be able to enter your home once again; that is, a infestation might take place.
Because of this, we usually advise getting rid of ants on the outside of your home once a year in the late spring. Because of the accumulation of snow and ice surrounding residences throughout the winter, it is hard to do any exterior treatments at this time of year. Ant treatments applied outside of your house are an excellent approach of both preventing ants from entering your home in the first place and preventing them from returning.
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