Pavement Ants Around My Indianapolis Home Is No Big Deal, Right?

Imagine you’re taking a nice walk around the block and you see a massive colony of ants swarming around a crack in the sidewalk. Then you see another swarm of ants emerging from a different crack in the sidewalk. Suddenly you’re in the middle of a colony-on-colony ant battle. Ants are head-to-head, mandibles locked together, as they battle workers from a neighboring colony.

Perhaps you have seen this. The sheer number of ants keep growing and growing and you’re unsure where exactly they’re coming from and why they’re locked in pairs. Well, these are pavement ants, and they’re coming from their nests, which lie beneath the pavement.

Pavement ants get their name from the areas they choose to grow their colonies. They typically make nests under pavement or concrete, like under sidewalks, driveways, foundations, or patios. They tend to prefer areas with minimal vegetation. This makes suburban and urban areas ideal environments for them. Think of all the concrete! One block is full of prime real estate for pavement ants. These ants are known to be one of the most common species of ants seen in North America. One colony can have upwards of ten thousand workers and they are extremely defensive of their territory, hence the fighting with neighboring colonies.

Now that we know what we’re dealing with, let's discuss what they look like.

These nuisance pests are usually black or light brown in color. They aren't very long and have segmented antennae. There are tiny grooves on their head and across the length of their thorax. The other thing to note about pavement ants is the fact that they’re covered in fine, tiny hairs.

Pavement ants are pretty low key and laid back. They don’t bite and they’re very docile. They can, however, contaminate food sources. They love to eat sweet, sugary foods like honeydew, and also breads, cheeses, seeds, small insects, and leftover pet food. Any food source that they can bring back to their colony is fair game.

Since they often seek out food in your home, they’re often found crawling around in the kitchen or pantry. While they’re there, they can contaminate everything they touch, exposing you to bacteria and pathogens you wouldn’t have otherwise come into contact with. They grow their colonies at a rapid rate, making them very hard to get rid of. Not only that, but they often come from deep within the soil, making them hard to reach and exterminate.

The best piece of advice we have for pavement ant control is to be proactive to prevent them from entering your property to begin with. Review the following preventative measures that you can take to keep away infestation.

• Eliminate anything stacked or piled up against the house as pavement ants and other pests can use them to successfully access your home.
• Get rid of standing water and excess moisture around the home. This includes keeping pipes and other water-producing things dry and clean.
• Maintain cleanliness. This means cleaning up food on the kitchen floor or keeping food sealed up tight so pavement ants cannot get inside.
• Regularly take out the trash and keep it stored in tightly sealed garbage cans.
• Repair any torn door screens and window screens where pavement ants can gain entry.
• Seal up cracks and spaces around your house so pavement ants cannot get in. This includes cracks in the foundation, basement floor, wall, concrete slabs, etc.
• Trim back any grass, bushes and vegetation near the house so pavement ants don't come into contact with the house.

If you’re looking for reliable ant control assistance in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas, look no further than Action Pest Control. Our team of experienced home pest control technicians are ready to tackle your ant problem, whatever it may be.