How to Find an Anthill
Ants in your home are always a concern. In addition to leaving a long, writhing trail of soldier ants that look just awful, ants can carry bacteria and mold spores to your food supply (including pet food), so anything that ants come into contact with in your pantry should be thrown away. On the other hand, not all types of ants are harmless: fire ants and crazy ants (actually, that’s what they’re called ) bite, and the carpenter ant will destroy your home if left unchecked.
So, when you see ants in your home, you must, of course, take action to exterminate them . If store-bought baits and poisons don’t stop them, chances are you have a nest somewhere in the house and you need to find it, especially if you’re dealing with carpenter ants. Here’s how to find an anthill.
follow the trail
Most ants nest in damp, dark places, and they tend to come out at night looking for food. The first place you’ll see most ant invasions is in bathrooms and kitchens because that’s where the moisture is. A good first step to finding a nest is to follow the tracks they leave when they find a food source. This can be frustrating due to the ants’ tendency to wait until you’re asleep before heading out to roost, so plan ahead and try to design things a bit:
- Take a jar lid or a shallow dish and put some honey and/or peanut butter on it, then place it where you saw the tiny critters.
- Wait. Keep checking until you see the ants lining up to feast.
- Follow the path back to its source.
There are a few things to keep in mind: Ant trails can be a bit disorganized. Every time scout ants go out in search of ant resources, they leave a pheromone trail that other ants can follow. This often results in the ants wandering around like drunken sailors when they get home because they keep on accidentally following the old trail. Eventually they find their way, but you should start with a wide view and try to observe the general direction of the ants rather than following one person. Eventually, the trail will lead you to a crack, a seam, or a tiny hole that the ants use to enter your home, which will be very close to their nest. The concentration of your baits and other treatments in this area will be most effective.
Find the signs
If you can’t follow the trail of the ants, you can look for telltale signs of the nest. They vary slightly depending on the species:
- Wood shavings (also called “frass”) are, in fact, sawdust produced by carpenter ants. Working diligently to reduce your home to rubble, they push the dug up timber through their tunnels.
- Dead ants. You might think that seeing a bunch of dead ants is an indication that God favors you and will strike down your invaders, but it’s really just a sign that the nest is nearby.
- Roy. One of the signs that carpenter ants have established themselves in your home is the sighting of a swarm of winged flying ants in your home. They are often attracted to light and appear at night as if by magic. This happens when a carpenter ant’s nest is at its peak and a bunch of drone ants are growing wings and flying out to find a mate and start a new nest, so if you see them, you have a bigger problem than you think. Other swarming ants include pharaoh ants, which will not damage wood but may be a health hazard.
- Sounds. Do you want to be horrified? If you think you have carpenter ants, listen to your walls. If tiny monsters burrow into your frame, you will hear rustling and clicking sounds. Light tapping on the wall while you’re listening often creates a flurry of activity.
- Moisture. Seeing ants in your home, especially carpenter ants that love damp, rotting wood, means it’s time to look for a leaky roof, window, toilet, or appliance.
Check your perimeter
Even if you see ants inside the house, the nest may be outside . If you followed the trail to an outside wall, door, or window, the nest is probably outside. Here’s what to look for:
- Wood. If you left a bunch of old wood outside after building your house – even treated wood – get rid of it. There is a non-zero chance that when you move it, you will find that the ants have chewed it to pieces and/or made a nest under it.
- Dirty mounds. Many species of ants nest in the mud. As they tunnel down, they dig up the dirt, creating a control mound with a hole in the middle.
- Aphid. One of the most fascinating aspects of ant life is that they often use other insects as livestock. Aphids, those tiny green or red insects that devour your plants, are often kept in colonies of ants that feed on their secretions. If you have aphids in your garden and ants in your house, you are likely to find an anthill next to a herd of aphids.