Dealing with an ant infestation inside of your home is extremely frustrating.  Homes have many places for ants to hide and nest on the inside as well as on the outside of the home.  One particularly annoying ant is the odorous house ant.  This pesky ant is notoriously hard to treat throughout New Jersey as well as the entire United States.  It has earned its name well by the distinct sweet smelling rotten coconut stench that it emits when it is squished.

The odorous house ant nest is commonly found outdoors just below the soil surface, in mulch, under rock beds, in woodpiles, in flower pots, under siding, and under pavement stones.  Once they break away from their outdoor nesting site, homeowners often find them indoors occupying wall voids, under carpets or wood floors, in potted plants, and even in appliances.  Do-it-yourselfers beware, using a store-bought ant spray will cause these ants to scatter.  Once they scatter, the colony will relocate and often times disperse into satellite colonies thereby spreading the infestation.

Controlling odorous house ant infestations can be a difficult endeavor.  Heritage Pest Control’s technicians are trained to find ant nesting sites so that full eradication can be achieved.

Carpenter ants cause huge problems for homeowners throughout New Jersey.  These pests do most of their damage at night as they are typically nocturnal creatures.  Like termites, they cause thousands of dollars in damage to New Jersey homes each year.  Once they decide to invade a structure, an entire colony numbering into the thousands can move inside overnight.

Unlike termites which eat wood sources, carpenter ants excavate wood to make their nests.  When they migrate into a structure, they move their eggs, larvae and pupae with them in one massive move.  Carpenter ants need moisture to survive.  Wood that is damaged by rain, leaking faucets or pipes, water heaters, soffits, or gutters, are an open invitation for carpenter ants to come indoors.

Carpenter ant nests are often found under floors, in wall voids, under roofing material, in or under kitchen or bathroom cabinets, or any place where moisture has damaged wood sources.  A New Jersey pest control technician is trained to find carpenter ant nesting spots so that they can be stopped before too much damage can be inflicted.
 

Everyone with a home and a mortgage has homeowners insurance. The standard home owners’ policy excludes vermin damage from being covered. That is because this type of problem happens over a certain amount of time.

The evidence of these wood destroyers is usually recognizable before that happens. That is why insurance does not cover their handiwork. It’s similar to wear and tear in a house or on a roof. After twenty years the average northern New Jersey roof will be looking pretty bad. Homeowners insurance does not and will not pay for a new one, unless a storm happens to come along and helps strip it off.

This is why evidence of vermin must be dealt with quickly. A New Jersey pest control professional can help you deal with any invasive pest as safely and efficiently as possible. This expert offers repair services too but this is an expense you have some control over. Reaching out to a New Jersey pest technician at the first sign of pest activity will limit the amount of damage done to your home and limit the associated expense.

The search for water and food is what usually leads them into your home. Awareness of this fact should have you be sure to keep the kitchen clean of food crumbs and to watch out for slow leaks in pipes that will invite them to drink and possibly stay.

Seeing ants in the home during the winter can indicate they are in a nest somewhere in the house that doesn’t offer much moisture. Behind walls nestled in insulation is one of those spots. These ants can be nesting behind bathroom walls that have some moisture being delivered through leaking tiles and cracked caulking. Their movement in the winter usually means they are very warm and not dormant so they need food.

If you see these ants in winter you should act quickly and call a New Jersey pest control expert. They have the experience to track down these damaging insects and the proper treatments to rid you of these pests. They can also repair areas that the ants have used to get in your house.

It’s true that most nest activity will be done in early spring, but if these branches are still in your yard you could be asking for trouble from this New Jersey pest. Some people will probably get a chainsaw and cut the wood to pieces and leave them in the yard. It’s better to get them out of there now, before next spring, so new nesting activity isn’t encouraged.

If you have a fireplace and keep wood outside, check for signs of carpenter ants. That would be “frass”, a mixture of sawdust and other materials including parts of other insects in a small pile near the wood. Since they are cold blooded they will be looking to find a warm place for the winter, and you don’t want to be giving them a free ride into your house when you want to build a fire.

A New Jersey pest control expert should be called to inspect your home if you see nests outside or suspect one inside. In the meantime you should keep all downed wood away from your house and out of your yard to prevent potential infestations.