Ant Control In Florida

If you know about the pests in Florida, you know about the ants. Inside, outside, here, there, and everywhere, they can be a bother.

While it’s typical to find them while you’re on a hike, if your home or yard is a hot spot for ants, you might want to consider ant control.

You shouldn’t have to worry about wearing flip-flops outside, and you definitely shouldn’t have to worry about seeing them every time you wash your hands.

Consider this article your guide to ant control in Florida. Whether you have big ants or small ants, fire ants, or just plain sugar ants, there’s a solution to your ant problem.

Our Ant Control Process

The first step to any ant control process is identification. Since different ants have different behaviors and biology, they require different treatments.

The good news is we know the different kinds of ants so you don’t have to.

The next step to ant control is the treatment. Our ant control treatment includes the use of non repellant sprays and advanced baiting kits to eliminate ants of all kinds from your home.

The final part to controlling ants in South Florida is prevention. First things first, we’ll make the rounds, putting extra special attention toward the foundation.

Any cracks or crevices? We’ll seal ‘em up.

The goal of this is to make sure ants have no way of getting into your home.

If you don’t want professional pest control, you can purchase caulk in most major retail stores. But if you want an extra set of eyes and hands, Native Pest Management has skilled technicians that know the in’s and out’s of keeping the ants away.

Another huge part of controlling ants is cutting off their food sources. A major food source for ants is likely on your houseplants or your shrubs outside.

This food source is a substance called honeydew. I’m not talking about the fruit, but  about a sugary liquid secreted by the aphids, whiteflies or scale insects on your plants.

Ants will go the extra mile to get the honeydew. When they find a home with plant pests like aphids, they hang around and they even stimulate the aphids to produce honeydew.  

Some species of aphids actually need ants to help excrete honeydew, so it’s likely that if you have ants in or around your home, you have aphids around as well.

So to remove the ants from your property, a big step is eliminating the honeydew producing insects.

That’s the big picture, but ant control can vary depending on the type of ants. While we use our general ant control process on ants like sugar ants, ghost ants and pavement ants, others need a more specialized treatment.

Keep reading to learn about ant control processes for the different types of ants in South Florida!

Ant Control For The Most Common Ants

Sugar ants are actually a broad term for any typical household ant. When customers tell us they have “sugar ants” in their house, these often end up being ghost ants, carpenter ants, or pavement ants.

This is a common name because ants really really like sugar. They’re often in your home to find food, and sugar is at the top of their list.

So to prevent sugar ants, you’ll want to keep sugar - and any other food and water - out of reach.

You’ll also still want to practice ant exclusion by sealing your home with a caulking tool.

How to prevent sugar ants (this applies to all ants):

• Keep counters and surfaces clean.
• Store food in air-tight containers.
• Keep a lid on your garbage can and take it out daily.
• Fix faulty plumbing and leaky pipes.
• Make sure your gutters are in good shape.
• Seal cracks and crevices around the outside of your home with caulk.
• Trim tree branches so the ants can’t climb them and use them as a bridge to get into your home.

Carpenter Ant Control

There are actually multiple species of carpenter ants. Two of the most common carpenter ants in South Florida are Camponotus floridanus and Camponotus tortuganus.

These ants all vary in size and are an ash-brown or rusty-orange. Carpenter ants are after your wood.

But they don’t eat the wood like termites do, they hollow it out so they can form a nest inside. They also love wood with moisture.

So if you think you might have carpenter ants in your home, you’ll want to look at areas with wood, areas with moisture, and areas with both.

Where To Find Carpenter Ants Outside:

• Tree stumps
• Logs
• Fallen trees
• Wood piles

Where To Find Carpenter Ants Inside:

• Behind basement walls, kitchen walls or bathroom walls
• Chimneys
• Door frames
• Windows
• Sinks

And just remember, these ants are still similar to other household sugar ants - they’re looking for food, so cleaning and sealing your home are some of your best bets when eliminating carpenter ants.

Ghost Ant Control

Ghost ants, like their name suggests, are a little bit trickier to spot. These invisible ants have transparent bodies and are one of the smallest ants in South Florida, so there’s a chance you’ll have trouble finding all of them on your own.

And since ghost ants are so small,  our pest control technicians use an extra close eye, not only when looking for the ants, but also when looking for openings around your house. The teeniest-tiniest hole in your home’s foundation could be the entry point of an entire ghost ant colony.

Keep in mind, the number of ants in a ghost ant colony in South Florida can range from 100 to 1000 ants.

How to seal cracks in the house with caulk using a kit:

1. Prep the targeted areaby removing any paint, then clean with rubbing alcohol. Rinse with water and dry.
2. Apply painter’s tape around the area where you don’t want the caulk.
3. Cut the tip of the caulk nozzle at a 45-degree angle using scissors or a sharp knife.
4. Prep the caulk gunby putting the cartridge in securely.
5. Apply the caulk at a 45-degree angle in one steady direction, keeping the trigger held down.
6. Use a caulk finishing tool to smooth over the area, remove the tape, and wipe excess caulk with water.

Big-Headed Ant Control

Big-headed ants are another common ant species in South Florida. They’re unique for a few reasons:

1. They have an enormous head.
2. While you can find a big-headed ant infestation in your home, they prefer to nest outside.

Where To Find Big-Headed Ants In Your Yard:

• Near trees
• Under logs, stones, or bricks
• Under yard debris, leaf piles or any clutter
• Around your home’s foundation
• Near pavement
• In driveways

Where To Find Big-Headed Ants Indoors:

• Around and underneath sinks
• On countertops
• On window frames or door frames
• Around appliances

Fire Ant Control

Fire ant control is a whole different ball game. They aren’t just an annoyance, they also have a stinger that can be painful.

There are two different fire ants we treat:

• The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), which is the most common fire ant in South Florida 
• The tropical fire ant (Solenopsis geminata) 

Fire ants live in large mounds of dirt, which are usually pretty easy to spot. That’s why we’re able to do spot treatments for fire ants.

Another way to get rid of fire ants is through broadcast fire ant bait applications. These advanced baits are slow acting, so the ants have time to spread them to their entire colony.

They contain an insect growth regulator that will disrupt the life cycle of the ants, destroying the colony.

Our barrier fire ant treatments go around the circumference of your home and keep the ants from getting inside.