What It Takes To Get Rid Of Ants In Your Virginia Beach Home

It is our nature to want to be in control. When you get up in the morning, you probably have a plan for what you want to accomplish, where you need to go, and what you will eat. You may have a daily routine that includes a workout, relaxation, working, reading, and other activities that give you a sense of purpose and accomplishment. We want to be in charge of our schedule. We don't like it when something or someone interrupts our routine. Unfortunately, an invasion of ants in your home can upset your day. 

If you have a line of ants running through the kitchen, experience ants crawling across the kitchen counter, or see them crawling over your pet's food, secure ant control in Virginian Beach from Hawk Mosquito & Pest. A full-time fighter who instills integrity and the drive for 100% customer satisfaction in everything guides our local, family-owned company. We are a Better Business Bureau A+ rated company with highly-trained technicians who know how to eliminate pests in effective and efficient ways. As an Approved Elite Service company on HomeAdvisor, we offer budget-friendly plans and eco-friendly alternatives. 

You probably found this article because ants have disrupted your routine by invading your Virginia Beach home, and you want to remove them. Please keep reading to identify the ants in your house, understand the problems they create, and why do-it-yourself methods are not usually successful.

Identifying Common Ant Species

Before we examine the characteristics of ants common in Virginia Beach, let's look at the general aspects of these creatures. Ants are insects in the Insecta class; animals in this scientific classification have a three-part segmented body (head, thorax, and abdomen), an external skeleton that they shed to progress through growth phases, six jointed legs, two antennae, and compound eyes. Some ants have stingers and wings, but none have spinnerets. 

Ants that commonly infest Virginian Beach homes share these characteristics but are not similar in body length, color, behaviors, and habits. These types of ants invade homes in Virginia Beach:

• Carpenter ants
• Odorous house ants
• Pavement ants
• Pharaoh ants

Let's examine each species to help you identify the ants in your home.

Carpenter ants have a black, brown, red, or black and red 1/2 to 5/8-inch body. Compared to other ants on our list, these ants have larger bodies. There is a connection between this ant species and wood because these ants create nests in damp, fungus-infested timber. Usually, an infestation inside a home begins with the ants living outside in rotting tree stumps and fence posts, firewood piles on the ground, and underneath stones. When these ants detect moist wood in the crawl space, basement, underneath the porch, etc., they start a satellite nest in the house.  

Perhaps the most common ants in homes is the odorous house ant. This ant species has a 1/16 to 1/8-inch brown or black body. When they invade homes, they create nests in humid areas near water heaters, leaking plumbing, and termite-damaged wood. 

When you enjoy the outdoors around your home and notice ants crawling around cracks in the sidewalk, driveway, or masonry walls, you probably see pavement ants. These ants have the same body color (black or brown) as odorous house ants and are 1/8-inch long. They not only create nests outside, but when they enter a Virginia Beach home, they live in the walls, underneath insulation, and under floors. 

All the ants on our list have dark-colored bodies, but pharaoh ants have a 1/16-inch pale yellow or reddish head and thorax with a darker abdomen. As with other ants on our list, pharaoh ants live in moist areas behind wood facades, baseboards, inside furniture, and underneath floors. Pharaoh ants are more problematic for commercial establishments and medical institutions but occasionally invade Virginia Beach homes.  

Hawk Mosquito & Pest technicians will identify the ants infesting your Virginia Beach home and create a plan targeting the species.

Ants In The Home Can Create Many Problems

Ants are a nuisance. When ants are in homes, they crawl over cooking and eating surfaces, towels, exposed foods, other items, and people. It is embarrassing when ants walk across the floor when guests visit; it is frustrating when they travel over your body while you lay in bed. When ants walk on you, you feel itchy and, quite frankly, dirty. 

Because of their minuscule size, ants get into food products, drawers, pet bowls, etc. Once ants stream into a house, they keep coming no matter what you try to eliminate them. Adding to the nuisance factor is odor. For example, the odorous house ant is so-named because it produces a rotten coconut aroma when crushed. Carpenter ants release a vinegar-like aroma. Although not life-threatening, many ants bite when threatened. These bites may feel like a bee sting, but carpenter ants release formic into the wound, creating a burning sensation. 

In addition to being a nuisance, ants contaminate things. If you wonder how ants climb vertical masonry walls, it is because they have tiny claws at the end of their six feet. When foraging for food, ants do not discriminate between locations, and since dead insects are often part of their diet, they eat in areas with rotting plant and animal matter. Also, most ant species prefer warm, moist environments, so when you combine their appetite for dead insects in humid locations, you have the combination needed for bacterial breeding grounds. When ants travel through these polluted areas, bacteria stick to their claws. Later, when they move through a Virginian Beach home, the bacteria transfer to food items, objects, and surfaces and contaminate them. 

Although all ants on our list are a nuisance and contaminate, Pharaoh ants spread disease. These ants prefer medical facilities where they walk over patient wounds, enter IV lines, and crawl into the mouths of sleeping patients. Salmonellosis, staphylococcus, clostridium, and streptococcus are diseases pharaoh ants spread to people. Ants not only affect your health and sanity, they can physically damage your home's structure. 

Carpenter ants eat honeydew, dead insects, and plant juices, so the problem is not what they use for nutrition but rather the issue is where they construct their nests. Most ants create nests outside in the dirt, under the floors, in wall voids, or in insulation, but carpenter ants build their homes in rotting, damp wood. Ant nests consist of numerous tunnels that lead to chambers where they raise the young and store food. Instead of creating their nests in the soil, carpenter ants construct their habitat in soft, dampened wood. Years of a carpenter ant infestation may weaken support structures, cause sagging floors, warp door and window frames, and even collapse parts of the home. 

Ant pest control treatments from Hawk Mosquito & Pest end a current infestation and protect your family and home against future ant problems inside the house.

Why It Is So Difficult To Get Rid Of Ants On Your Own

Ants are difficult to eliminate using DIY products for these reasons:

• Pheromone trails
• Reproduction
• Entry points
• Attractants

Please keep reading to learn why these four issues make ant control for homeowners a challenge.

When ants locate a food or water source, they deposit pheromones to alert and direct other ants. Ants following a chemical trail is why you see a line of ants walking along the baseboards. Another time when ants release pheromones is when someone crushes them. This chemical discharge notifies other ants of the death, and they rush to the scene to carry away the body and to help fight the perpetrator. 

Reproduction is another reason DIY ant control is difficult. Every ant colony has a queen whose sole purpose is egg production. Initially, it produces sterile worker and soldier ants, but when a colony matures, the queen delivers ants capable of reproduction. In some species, male and female reproductives have wings and fly from the nest in the spring to begin new colonies. In others, reproductives do not have wings but mate inside the nest; when the group is disturbed, the fertilized females leave with sterile workers to form a nearby colony. If you apply the wrong treatment, you can create more ant colonies than when you began. 

Do-it-yourself products do not address entry points. If you fail to seal access into your home, ants will continue to enter as they follow the pheromone trails. Ants enter homes because they find entry points and detect the availability of food and water. Ants will eat anything, so when protein, fat, and carbohydrate sources are available and accessible, they will continue to enter the house. 

Where store-bought products and DIY attempts fail, Hawk Mosquito & Pest succeeds. We will get rid of ants in your Virginia Beach home.

Professional Pest Control Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of Ants

When you contact Hawk Mosquito & Pest for ant removal, we will dispatch an experienced, trained technician to inspect your home. We will identify the ant species, entry points, and attractants. We will create a strategic plan that targets the culprit using the information we gather to ensure we eradicate the pest. We will share our findings so you can remove attractants and seal entry points. You will never have to worry about another ant infestation when you take advantage of our various services and options. Contact us today to learn about our ant pest control services and to get a quote.