Foraging ants have been seen entering homes along telephone wires or along branches touching the roof or even from ground trails that come under a door. In such cases, the house may be a nesting area. Do not disturb any trails until you locate the nests. The ants will just get sneaky and reroute the trail which may take much longer to locate.
Ants follow natural contours. They will cross lawns and flower beds but often prefer the cover afforded by moving along the edges of things.
Ants returning to nests are either:
If several nests are found, it is important to determine if they are from the same colony (therefore one parent nest) or 2 or more different colonies (therefore several parent nests). Place 2 ants, one from each trail or nest, in a jar:
Ants will generally be going to and from:
Banded ants or ants with insects will be going from feeding grounds to parent (or satellite) nests. The young growing larvae and queen need the most food, so more ants will take food toward the parent colony, with fewer moving toward the satellite. Ants carrying larvae or pupae (papery cocoons) are moving from the parent to satellite colony.
Activity, therefore ease in following a trail, is greatest after sunset (roughly between 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.). A red light disturbs ants less than white light.
Trails may be difficult to locate since they may disappear under boards, sidewalks or go underground.
You have time. Keep watching for clues as you work in your yard or house. Don't get trigger happy and spray the trail, or you will have to start over if you want to find the nest.
Finding both the parent colony in the surrounding landscape and the satellite colony (or colonies) in the structure is crucial to successful control of carpenter ants.
For more helpful ideas or assistance on control, check our main page here:
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