Little black ants have moderate- to large-sized colonies, with two or more queens in one colony. Mating season is June to August in the king county Seattle and mating swarms are common during the summer months; after which mated females form new colonies, which grow quickly. Sugar ants are considered harmless. Swarms of sugar ants can be a nuisance, and especially when they locate a reliable source of food inside your home. While they will not cause any structural damage to your house, sugar ants will gnaw through paper, thin plastic or even cardboard to get through to their contents.

Little black ants are common in yards, they nest under rocks, in rotting logs, and under piles of bricks or lumber. Indoors, nests are located in woodwork, wall voids, decaying wood, masonry, and underneath debris. Homeowners should consider working with a licensed pest professional to employ a preventative pest management plan. There are also a few things that can be done around the property to prevent a little black ant infestation.
It is important to remember that if you have an ant problem outside, there might also be a few ants hanging around inside your house. No need for alarm! By taking steps to clean up both indoors and out, these little pests won’t become more than just a nuisance in the future. You may have in your cupboards, including syrups and jams. There are many ways to prevent sugar ants from entering the house

Sugar Ants that wander around trying to find new food sources. You can notice a couple of sugar ants running around your house. The chances are high that those are the scout ants. Get rid of them because otherwise more ants can make their way inside your house or commercial business building.

Getting rid of the sugar ants in your house is only half of the battle.

The over-the-counter insecticide may give the satisfaction of seeing ants drop dead on the counters, but it’s not the best choice for dealing with sugar ants. The new ants pest control product technology combine a preferred ant food with an active ingredient that kills the ant after it brings a meal back to the colony to share with the queen ant. The ants you don’t see will die as well.

There are ways to prevent Sugar Ants from Invading the Home:

Old homes seem to attract sugar ants the most because of having have more cracks to sneak through and can just as easily find a way into newer homes too. Keeping the home clean is not enough for keeping these tiny insects away.

A must is to seal up the foundation and any cracks around the windows and doors. Another thing to do is to replace decaying wood frames and shingles. If the roof is old and damaged, it is best to replace that too. Spraying the foundation with a natural pesticide helps prevent the ants from even thinking about invading the home. If sugar ants are found outside the home, destroy it right away to prevent future visitors. The best option would be to call your pest control services experts and that is Seattle Exterminators. The treatment provided will be tailor made for the little armies of black ants. There can be multiple little sugar ant
soldiers marching around the property.

Some of the Ways to keep Sugar Ants out of Food Products:

Place opened boxed and bagged goods such as cereals, cookies, fruit snacks and chips into sealed containers or bags.
Store flours and sugars in airtight baking storage containers.
Store honeys, syrups and molasses product in the refrigerator and just gently warm the product up when needed.
Never leave sticky sugary snacks open on the counter because this will attract the ants to other food products in the home.
Store breads and baked goods in the refrigerator or bread boxes that seal up.
Wash dishes immediately. Do not allow them to sit around unwashed.
Never dump sugary foods down the garbage shoot in the sink because it will leave a sticky residue and attract ants.
Taking out the trash as soon as it’s full or right before bedtime can go a long way to prevent ants from crawling into the kitchen.
Never leave sticky foods outside near entry ways that lead into the kitchen.
Keep open sodas, juices, coffees and teas in the refrigerator.
Wiping down kitchen surfaces such as the microwave, stove, refrigerator, counter tops, tables, chairs and floors can keep sticky sweetness away, which helps keep the ants away.

What the little black ants look like:

Pavement Ants  are medium-sized(1/8 inch long). The pests vary in color from light brown to black with lighter legs and antennae. The head and thorax have longitudinal, parallel grooves and move slowly.

Where the pavement ants nest:

Pavement Ants got the name because of its habit of nesting under pavement slabs, such as sidewalks, driveways, and foundations. The ants usually nest outdoors in open soil or under stones or slabs. Outdoor nests are recognizable by the “dirt craters” the ants leave around the nest entrances. The ants will sometimes also nest indoors in walls or under floors. Often move indoors in the winter and nest near heating sources, such as radiators.

What Pavement Ants eat:

Pavement Ants feed on both sweet and protein foods. Also on sugary liquids like honeydew from plant-sucking insects such as aphids, scales, and mealybugs. The pests also feed on live and dead insects and plants.

Steps to prevent little black sugar ants invasion

Seattle Ants Exterminators will protect the home from pavement ant infestations by sealing cracks and crevices where ants could enter. Advising customers to repair water leaks. Also some extra advice for customers would be no over watering of plants, make sure to cleanup food spills, store food in tightly-sealed containers, and do not leave pet food out.

Natural ways of killing and  getting rid of sugars ants in homes and commercial business buildings

Killing sugar ants is fairly easy, and the surest way is to set out ant baits. There are several types to choose from, so it is a matter of making an educated decision. Sweet baits are the most commonly used method of killing sugar ants. Most of these baits will contain boric acid, also known as Borax. Borax is usually non-toxic to humans, but ingestion isn’t recommended. If you have children or pets this style of eradication isn’t recommended. This mineral is poisonous to ants, and has the ability to kill a whole colony. The trap works by luring ants to partake in the sweet boric acid, from there the ants will then take a portion of it back to their dwelling. After the other ants consume the bait very soon the whole colony will be exterminated.

There are natural ways to control and kill sugar ants that are safe for children and pets to be around. One way is using white vinegar to clean surfaces instead of the bleach cleaner. The strong odor of vinegar isn’t pleasant, but will detract the ants from frequenting the counters. The acetic acid in the vinegar works as a cleaning agent, and will be just as effective as the bleach solution. Another natural method to repel the insects is whole cloves. The pungent scent of cloves seems to drive away ants, as it confuses their senses. Placing this spice along baseboards and under windows is a great way to deter the ants from entering the home or building. Bay leaves are a natural deterrent for these insects, and should be used exactly like the aforementioned cloves. Looking for a natural way to kill ants, use boiling water by Locating the ant colony by following the ant trail, then pouring boiling water into it. This will end the ants disturbing presence in your home.

It’s time to call Ants Extermination Exterminators for a professional technician to shut the invasion down. The technician will scout the areas indoors and outdoors to determine the magnitude of infestation of the little black sugar ants. Also known as Pavement Ants. Years of professional experience is just what is needed to make war with the infestation.

Can sugar ants live in walls?
After getting access to your house, sugar ants look for dark and safe places, cracks or holes to establish their colonies. They are frequently seen in wall voids or wall cracks near favorable surroundings. The space inside the wall provides them a safe nesting place and a welcoming environment.

How do you kill ants living in walls?
If you have a thriving ant nest in the walls, you must eliminate it first. You can begin by erasing ants’ trails using a mixture of one part vinegar and one part water or a blend of one part lemon juice and three parts waters. This confuses the ants foraging outside of the next.

How do I get rid of ants with wings in my house?
Fill a spray bottle with one part liquid soap, two parts water, and a few drops of oil, and then spray the ants and the surrounding area. The soap dehydrates the insect, while the peppermint oil suffocates them.

What are flying ants a sign of?
For many homeowners, the first obvious sign of termite infestation is a swarm of flying insects. However, not all swarming insects are termites – some are flying ants. Pest control experts are trained to distinguish between flying ants and termites based on a few physical characteristics.

What do sugar ants eat?
The diet of pavement ants includes a wide range of different food sources, as the insects are known for eating virtually anything available. Pavement ants feed on subterranean termites and other soil-dwelling insects, nuts and seeds, bread, meats, grease, and sweets like honey and sugar. The indiscriminate insects travel as far as 30 feet from the nest to forage and leave a chemical trail that leads other members of the colony to the food source.

Sugar ants exterminators near me

Like many other ant species prevalent in Seattle Washington, pavement ants produce winged males and females that emerge in the spring to mate. Also known as Swarmers, the winged ants are exclusively responsible for reproducing and creating new colonies. After mating, winged females look for a suitable place to lay eggs and establish a colony. The newly mated queens typically lay the eggs in soil protected by pavement, concrete, or rocks. Pavement ants generally take about two or three months to complete all stages of development. While reproductive swarming naturally occurs in the spring, colonies living in and around heated indoor spaces may produce Swarmers and mate at any time throughout the year. The life expectancy of a typical adult worker pavement ant is several years.

House Kitchen Sugar Ants Problems

While sugar ants are not known to cause structural damage or major health problems, the ease and frequency with which the insects enter homes in Seattle Washington can become a nuisance to area residents. Because of their willingness to eat almost anything, sugar ants can contaminate and ruin a variety of pantry staples and other food items when foraging. The chemical trails created by foraging sugar ants enable the rest of the colony to locate the food source, resulting in the emergence of unsightly hordes/trails of ants and causing further contamination.

Throughout the year, indoor nests of pavement ants can produce winged reproductive that swarm by windows and other light sources, creating an unwelcome sight and potentially forming new colonies in or in areas around a structure.

Signs of sugar ants Infestation 

The presence of foraging workers or reproductive Swarmers flying around or inside is a strong indicator of a sugar ant infestation, especially during colder months. Small piles of soil particles that look like sand also indicate the existence of a sugar ant colony, as the insects push dirt and debris out the entrance of the nest as they construct or expand the underground colony. The piles are commonly found straddling cracks in the driveway or sidewalk.

Prevention and How to Get Rid of sugar Ants

Because sugar ants often live beneath the foundation of a house, homeowners need to make sure that all external cracks and other small openings are tightly sealed. Residents should also keep potential nesting sites, like piles of leaves and wood, safely away from the house. Kitchen areas within the home should remain free of crumbs, grease, and standing water. Homeowners also need to store food items in sealed canisters, rinse out food and beverage containers before throwing them away, and take the trash out on a regular basis. If an infestation problem arises, contact a pest control specialist with the ability to identify the ant species and implement an effective course of action.

Benefits of Professional sugar Ant Pest Control

Exclusionary measures are the best treatment for sugar ants whose nests are located outdoors. Sealing all cracks and crevices with caulk will eliminate the entrances used by foragers, keeping them outside. A vigorous application of rubbing alcohol will also remove any remnants of the ant’s pheromone trails, and further foraging can be discouraged by promptly storing or disposing of greasy and sweet foods.

Nests that are either inside the home or in other problematic locations can be treated using baiting systems. These pesticides should be used with care, away from children and pets; they deliver a slow acting poison to foraging ants, which when returned to the nest, spreads throughout the colony and will eventually exterminate all ants.

A ant exterminator professional has the education, equipment and skills necessary to effectively address a sugar ant problem. Finding and treating the ant colony can be challenging, especially if the main colony is hidden somewhere outside in the lawn. A ant control service professional provides their expertise to identify and determine the best possible solution to resolve the pavement ant infestation.