Ants are the most common spring pest complaint across Long Island and Westchester. Here is how to identify which type you have and what actually eliminates the colony.
As soon as daytime temperatures climb into the 50s, ant activity begins in earnest across Long Island and Westchester County. Spring is when dormant colonies become active, when swarmers emerge to establish new colonies, and when forager ants begin entering homes. By late April, ant calls represent a significant portion of pest control work across Suffolk County, Nassau County, Westchester, The Bronx, and Rockland County.
Carpenter Ants: The largest ants in New York — up to 3/4 inch — usually black or black with reddish-brown coloring. They excavate wood to create smooth-walled galleries for nesting. Attracted to moist decayed wood and commonly found near water damage, in decks, and in the structural wood of older Westchester and Long Island homes.
Odorous House Ants: Tiny at 1/8 inch and dark brown — the most common kitchen ant in New York. Crush one and you notice a distinct rotten coconut odor. Colonies can contain hundreds of thousands of workers with multiple queens, making them particularly challenging to eliminate.
Pavement Ants: Small brown ants nesting under concrete slabs and patios. They enter homes through cracks in foundations and are particularly common in ground-floor units and homes with slab construction.
The biggest mistake homeowners make is spraying ant trails with repellent over-the-counter sprays. Repellent sprays cause colonies to fracture, establishing multiple satellite colonies — turning one ant problem into several. Professional treatment uses non-repellent products that ants carry back to the colony for complete elimination.
The Bugs Stop Here provides ant control across Long Island, Westchester, The Bronx, and Rockland County. Call for a free estimate and same-day service.
Most common in New York homes: carpenter ants (large black found near wood or moisture), pavement ants (small brown found near cracks in concrete), and odorous house ants (tiny dark brown that smell like rotten coconut when crushed).
Spraying ant trails with repellent products disrupts foragers but does not kill the colony. Non-repellent baits allow ants to carry active ingredients back to the colony, eliminating it at the source.
Carpenter ants are the biggest structural concern — they excavate wood to create nesting galleries that can compromise framing and decking over time. Most other species are primarily a nuisance.
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