Why ants keep coming back (and how to get rid of them for good)

Lots of homeowners go through the same thing: ants in the kitchen, a product from the hardware store, a few days of relief, and then the ants are back. It's not about luck. It's about the colony.

It's a colony, not a few ants

The ants you see are workers. They leave the nest, find food and lay down a scent trail for the others to follow. Store-bought products kill the workers you can see, but the queen, hidden in the nest, keeps laying eggs. Within a few days, the traffic is back. To get rid of the problem, you have to find the colony and treat it directly.

The most common ants in the area

• Carpenter ants. Big and black, they dig tunnels in damp wood: window frames, walls, structural framing. Small piles of fine sawdust give them away. They're the most destructive.
• Black garden ants. Small, very common in kitchens and drawn to sugar.
• Pharaoh ants. Tiny and pale yellow, they form several colonies in the same building and resist makeshift treatments.
• Pavement ants. They nest under slabs and sidewalks, then come in through cracks in the foundation.

Signs of an active colony

• Ants every day, in the same spots, even after cleaning.
• Ant trails along baseboards or counters.
• Fine sawdust near wood (carpenter ants).
• Winged ants indoors in the spring: a mature colony has set up close by.

What draws ants into your home

First, food: crumbs, sugar, leftovers and pet food. Then moisture: basements, bathrooms, wet wood. And finally, easy ways in: cracks, poorly sealed doors, gaps around windows. Dealing with all three goes a long way toward lowering the risk.

The right approach

An exterminator first identifies the species, because carpenter ants and pharaoh ants aren't treated the same way. Next, they find the colony, apply a targeted treatment to reach the queen, and give you advice to keep a new colony from moving in. It's the only way to get lasting results.