Jan 24, 2020 | Pest Control
Ants are the #1 nuisance pest in America. They are one of the most challenging pests to control, along with bed bugs, because their colonies can number in the 1000s. Ants are considered commercial pests because they like to live close to people and eat the same things that we do. Ants can be seasonal pests or a year-round problem depending on the species. They will often enter our homes in the warmer months of the year in search of water and food. Most species, including fire ants and odorous house ants, will build their nests outdoors and come inside in search of food that they will collect and take back to their colonies. Other species like carpenter ants will actually make their way into your home and build their nests indoors. Ants are often found near food sources, moisture, and in hidden areas where they have protection and concealment such as wall voids, under floors, behind window frames, and under appliances. Ants in the bathroom and ants in the kitchen are the two most common scenarios when these pests make their way into your home, although they can be found in other rooms, as well.
Regardless of the species, when ants become a problem in your home it is often necessary to use a professional pest control company to help get them under control. Here are some important aspects to any successful ant control program:
1. Proper Identification
One of the most important components to any ant control program is to properly identify the species of ant you are dealing with. Different species have different behaviors, prefer different environments, and have different diets so treatment will vary greatly between them. It is important to know where to find them and how to treat them to ensure success in eliminating and controlling them.
2. Eliminate Food Sources
One of the main reasons ants come into your home is in search of food to take back to their colony. Eliminating things that attract them can help keep them from taking over your home. Clean up any food crumbs from kitchen floors and countertops and wipe them down frequently. Clean your appliances regularly. Empty your trash routinely and wipe the cans down. Clean outdoor grills and remove crumbs from tables, decks, and patios after each use. Keep foods, including pet food, in sealed containers. Place a bay leaf in canisters of dry food (such as flour) as the scent repels ants and other pantry pests. Rinse any empty containers before placing them in recycling bins. Get rid of any overripe fruit as this will attract ants, as well.
3. Eliminate Moisture
Ants need moisture to survive. Eliminating or reducing the moisture in your home can help prevent ants from coming inside. Repair any leaks around pipes and in your roof. Check gutters to make sure they are not clogged and ensure downspouts are directing rainwater away from foundations. Consider installing gutter guards to help prevent clogs. Thoroughly clean bathrooms with disinfectant cleaners and make sure shampoo, conditioner, and soap bottles are closed tightly and don’t have any leaks.
4. Eliminate Points of Entry
In order to get into your home, ants have to have a way inside. It is important to identify where they are gaining entry into your home to successfully control and eliminate them. Carefully inspect the exterior of your home and seal any holes, gaps, and cracks especially around areas where pipes and wires enter your home. Trim back shrubs and tree branches so they are not touching the sides or roof of your home. Keep mulch and timber at least 2 feet from your foundation. Move debris such as firewood, rock piles, boards, etc away from your home. Remove any tree stumps, fallen tree branches and logs from your yard. Repair any holes in window and door screens and replace weatherstripping.
As always, if you suspect you have an ant problem, contact a professional ant control company who can help you properly identify the species of ant you have and set you up with a thorough and comprehensive treatment and control plan.
Dec 24, 2019 | Georgia Blogs, Pest Control
By Anna V., Editorial Lead — Pest Education · Last updated: May 2026
If you’ve come downstairs to find a column of ants trailing across your counter at 6 AM, you’re in the most common pest situation in the Southeast. At Northwest, ants are the #1 pest call we run year-round across Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The good news: kitchen ant problems are usually solvable, often without professional help if you catch them early. The catch: the wrong DIY approach makes them worse.
Here’s the full playbook on how to get rid of ants in your kitchen, including which species you’re probably dealing with, the DIY methods that actually work (and the ones that just spread the problem), and when it’s time to call in backup.
Common Ant Species Found in Southeast Kitchens
Five species cover almost every kitchen ant call in Georgia and Alabama. Identification matters because two of these (carpenter ants and argentine ants) need different treatment than the others.
Five species cover almost every kitchen ant call in Southeast homes. Carpenter ants are the only ones that damage wood.
Sugar Ants (Tapinoma sessile and similar)
- Size: Very small (1/16 inch), dark brown to black.
- Behavior: Follow trails to sweet foods, especially syrup, honey, fruit, and sugary spills. Active year-round in heated homes.
- Damage potential: Nuisance only. No structural damage.
Odorous House Ants (Tapinoma sessile)
- Size: Small (1/8 inch), uniformly dark brown.
- Behavior: Release a strong rotten-coconut smell when crushed (the most reliable identification marker). Form large trails between nests and food sources. Will eat both sweet and protein-based foods.
- Damage potential: Nuisance only.
Argentine Ants (Linepithema humile)
- Size: Small (1/10 inch), light brown to medium brown.
- Behavior: Form enormous interconnected supercolonies that can span entire neighborhoods. They’re the hardest kitchen ant to fully eliminate because killing one trail doesn’t affect the broader colony. Major presence in coastal and urban Georgia.
- Damage potential: Nuisance only, but persistent.
Pavement Ants (Tetramorium immigrans)
- Size: Small (1/8 inch), dark brown to black.
- Behavior: Nest under sidewalks, driveways, slab foundations, and patios. Forage indoors for grease, sweets, and pet food. Often enter through gaps where slab meets wall.
- Damage potential: Nuisance only.
Carpenter Ants (Camponotus species)
- Size: Large (1/4 to 1/2 inch), usually black, sometimes black-and-red.
- Behavior: Excavate galleries in wood for nesting. Don’t eat wood, but their nesting activity causes structural damage similar to (and often confused with) termites. Most active at night.
- Damage potential: HIGH. Carpenter ants in or near the kitchen warrant immediate professional inspection. They often indicate moisture damage in wall framing, sub-floor, or window frames. For prevention overlap with termite issues, see our termite prevention guide.
Why Ants Invade Kitchens
The kitchen is the most attractive room in your house to ants for three simple reasons:
- Food. Crumbs, spills, open containers, fruit, pet food bowls, and trash. Even microscopic residues are enough to recruit a colony.
- Water. Sinks, leaky pipes under cabinets, condensation around dishwashers, and pet water bowls all attract foraging ants.
- Entry points. Plumbing gaps under sinks, gaps between cabinets and walls, window sills, and door thresholds all provide easy access from outdoor nesting areas.
Once a scout ant finds food, it lays down a pheromone trail back to the colony. Within hours, you can have a hundred workers on the same trail. This is why “I just saw one ant” often becomes “the counter is covered in ants” by the next morning.
Southeast Seasonal Patterns
- Spring (March-May): Colonies wake up and send out scouts. Peak kitchen ant activity begins.
- Summer (June-August): Peak foraging across all species. Argentine ants and odorous house ants are at their most aggressive.
- Fall (September-November): Colonies stockpile food before winter. Trails often shift to protein and grease sources.
- Winter (December-February): Most species dormant outdoors but heated homes can support indoor populations year-round, especially in the deep South.
Signs of an Ant Infestation
Look for:
- Visible trails along counters, baseboards, or wall edges.
- Repeated sightings near the same food or water source (sink, pet bowl, sugar jar).
- Small piles of dirt or debris near baseboards or window sills (nest excavation).
- Discarded wings near windows or doors after a rain (winged reproductive ants leaving the nest).
- For carpenter ants specifically: small piles of sawdust-like debris (“frass”) near wood structures.
How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Kitchen: DIY Methods That Work
Three categories of work, in order of priority. Skipping straight to spray-and-pray almost always backfires.
Step 1: Cut Off the Food Source
Until you starve the trail, no amount of treatment will hold:
- Wipe down counters with a vinegar-water solution (50/50) immediately after spotting a trail. This breaks the pheromone trail.
- Move all open food to sealed containers or the refrigerator.
- Empty trash daily and rinse the can.
- Clean spills under the toaster, behind the coffee maker, and under the refrigerator.
- Pick up pet food bowls between feedings (a major argentine ant attractant).
- Fix any leaking pipes under the sink.
Step 2: Use Bait, Not Spray
This is the most important rule in kitchen ant control: do not spray visible ants with repellent insecticides. It kills the visible workers but warns the colony, which then splits and spreads. Bait works because the worker carries the active ingredient back to the colony and the queen.
- Borax-and-sugar bait. Mix 1 tablespoon of borax with 3 tablespoons of sugar and enough water to make a syrup. Place small drops on cardboard or in bottle caps near the trail. Workers carry it back to the colony. Effective within 3 to 7 days.
- Commercial gel baits. Terro Liquid Ant Baits and Advion gel are well-reviewed for kitchen ants. Place per package directions near trails and entry points.
- Patience. You’ll see MORE ants on the bait initially, which is the desired outcome. Resist the urge to spray. Trail activity drops sharply once the colony is poisoned.
Step 3: Natural Repellents and Trail Disruption
Use these alongside bait, not instead of it:
- Vinegar spray. 50/50 white vinegar and water breaks pheromone trails and discourages re-entry.
- Peppermint or tea tree oil spray. 10 drops per cup of water sprayed at entry points (window sills, door thresholds, under-sink areas).
- Diatomaceous earth (food-grade). Light dusting along baseboards and under sinks. Damages the ants’ exoskeletons. Reapply after vacuuming.
- Cinnamon or coffee grounds. Both are mild repellents that work for short-term trail disruption.
Preventing Future Ant Problems
Long-term ant prevention is mostly about removing the conditions that attract them in the first place.
Prevention is straightforward and covers most species:
- Seal entry points. Caulk gaps around plumbing under the sink, around window frames, and where cabinets meet walls.
- Food storage discipline. Airtight containers for pantry items, sealed bags for snacks, fruit in the refrigerator if ants are active.
- Moisture control. Fix leaks fast. Wipe down sinks at night. Don’t leave standing water in the dish drainer.
- Outdoor maintenance. Trim shrubs and tree branches back from the house (ants use them as bridges). Keep mulch and firewood 20+ feet from the foundation. Repair damaged caulking around exterior windows and doors.
- Year-round vigilance. Most Southeast homes need ongoing prevention rather than one-time treatment. A monthly check of high-risk areas (under sinks, behind appliances) catches new activity early.
When to Call Professional Ant Control
Call Northwest if:
- You’ve spotted carpenter ants (large black ants, especially with sawdust-like frass nearby).
- DIY methods haven’t reduced activity within 2 to 3 weeks.
- You’re dealing with argentine ant supercolonies that keep returning despite consistent bait use.
- Trails are coming from multiple entry points (suggests a large or complex nest network).
- You’re seeing other pest activity simultaneously, which often indicates broader exclusion gaps.
Professional ant control combines species identification, targeted baits matched to the species’ food preferences, perimeter treatment to address outdoor nests, and structural exclusion. UGA Extension’s household pest management guide is the best free reference for the region.
(Ants coming back no matter what you do? Schedule a free Northwest inspection and we’ll identify the species, find the nest, and treat at the source.)
Frequently Asked Questions About Kitchen Ants
How do I identify the type of ant in my kitchen?
Look at size, color, smell when crushed, and what they’re going after. Tiny dark ants on sweets are usually sugar ants. Slightly larger ants that smell like rotten coconut when crushed are odorous house ants. Light brown ants in massive trails are argentine ants. Larger black ants (1/4 inch or more), especially near wood damage or with sawdust nearby, are carpenter ants and warrant professional inspection.
Can ants cause damage to my home?
Most kitchen ants (sugar, odorous house, argentine, pavement) are nuisance pests only. They don’t damage structures or spread serious disease. Carpenter ants are the exception. They excavate wood for nesting and can cause significant structural damage over time, especially in moisture-compromised framing or window frames. Carpenter ants always warrant professional evaluation.
How long does it take to eliminate an ant infestation?
Small bait-based eliminations: typically 7 to 14 days for visible trail activity to drop. Argentine ant supercolonies and well-established carpenter ant nests: 4 to 8 weeks of consistent treatment, often with professional help. The biggest mistake homeowners make is spraying repellents that scatter the colony, which can extend the timeline significantly.
Are natural remedies effective?
Vinegar spray, peppermint oil, and diatomaceous earth are effective for trail disruption and prevention. They’re less effective for eliminating an established colony. The most effective DIY approach combines borax-and-sugar bait (or commercial gel baits) for elimination plus natural repellents for ongoing prevention. Bait without prevention usually means the ants come back.
Why won’t the ants stop coming back?
Three usual reasons: (1) the colony nest is outdoors and continues sending new scouts, (2) you sprayed repellents that caused the colony to split into multiple smaller nests, or (3) you’re dealing with argentine ants, which form supercolonies that span entire neighborhoods. Persistent return cases typically need professional perimeter treatment plus structural exclusion.
Professional ant control combines species ID, source treatment, and exclusion so the colony doesn’t reroute.
Ready for a Professional Kitchen Ant Inspection?
If kitchen ants are a recurring problem, you’ve spotted carpenter ants, or DIY methods haven’t worked, Northwest’s team can handle species identification, source treatment, and exclusion in one visit. Most kitchen ant issues clear up faster than homeowners expect once the nest is properly targeted.
About the Author
Anna V., Editorial Lead — Pest Education leads pest education content for Northwest Exterminating, working with senior technicians and service center managers across our Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina service areas to translate field expertise into homeowner-friendly guides. The focus: accurate, regionally-specific answers to the pest questions Southeast homeowners are actually searching for.
Jun 21, 2018 | Pest Control
Ants are the most common household pest in the United States, especially during the summer months. As the weather warms up ants come indoors in search of food and water. While most ants are harmless, a few of them can cause problems for you and your home. Odorous ants can contaminate your food, carpenter ants can cause damage to wood structures, and fire ants will definitely sting if they feel threatened. When ants get into your home they can be found in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and even around air conditioning units. Ants can be one of the hardest pests to get rid of. One key to controlling ants is through prevention. What can you do to keep these pests from ruining your summer? Check out these 14 tips for summer ant prevention.
- Keep your food sealed in airtight containers, even pet food.
- Keep your pet’s food and water dishes clean and don’t leave them out overnight.
- Wipe up any crumbs or spills immediately.
- Thoroughly clean your counter tops, cupboards, cabinets and other kitchen surfaces regularly.
- Make sure to also clean under your sink, stove, and refrigerator.
- Sweep your kitchen and bathroom floors daily.
- Vacuum regularly to pick up any missed food crumbs.
- Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight.
- Dispose of your trash promptly.
- Inspect the outside of your home for cracks and holes and seal them with silicone caulk.
- Caulk around your windows and doors and repair any holes or gaps in them.
- Replace weatherstripping around windows and doors and repair loose mortar around your foundations.
- Keep tree branches and other shrubbery trimmed back from the sides of your house as ants can use these to access your home.
- If you have an ant problem, contact a professional pest control company who can identify the type of ants you have and recommend the appropriate treatment for them.
Mar 9, 2018 | Fire Ant, Pest Control
Ants have been named the #1 nuisance pest in the United States. Ants are social insects that live in colonies. They enter our homes looking for food and shelter. Ants primarily look for foods that are sugary and sweet or greasy and protein-based. Once they find food, they leave a pheromone trail behind that other ants will follow.
There are over 700 species of ants in the United States. At least 20 of these species are known to infect homes and other structures. There are several species of ants that are common to our area. The 5 most common are:
FIRE ANTS:
Fire ants build large, raised mounds. They prefer to nest in open, disturbed areas. They commonly nest in yards, fields, and roadsides. Fire ants are known to devastate local insect populations and small wildlife. They are also known to eliminate ground nesting bird species because they attack their newly hatched nestlings. Fire ants cause painful stings when they bite and will bite humans when threatened.
CARPENTER ANTS:
Carpenter ants are black in color. They are nocturnal and will exit their nests about 15 minutes after sunset in large numbers. Carpenter ants will invade kitchens in the summer months in search of food and water. They will invade structures if moisture is present. Carpenter ants can be very destructive to homes.
ARGENTINE (SUGAR) ANTS:
Argentine ants are light brown in color. They can easily squeeze through small cracks and holes. Argentine ants are known to set up colonies in the ground, in concrete walls, between boards and timbers, and among the belongings in your home. These ants are commonly seen in homes and will enter them in search of food and water. They are especially common during dry or hot weather or after a heavy rainfall. Argentine ants exhibit strong trailing behavior and can exist in high numbers. They move very quickly and are named among the world’s 100 worst animal invaders.
ACROBAT ANTS:
Acrobat ants are dark colored with a heart shaped abdomen that they will hold up in the air like a flag when disturbed. They will nest inside decaying wood. Acrobat ants form single file trails and leave behind small sawdust piles that are similar to those of carpenter ants. These ants produce a mild sting when they bite. Acrobat ants may move into your attic to incubate their eggs and will tunnel into water damaged wood.
ODOROUS HOUSE ANTS:
Odorous house ants are dark colored and give off a strong rotten coconut smell when they are crushed. They exist in large numbers where there is plenty of moisture. They form trails similar to Argentine ants. Odorous house ants are one of the most difficult pests to get rid of from structures. They will often establish their colonies in earth filled porches and block walls.
PREVENTION:
Since ants are one of the most difficult pests to get rid of, what can you do to keep them from invading your home in the first place? Check out these tips for keeping the ants out of your personal space.
LOCATION:
- Learn where ants are common and routinely inspect those areas for activity.
- Ants will frequently infest kitchens because of the ample supply of food and water.
- Ants are also commonly found in bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, basements, attics, inside walls, and in and around HVAC units.
FOOD:
- Ants will come into your home in search of food for themselves and their young.
- Keep your kitchen clean and tidy.
- Wipe down counters routinely.
- Sweep on a regular basis.
- Clean up crumbs and spills immediately.
- Store your food in air-tight containers.
- Keep ripe fruit in the fridge.
- Wipe down sticky jars such as jelly or jam.
- Use lids on trashcans and empty them regularly.
- Make sure sink drains and filters are cleaned regularly.
- Enclose mulch and compost heaps when possible.
WATER:
- Reduce moisture and standing water around your home.
- Repair leaky pipes and check under your sinks routinely for drips.
- Use a dehumidifer in damp basements, crawlspaces, and attics.
- Consider enclosing your crawlspace to eliminate moisture.
- Make sure gutters and downspouts are clear and functional so water flows away from foundations.
- Paint or seal any exposed wood before it gets wet.
- Replace or remove any water damaged wood.
ACCESS POINTS:
- Ants can squeeze through extremely small openings.
- Inspect the outside of your home for any easy access points and eliminate them.
- If you are having trouble identifying the access point, follow the trail of ants.
- Once you find the entry point, clean around it with detergent to remove the pheromone trail that attracts fellow ants.
- Trim trees and bushes away from the exterior of your home.
- Seal any cracks and crevices in the outside of your home with silicone-based caulk. Make sure to check around areas where utility pipes come into your home.
- Remove dead stumps from your property.
- Store firewood off the ground and at least 20 feet from your home.
- Flying ant season begins in spring/summer. During this time of year keep doors and windows closed as much as possible.
PETS:
- Pet food and water bowls also attract ants.
- Keep pet food bowls clean and clean up any spilled food or water immediately.
- Don’t leave pet food bowls out overnight.
- Store dry pet food in sealed plastic containers instead of bags.
- Inspect dog and cat doors to make sure pests can’t get through them.
CALL THE PROS:
Eliminating ants can be an uphill battle. If they aren’t properly treated, the infestation can continue to grow despite your best efforts. Some ants like carpenter ants can cause serious property damage. Other ants like fire ants can pose a serious health threat to your family. Other species, while not necessarily a threat to your family, can still contaminate your food. If you suspect you have an ant problem call a professional pest control company. A professional can identify what species of ant you have which is the first step in eliminating these nuisance pests. They can also find the entry points and provide you with a thorough and comprehensive treatment plan.
