Ants

Your Ant
Removal Specialist

Ares Pest Control can handle all your ant issues. We are glad to treat and remove ants for clients throughout the Biddeford, Maine area. Through years of education, training and experience and the adoption of modern pest control technologies, we provide your home or business with the best protection possible against ants.

Ant Inspections

As with any pest control service, a preliminary inspection will need to be performed. In most cases, a trail of ants will be found entering the home structure. This may occur through gaps in plumbing, under doors, through foundation vents or even on tree limbs that are lying on the roof.

Ant Treatment

The main method we employ is a chemical perimeter treatment of the structure. Because ants are social insects, they are consistently in physical contact with each other. Once the chemical treatment goes into effect, millions of microscopic capsules of its active ingredient are left on the treated surface. As the ants walk across this surface, they pick up these capsules in the tiny hairs on their legs and bodies. Due to their social behavior, these capsules are transferred from the ants that have had physical contact with the treated surface to the ants that have not, thereby effectively killing off the entire colony. This can take up to five days. During this time, it is highly advisable not to use any other type of material on the treated surface or the ants. We may also use other products such as baits or dust insecticides on the interior of your home along perimeter walls, or in hollow walls through electrical outlets or plumbing. Recommendations may also be made by the service technician to remove food sources, water sources and plant and tree growth to keep new ant colonies from forming.

Common Types of Ants

Carpenter Ants
These ants are large and indigenous to many forested parts of the world. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries they chewed out with their mandibles and prefer dead, damp wood. Unlike termites, they don’t consume this material; instead it is discarded in a shape that resembles sawdust.
Pavement Ants
These ants are dark brown to black in color with a shiny gaster. They have striations on the head and dorsal surface of their thorax, which also has 12 segments. These antennas end in 3-segmented parts. Foraging ants usually are found along floors or shelves near door frames too.
Odorous House Ant
The odorous house ants are a species of small, dark insects that make their home in your pantry. They have an unpleasant smell and like to share it with any food you store there. The females can lay eggs more than once per day which means populations grow quickly.
Acrobat Ants
Acrobat ants are known for their high-flying abilities, which they showcase when threatened. They also have heart-shaped abdomens and emit a foul smell from glands on the ant's abdomen if disturbed. This small species of ant usually has yellowish brown to black coloring; while some can be uniform in color, others may display multiple colors.
Thief Ants
Solenopsis molesta are thief ants that live in the nests of other ant species and feed their colony members with food stolen from them. They have an unusually large stinger on a long 2-segmented club at the end of its abdomen, which is visible when they're ready to attack. A 10 segment antennae makes this insect very versatile.

How to Prevent Ants

To get rid of ants, you need to remember to remove the things that attract them. The checklist below will help keep your home or business free from ants: