No matter where you travel in the United States, you’ll find ants scurrying between the cracks in the pavement and deep in the grass. Ants are a common insect in Utah, making their homes in nests underground wherever food and water are plentiful. Unfortunately, this means that locations like your backyard, outdoor structures, and even your kitchen are prime targets for ant infestations.
A few ant species live in the warm climate of the American Southwest, including carpenter ants, field ants, and even harvester ants (also known as fire ants). While most are harmless to humans and our pets, ants can cause damage to homes, spoil food, and even sting if provoked. Worse, if even a single ant finds a food source in your home, they can use unique signals to communicate to their nestmates where they found it. Don’t let your home be a vulnerable target to an entire colony of ants—call the professional ant exterminators at Red Rock Pest Control!
The most obvious sign you have an infestation is at its most uncontrollable. Ants love finding discarded food scraps; if you see an apple core or some other piece of garbage covered in a disgusting swarm of red or black ants, there’s a good chance they are actively hunting for more sustenance in the area.
Ants use chemicals called pheromones to leave a scent trail behind them that other ants will follow. If a scout finds food or water, they will double-back down the trail they left and use complex “sign language” with their antennae to tell other ants to follow their path for food.
To reduce the chances of an ant infestation, make sure to:
Ants are opportunistic, meaning they will create nests anywhere that suits their needs. This includes under dirt, inside wood, and even in between the cracks of cement. This makes human buildings valuable to them. Should you hear scratching between your walls or beneath floorboards, you may have an issue only a professional pest control technician can solve.
