Kitchen ant trails and carpenter ant damage in walk-ups, row houses and older wood-frame houses, treated at the nest or source.
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Ant control means identifying which ant you have, following the trail to the nest or the moisture feeding it, and treating the colony rather than only the ants you see. Kitchen ants and carpenter ants need different plans. New York Pest Control takes calls 24/7 across New York County and nearby boroughs, and you approve the price before treatment.
An ant trail across a counter looks like a simple problem, but the ants on the counter are a small part of the colony. Foragers go out for food and water and carry it back, so spraying them can scatter the trail without touching the nest. The right fix starts with knowing which ant it is and where it is coming from.
In New York, ants show up in apartments through pipe gaps, window frames and shared walls, and in older houses through damp or damaged wood. Carpenter ants are a different matter from kitchen ants, and are worth a careful look in wood-frame houses on Staten Island, in Brooklyn and in Queens. If wings or sawdust-like debris appear, see also termite inspection and treatment.
Carpenter ants are noticeably larger, usually dark and found around wood, often at night. Kitchen ants are small and follow food or sweet trails in daytime. Carpenter ants leave coarse sawdust-like debris called frass, while kitchen ants leave nothing but the trail. When unsure, collect a few in tape and show the technician.
Winged ants and winged termites are often mistaken for each other. Ants have a narrow waist and bent antennae, while termites have a straight waist and straight antennae. If you see wings indoors, save a few for identification, because the treatment differs.
Species identification is the technician's job on the first visit, and getting it right saves repeat treatments.
Size is only a rough guide, because workers of one species vary and a queen or winged form can look quite different. That is another reason to collect a sample rather than guess.
Ants often appear in April and May as the weather warms and become more active in June and July, when Central Park's mean high reaches 85.2 F. Indoor trails can appear any month in a heated building, but outdoor activity usually follows the seasons. Carpenter ant activity often shows in spring.
A mild spring brings ants out of winter shelter and into kitchens and bathrooms looking for water. By July the mean temperature is 76.8 F and WeatherSpark lists it as the muggiest month, which can mean more moisture inside and more trails.
The seasonal pattern here is general framing, not a local statistic. If ants appear in January, they may already be living inside a wall near heat or moisture, which is worth a closer look.
Carpenter ants favour damp or damaged wood, which older wood-frame houses are more likely to contain around roofs, windows, porches and bathrooms. Moisture from leaks or poor drainage lets them nest, and a technician looks for it along with the ants. Fixing the wet wood is part of a lasting solution.
In Bushwick, wood-frame houses were built until 1905, when masonry became required. Victorian houses in St. George and Flatbush, and older frame homes in Queens and across Staten Island, often have porches, eaves and wood trim that can hold moisture.
If the ants lead into a wall, the technician may recommend that an owner open it to inspect. That is a decision for the owner and a carpenter, not a pest visit.
Porches, window frames, bathroom walls and the area around a leaking pipe are the first places a technician checks. If a carpenter ant colony is found in sound, dry wood, that suggests a parent nest elsewhere, often outdoors in a stump, fence or tree.
Do not wipe or spray the trail, since that disturbs the foragers the technician needs to follow. Clean up food, seal sugary or open items, fix leaks if you can, and take a photo of the trail and a few ants in tape. Note where they come in and the time of day you see them.
A store-bought spray may kill the ants you see, but it can also split a colony and make baiting less effective. Waiting for the technician is usually the better choice.
Do not drill into walls or pour insecticide into holes if you suspect carpenter ants, and do not leave bait where children or pets can reach it. Call and describe what you see before you take any step that you cannot undo.
The technician looks at size, colour and behaviour, and may collect a sample. A tiny kitchen ant, a large carpenter ant and a winged termite swarmer need different handling, so the first job is getting the name right.
Trails are followed back to entry points, nests or the moisture that attracts them. In a multi-unit building, that can lead into a wall, a pipe chase or a neighbouring flat.
You receive the plan and the price in plain terms, including how many visits are likely, and approve it before anything is applied.
Baits that foragers carry back, targeted treatments at nest sites and sealing of entry points are chosen to suit the species and the building. Wiping or spraying trails during bait work is discouraged, and the technician explains why.
A written service report records the species, the likely source and what was applied. A return visit checks activity and decides whether more work or repairs are needed.
Small ants that follow food and water trails into kitchens and baths. Baits are often used because workers carry them back to the colony, and entry points and food storage are addressed alongside. These ants are an annoyance and a hygiene issue, not a structural one.
Large ants that nest in damp or damaged wood, hollowing it out for galleries without eating it. A technician looks for moisture, the parent nest and any satellite nests. Repairs to the wet wood are the owner's job and matter for lasting results.
In walk-ups and rowhouses, a colony can sit in a wall or pipe chase and feed trails into several units. Treatment is coordinated with the owner or managing agent so one flat is not treated while another feeds the trail.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Bushwick's rows, built speculatively after the elevated line reached Broadway in 1879, were wood-frame and masonry-clad, and wood frame was allowed until 1905. Victorian Flatbush has roughly 2,000 to 2,500 detached Victorian, Queen Anne, Tudor and Colonial Revival homes, built from the 1890s to 1920. Houses of those types have porches, trim and roofs where moisture can collect.
St. George on Staten Island was one of the city's earliest planned suburbs, started in 1834-35, with double houses and Victorian-era streets, while New Springville sits between the Greenbelt woodlands and the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge wetlands and has mostly post-1970 homes. Ants there may come from wooded edges as well as from the house itself, and the technician looks at both.
In attached buildings, ants follow the same routes as mice and roaches: pipe chases, gaps around conduits and shared walls. In Astoria, six-family apartment buildings from the 1920s and 1930s and Steinway worker row houses from 1877-79 stand alongside newer construction, so a trail in one flat can lead into the building's structure. New Jersey work follows New Jersey rules.
Ask the local company which certified NYSDEC applicator category covers the work. Structural pest control for ants falls within the category for structures and rodents, while termite work is separate.
Ant trouble in an apartment building often follows the plumbing. Ants may enter through a gap around a radiator pipe in an upstairs flat, or along the kitchen sink line from a unit below. Asking neighbours whether they have seen trails, and telling the owner or agent, gives the technician the full picture to treat.
Written termite inspections of wood-frame houses, cellars and additions, with treatment options priced before work begins.
Web and egg-sac removal, crack-and-crevice treatment and prey control for spiders in cellars, basements, storage rooms and stairwells.
Nest identification and removal for wasps, yellowjackets and hornets under eaves, on fire escapes and around rooftop equipment.
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Spraying kills foragers but usually leaves the nest alone, so the colony sends more. Baits that workers carry back are generally better for kitchen ants, and the entry points need sealing. A technician identifies the species and plans treatment accordingly.
They are different. Carpenter ants hollow wood to nest and do not eat it, while termites feed on it. Both can damage a structure, and winged forms look alike at first glance, so an inspection tells you which you have and how far it goes.
Sometimes. Kitchen ants come for food and water, and carpenter ants often nest in damp or damaged wood. A technician looks for leaks and wet wood, and notes them in the report so the owner can repair them.
It depends on the species, the size of the colony and whether the nest is inside the building. Many ant jobs need a follow-up visit. The technician explains the likely visits before you approve the price, and no outcome can be promised.
You can clean up food, store it sealed and dry damp spots. Leave the trail intact for the technician, and avoid sprays that scatter the colony. In a shared building, tell the owner too, since the nest may be in a wall serving other units.
Yes. Food businesses attract ants, and treatment is planned to keep products away from food and prep areas. See our page on restaurant and commercial pest control for how a visit works.