Summer is a time for sunshine, backyard gatherings, and fresh air, but it is also when ants seem to appear everywhere. If you have spotted a trail of tiny invaders marching through your kitchen or along your patio, you are not alone. Many Midwest homeowners find themselves asking the same question this time of year: How can I keep ants out of my home?
Let’s break it down, from why ants become so active in warm weather to when it is time to call in a professional.
Why Are Ants So Active in Warm Weather?
Ants thrive in summer for one main reason. Warmer temperatures boost their energy and trigger foraging behavior. Their colonies become more active as the soil warms up, and they begin searching for food and water. Midwest humidity and occasional rain make the conditions even more ideal for activity around and inside your home.
Food crumbs, standing water, and pet bowls on the ground can turn your kitchen into a hotspot for foraging ants. Once a few ants find a good food source, they leave a scent trail with chemicals called pheromones that leads the rest of the colony straight to it.
Most Common Ants in the Midwest
To understand how to keep ants out of your home, it helps to know what kind of ants you might be dealing with. While some ants are simply a nuisance, others can cause costly damage if left untreated. Identifying which type of ant has made its way into or around your home is the first step to understanding an ant infestation and how it should be addressed.
The Four Most Common Ants in our Service Area Include:
Odorous House Ants
These small ants are dark brown or black in color. When crushed, these ants release a strong odor, giving them their name. Odorous house ants commonly enter homes in the summer in search of sweet foods.
Pavement Ants
These small, dark ants are typically found under concrete structures around a home and especially like to nest under the cracks of sidewalks. When nesting, pavement ants make donut-shaped mounds out of displaced soil. Pavement ants will commonly forage for greasy, as well as sweet foods in a home.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are much larger than most of the ants we see in the Midwest and are capable of causing structural damage due to their habit of nesting in wood. Carpenter ants aren’t eating this wood, but instead hollow it out to create nesting areas. A telltale hint of a carpenter ant infestation is the presence of sawdust around these wooden parts of a structure.
Pharaoh Ants
These small, golden-colored ants are very commonly found in structures where lots of people are (hospitals, dorms, apartment buildings). Pharaoh ants are attracted to and prefer to nest in warm, humid spaces in a structure. These ants forage for both greasy and sweet foods to eat.
Odorous house ants, pavement ants, and pharaoh ants have multiple queens in a colony and can engage in a behavior called budding. This is where one queen, accompanied by workers, will leave the nest to create her own colony. This can be an issue when trying to control these ant species.
How to Keep Ants Out of Your Home
Keeping ants out of your home begins with prevention. By changing a few everyday habits and taking a closer look at your home’s exterior, you can make it far less inviting for ants.
Here are some practical steps to take:
Seal cracks and gaps
Inspect windows, door frames, baseboards, and your home’s foundation for entry points like cracks or gaps and seal when appropriate.
Keep your kitchen clean
Wipe down surfaces, sweep crumbs, and store food in airtight containers to make your home less attractive to hungry, foraging ants.
Address moisture problems
Fix leaky pipes, empty pet water bowls daily, and use a dehumidifier if needed to control moisture in your home and make it less inviting to ants.
Take out trash regularly
Ensure both indoor and outdoor bins have tight-fitting lids and are kept clean.
Trim outdoor plants
Keep bushes and tree limbs from touching your home, as ants can use them as a pathway when foraging, allowing them to find those entry points.
Even with these practices in place, ants may still get inside—especially if a large nest is nearby or if your home offers ideal conditions for survival.
Why DIY Doesn’t Work
There are plenty of do-it-yourself solutions that promise to solve ant problems, but they often only address what you can see. Over-the-counter sprays and traps may kill visible ants, but they rarely reach the colony itself. In some cases, DIY treatments can actually make things worse by causing ants to engage in budding behavior and split into multiple nests. Without eliminating the source, an ant problem might return or get even worse.
When to Call a Pro
If you are seeing ants in multiple areas of your home, noticing large numbers daily, or spotting signs like sawdust piles from carpenter ants, it may be time to contact a licensed pest control provider. Professionals can properly identify the species, locate the nest, and apply targeted treatments that remove the entire colony. They will also help you put preventive measures in place to reduce the risk of future infestations.
Ants may be small, but they can create a major nuisance during summer months. By understanding their behavior and taking proactive steps, you can take control and learn how to keep ants out of your home. If ant problems persist, it is best to seek help from a trusted professional who can ensure the issue is handled thoroughly and safely.
