Protection from Ants

Professional Ant Control for Properties

Have an ant problem? It's not uncommon for someone to walk into a room and make the disgusting discovery that their floor or table is covered in ants! These clever creatures can make their way into your home through the tiniest of openings. They swarm through nearly invisible cracks to gain access to moisture and available food sources, or in search of the perfect place to build their nest.

Why Tidiness Isn't Enough

Unfortunately, if you think that keeping your home tidy and free of crumbs or open food containers is enough to keep the ants away, we have bad news for you: to ants, almost anything can be food, from fruit to old moldy furniture. Moreover, some varieties excel at finding hidden locations inside your home to build their nests for easy access to the water and all the delicious "food" you provide them. It can be nearly impossible to find these nests, which can even be located inside walls, without an expert who can spot the signs and track down their headquarters.

Localized Expertise for Ant Control

As your local ant extermination service, Advanced Pest Specialists understands the unique challenges that St. Charles County, Lincoln County, Warren County, and West St. Louis County properties face with ant invasions. Our specialized approach targets the specific ant species common to our region, ensuring complete elimination of these persistent pests from your residential or commercial property.

Species Identification and Treatment Methods

In order for our ant technician to effectively eradicate ants from your home or commercial building, we first identify the species we're dealing with. There are thousands of species of ants; however, there are four that are most commonly found in our St. Louis area service regions.

Carpenter Ants

These are normally 6 to 12 mm in length and, as the name suggests, can be found burrowed in damp wood where they build their nest. They're the largest of the common local ant species at about a half-inch long. They are usually black and sometimes are found in shades of red. Our ant infestation control methods specifically target their wood-dwelling behavior.

Odorous House Ants

Dark brown or black in color, odorous house ants usually measure between 2.4-3.3 mm in length. They are constantly in search of food, which makes kitchen cupboards and pantries some of the more common areas where they're found. When their bodies are crushed, the smell of rotten coconut pervades the air.

Pavement Ants

As the name suggests, pavement ants are usually found living inside the cracks in your driveway, foundation, or concrete patio. Pavement ants are very small, less than 1/4 of an inch. They don't move very fast and are normally black or brown.

Pharaoh Ants

This species is commonly found in restaurants, hospitals, and apartment buildings. Pharaoh ants are very resilient, so DIY pest control methods are unlikely to even get rid of the ants you can see, let alone their invisible nests. Moreover, they can carry, spread, and infect your household with dangerous, disease-causing bacteria, such as staph and salmonella. They're very small—about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch and their color varies from reddish to light tan.

The Ant Invasion Roadmap

Understanding Ant Invasion Patterns

How do ants get into your home and then settle in so well you need a professional to get them out? Once they've decided your home is a good target, the scout ants come in through invisible entry points, for example, cracks around windows or doors. The scout ants identify the location of the "food" source that attracted them to your home. As they explore, they leave behind a scent trail that other ants can follow. The rest of the ants, known as a colony, follow the scout ants' trail.

Where Ants Build Nests

Depending on the type of ant, they may look for a good place inside your home to build their nest, or they may build a nest just outside and identify a good location. Unfortunately, what makes a nest location good for ants are often the things that make them bad for humans. They can be in hard-to-reach or invisible places like inside walls, in cracks in your patio or driveway, or under your floor. Ants can build a nest anywhere in or around homes.

Our Multi-Dimensional Treatment Approach

Our ant infestation control requires a multi-dimensional treatment approach. While there may be hundreds of ants visible, there may be thousands of others waiting in a nest outside the home. Our technicians not only destroy the ants that are visible, we track the colonies back to their nest and then take out the reserves with them. The idea is to eradicate the problem from the root—and fast! Don't let their size fool you.

The Complex Problem of Ant Infestations

Ants may be tiny, but they can wreak havoc in your home. These little scavengers are famous for their strength (some ants can lift up to 50 times their body weight!), but we're more concerned with the dangers and discomforts that can plague an ant-infested home. If your home has been invaded by ants, you're not alone—ants are among the most common household pest problems. Unfortunately, they are also one of the most complex pest problems to solve since they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and species, and each variety requires a specialized plan.

Our Ant Extermination Techniques

Our team brings extensive experience in ant detection and removal. We develop effective plans to clear your property of ants quickly and safely.

Comprehensive Ant Treatment Options

Bait Applications: Useful for indoor infestations, but outdoor nests must be treated with insecticides.
Nest Targeting: The most reliable way to stop indoor ants is to find and eliminate their nest.

Essential Ant Control Advice

Ants are more than a minor annoyance—they can pose health concerns. Cleanliness helps, but it’s not enough to prevent infestations due to the range of ant behaviors.

Clients frequently ask, “How do I eliminate ants?” The answer is a combination of methods:

Keep areas clean
Remove ant trails
Seal possible entry points
Destroy nests
Eliminate conducive conditions

All these actions are needed for lasting results. While you can manage cleanliness, professional intervention is key for the rest. Our experts know how to address your unique infestation and reinforce your home against future ants.

Ant trail along a white baseboard indoors.

We Eliminate Colonies

Ants are persistent and unwanted. As soon as you spot them, you want them gone. Advanced Pest Specialists is here to identify, locate, and remove ant colonies from your home or business efficiently.

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