Rain tends to flood ant colonies, which sends them looking for higher ground. Additionally, ants tend to stay inside when it rains and after a long stretch of waiting, they feel a strong urge to seek out food.
If it seems like the ants come out in full force every time it rains, it’s not your imagination. Lansing homeowners are no strangers to this strange routine of ants. The reasons for this are several.
Ants live in the ground. When enough water falls, their colonies get flooded. They really have no choice at that point but to evacuate upward toward drier ground. That often means your home, which is often the easiest-to-access dry shelter around. This is what causes the annoying post-storm invasions that many homeowners deal with.
Rain also washes away pheromone trails. Ants use these trails to know where to go for food. When they don’t have trails, they have to scatter in all directions to figure out where food is and then reestablish those trails. So if you see ants everywhere after the rain, that’s part of the reason why—they’re not sticking to known routes anymore.
Warm, still, and humid conditions after rain are perfect weather for flying. Winged males and future queens tend to release en masse. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see flying ants over the lawns or a windowsill scattered with wings after rain stops.
You can partly mitigate the effects of rainy weather by storing food in airtight containers and cleaning counters. It also helps to find and seal gaps that allow ants into your home. But if every storm reliably sends ants indoors, it’s worth considering a perimeter treatment as well.
If you have ant trouble after it rains, Mosquito Squad of Lansing can help. Mosquito Squad's home and yard coverage can help you keep the ants away from your home and seal the entry points they use to get in. This can help you protect your kitchen from ants and other pests that like to go indoors for better weather.
