If you see steady ant activity, a lot of ants, small piles of sawdust or winged ants (swarmers) indoors; or if you hear faint rustling in walls—then you likely have an established ant colony.
Nobody wants to see ants in their house. But it’s still worth knowing the difference between ants foraging indoors and those nesting indoors. A trail coming in from outside to raid the kitchen is foraging, but the colony is in the yard. When the nest is in the house itself, that’s a bigger deal.
The clearest sign of an indoor nest is winter activity. Ants outdoors go dormant in the cold, so if you see ants inside your home during the winter months, you should be suspicious. There’s probably a nest in your house.
If you see large numbers of ants clustering in one area on a regular basis, that’s another sign better not ignored. Likewise, if you see winged ants indoors (called swarmers), that’s another strong sign. Colonies only make these once the reproductive ants inside are mature. If you find them inside, especially around windows, you probably have an infestation.
For carpenter ants specifically, watch for small piles of sawdust-like frass near baseboards, window frames, or wood, and listen for a faint rustling inside a wall where a large colony is working. Trails that lead to a wall void, the back of a cabinet, or a structural gap, rather than to a door or window, suggest the nest is in the house. And finding workers in damp or structural areas, such as under a leaky sink, is another telltale sign.
If you're tired of ants that seem to live in the walls rather than just visit, Mosquito Squad of Middlesex, New London & Windham County can help. Mosquito Squad offers targeted perimeter and structural treatments that go after nesting ants. These are applied alongside the barrier service that delivers up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a 21-day cycle.
