Pavement ants nest in the soil and sand beneath hardscaping like sidewalks and driveways. As they dig galleries for themselves to live in, they carry the dirt upward and push it out through cracks.
Ants like living under hardscaping like sidewalks. It’s a built-in roof, after all. You can tell that pavement ants are at work when they start pushing dirt up through cracks. That’s their handiwork and that’s how you can tell ants are using your sidewalks to block rain and stabilize temperature.
Pavement ant activity tends to peak in the spring because the colonies expand after winter. That’s why mounds suddenly appear in April and May and look a lot worse than they are. The sandy soils common along the West Michigan lakeshore only make this easier to spot.
There are a couple of knock-on effects that you will want to keep in mind. One is that removing material from setting beds lets pavers and slab sections settle unevenly over time. That causes joints to open and surfaces to go out of level. A colony under the front walk is also a few feet from your door threshold, which is how kitchen trails start.
Sweeping away mounds won’t help. The colony is underneath the sidewalk. What works better is to fill joints with polymeric sand, which tends to resist excavation better than plain sand. Also fix drainage so water is not running under the hardscape. Then, once you reach that point, use baits that foragers can carry back to the queens. Once the queens take the bait, that can send the colony into collapse. To help keep the ants outside, consider having a professional do perimeter treatment around your home as well.
If ant mounds keep appearing along your walkways, Mosquito Squad of West Michigan Lakeshore can help. Mosquito Squad treats the ant colonies around your foundation and hardscape. This will help you protect your walkways and keep the trails from reaching your door.
