Odorous House Ants Infest Home in Rumson, NJ
Challenge
As this new homeowner was renovating his newly acquired property, he found a large infestation of ants underneath the doorway sill in the living room. He immediately called Cowleys and I was sent out to inspect and treat. When I arrived, I inspected the area closely and identified these ants as odorous house ants.
Odorous house ants, commonly known as “sweet ants,” are small ants about 1/8 of an inch long and dark brown in color. Their name comes from the disagreeable odor that is given off when the worker ants are crushed. These ants are known for swarming kitchen counters and floors as they are foraging for sweet foods and liquids. Their minute size allows them to crawl into closed or sealed food containers making food contamination a problem. Fortunately, after a thorough inspection, this was the only area they had infested.
Solution
I treated all the cracks and crevices with a residual aerosol product that will not only eliminate the ants almost immediately but also flush them out of hiding. Next, I placed some ant gel bait throughout the outside wall, treated the area and the exterior of the home with a liquid residual, and then applied some granular bait to the grassy areas of the home.
When the ants come in contact with any of these applications, they will bring them back to their nest and transfer the treatments throughout their colony by feeding one another, grooming one another, or eating their own dead. In no time at all, the home will free of these smelly ants.
