Question: Why do I have ants in my house in the winter?

Most of us are familiar with seeing the occasional carpenter ant on the wall or seeing small, pavement ants running across the floor in the spring months. Carpenter ants and many other ant species make their primary nests on the outside (trees and other areas) and use the building materials of homes and business as secondary nesting sites during the warmer weather months. However, ants are cold-blooded and go into a state of diapause (reduced metabolic activity…slightly differs from hibernation) in the winter months.

What you may not know is that carpenter ants and pavement ants can still be a nuisance in the winter months. Interior wall voids and surface areas throughout the home or business, especially around bathrooms and under appliances, can provide habitable winter lodging, food (sweets, meats and other sources of nutrition) and moisture for ants and many other pests to thrive in the winter months. Ants will typically be sluggish this time of year and often, if a fall treatment was done at the home or business, customers may report seeing dead ants in new areas in the winter months. This is due to the residual properties of many of the products we use, both with baits and with other applied products. When products are used on the interior of the home or business, they typically have a longer residual than when products are used on the exterior.