Do not do these if you have pavement ant problems.

Have you been finding small piles of excavated materials next to your pavements, sidewalks, driveways, or near your structure foundations at some point in your building? Pavement ants may cause these tiny little piles of sand. These ants are known to dig out the sand between the pavements to ventilate their nests. The ants’ typical nesting habits inspire its common name, pavement ant. This ant species is frequently found building nests under pavement cracks.

These ants under paving are harmless to humans, and they are not regarded as a public health risk. However, pavement ant control is necessary for pavement ants infested areas because of their ability to contaminate food.

In this article, you’ll learn more about pavement ants and how to get rid of pavement ant infestation.

What Do Pavement Ants Look Like?

Pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum) are social insects with segmented, oval body shapes. They usually range from dark brown to black and have appendages lighter than the whole body. They possess 12-segmented antennae with three-segmented clubs and are about one-eighth to a one-sixteenth inch long in size.

Pavement ants are native to Europe, where they are introduced to North America and other world continents. They live in the colony, consisting of thousands of workers, alates (new queen ants and drones), and a queen (in rare cases, two or more). Alates are twice as large as the common workers. Both the alates and the queen are the reproductive castes of the colony, while the workers forage for food and defend the colony against external attacks. They undergo complete metamorphosis and often swarm in June and July.

Pavement ants are voracious eaters that feed on a wide variety of things. They feast on insects, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, ice cream, meats, nuts, cheese, and other human-consumed foods. They are more likely to nest in ground-level masonry walls, inside insulation, and underfloor inside buildings. Outside human buildings, they usually nest underneath stones, in or under cracks in pavement, sidewalks, driveways, patios, and near foundation walls.

While pavement ants are typically an outdoor ant species, they tend to enter homes where they can get food and safety. They may become a minor nuisance when inside your building, and they can make your food unfit for consumption by contaminating them. Pavement ants often invade buildings primarily to forage for food and moisture during spring, summer, and fall.

What Are The Pavement Ant Infestation Signs?

Pavement ants leave behind noticeable signs in their occupied areas. Outside your building, check for their trails and dirt mould near places where they typical nest. Their infestation signs seem to be more invisible near structure foundations, doorsteps, driveways, sidewalks, patio, etc. A large infestation of pavement ants may cause your pavement slabs to become loose or shift from their original positions.

The infestation signs of ant species could be a bit hard to notice when they invade the interior of your building. This is particularly true because they are nocturnal and prefer to forage at night most of the time. However, a thorough home inspection for this ant species may unveil their presence even during the day (if they’re nesting indoors). Check your windows for live pavement ants as they’re found clustering near windows to get outdoors for mating purposes.

How Do You Prevent Pavement Ants? 

All DIY remedies that prevent any pest invasion are down to good sanitation. When you keep your inside and outside space clean, pavement ants will find your building inhospitable to their survival. A clean environment do well in eliminating food and moisture sources that usually attract these ants to a place. Here are a few preventive measures for effective concrete ants control:

• Do not leave dirty dishes in your sink. Pavement ants tend to nest indoors near food sources. The left-over of foods in your sink may serve as a food source to these ants and may attract them to establish their nest in your kitchen. Thus, keeping your sink clean always is a good way to remove their attractants. Also, do not leave spills and crumbs on your countertops and floors if you dont want to invite pavement ants to your interior space.
• Do not encourage standing water around your building. Moisture is very necessary to these ants’ survival. They tend to nest in places with free access to moisture sources. Try to cut off their access to moisture in your space, and your house will be less inviting to their invasion.
• Do not leave your trash bin loose. Pavement ants come to the human environment to seek food. Their common target is the trash bin you place outside your building. Try to seal your trash bin tightly each time you dump dirt inside it, and do not leave your trash bin outside for long before you empty it. Doing this will help cut off any chance of getting food from your space, even when they visit your environment.
• Do not seal off cracks, crevices, gaps, and other openings near your building foundation. Do not attempt to block holes around your pavement if you have pavement ant problems. If you do, these concrete ants will make a massive comeback that may be hard to control with your DIY methods. Instead, it would help to go for other available effective pavement ant control. There are pavement and spray, baits, and dusts that you can apply on their colony or nest if you find any in your space.
• Keep your window screens and waterproofing in good condition. This will help to stop the ingress of pavement ants into your building. In addition, ensure to keep clutters, tree branches, and other outdoor plants close to your building foundation. They may serve as a means for these ants to enter your space.

How Best To Get Rid of Pavement Ants?

If your pavement ants problems are beyond what DIY remedies can address, you should enlist the help of a professional pest company immediately. However, not all pest control companies could effectively eliminate pavement ants; you should only contact those who specialise in pavement ant extermination.

If you find any sign of pavement ant infestation in your building, don’t hesitate to contact Provincial Pest Control (PPC). We are a professional pest control company in Canada that serves homeowners and businesses with pavement ant problems in Toronto, Ottawa, Vaughan, Richmond, and other major cities.

We provide reliable pest control services, including pavement ant control, pavement ant treatment, pavement ant spray, and effective pavement ant extermination.

If you discover tiny piles of sand near your pavement or building foundation, you should immediately call us for a thorough free pavement ant inspection and recommendation (if necessary). You can schedule your free pest inspection (so that we can inspect your building for over 30 pests) and recommendations in Canada here.