All About Ants in New Jersey

Ants in New Jersey are extremely advanced insects in the New Jersey area. They are super social, creating a network of ants with different jobs in sustaining their colony. The castes include soldiers, workers, queens, and reproductive males (usually reproductive soldiers).

Ants require high-moisture environments and will travel long distances to reach it before building a colony. As they look for a place to build, sometimes they end up invading homes. Some species nest in wood and may do structural damage. Some ants can bite or deliver a painful sting. This sting usually results in local swelling, but in highly sensitive persons, an allergic reaction results.

Their colonies remain intact by hibernating in the winter but can be active year-round if living indoors.

Common Ants in New Jersey

The most common species throughout New Jersey are:

Carpenter Ants

The black and red carpenter ants are two species of ants worth noting in New Jersey. Carpenter ants in New Jersey raise concerns because they make their nests in wood. If they nest in your home, this could cause structural problems. The wood they will attack could have previously been damaged by water and has begun to decay. Unlike termites, the galleries of carpenter ants are clean and contain no soil or fecal pellets. Carpenter ants do not use wood for food but discard the wood fragments and feed on the sugary liquids of trees and plants. They are attracted to sweet foods.

Thief ants in New Jersey are noticeably yellow and about 1/16 inch in length. These ants are predators of many insects, including other ants. They prefer to nest in the ground but will come inside when foraging. Preferred foods for them are scraps of meat and fat or grease. They hibernate through the winter.

Thief Ant

Pharaoh Ant

Pharaoh ants like very warm climates, but they can still be found in New Jersey. They can get away with living in this area by making their colonies inside the walls of homes. Pharaoh ants are similar to the thief ant in their appearance and size and can be difficult to control because their colonies are so big. They also have several queens living in them. A queen can split a colony and create a new one with other workers. Pharaoh ants are also omnivorous and will eat fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

These ants in New Jersey can be identified by the pointed tip of the abdomen. They are about 1/8 in length. Sometimes, the abdomen points forward over the dorsal surface of the body. Acrobatic ant colonies are generally found where there’s damp wood. When they enter homes, they tend to nest beneath window sills or roof gutters, where they find humidity. At times, they enter kitchens when foraging. While their chewing in wood can cause structural damage, it’s usually not as damaging as chewing done by carpenter ants.

Acrobatic Ant

Little Black Ants in New Jersey

Little black ants are primarily found in southern New Jersey. In other areas of the state, they can be found where there’s predominantly sandy soil. They are very small, about 1/12 inches long. They usually don’t nest in homes. However, like most ants, when they are foraging, they might be found in the kitchen.

Yellow Ants in New Jersey

There are two different types of yellow ants in New Jersey. The large yellow ants and the smaller yellow ants. Both types are yellow or reddish-yellow in color. This species nests in the soil near the foundation walls of homes and can be mistaken for termites, but yellow ants do not cause any damage. Their diet consists mainly of honeydew, so they are not looking to come indoors for food.

Pavement Ants in New Jersey

Pavement ants and sugar ants are the same. They get the sugar ant name because they search out sweets from sugar, fruits, nectar, and syrup to eat. The name pavement ant comes from the fact that they build their colonies under sidewalks. Pavement ants in New Jersey are dark in color and usually spotted around concrete and food. Keeping your space clean is a way to keep them from becoming a problem.

How to Get Rid of Ants Inside Your Home?

You will eliminate ants in New Jersey by making sure the entire colony is eliminated. If you get rid of just a few ants, then the issue will always come back. The ants you see inside your house are workers of an ant colony. They are foraging for food and water. If you kill them, the ant colony will produce new worker ants, and your issue begins from scratch. Therefore, it’s so important to find the colony. Finding the colony will let you know which type of ants you have. Once you know what type of ants you have, you will know their nesting preferences, and that will help you find the colony. From there, you use basic detective skills to find it. Make sure to inspect nearby wood piles, tree stumps, wood posts, and nearby trees.

Once the colony is eliminated and you are still finding ants inside your home, you can use a treatment with an insecticide to eliminate those that are left inside your home. Ideally, the insecticide has a residual effect and is placed in areas the ants have to pass through when foraging for food.

How Do You Keep Ants Away From Your Home?

Moisture collecting around your home from rain puddles or overflows can attract ants. You can keep ants in New Jersey away from your home by eliminating any water source that shouldn’t be there. Calling a professional pest control company is the best assurance because the treatments will put a boundary around your home.

How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Yard?

Ant hills in your yard are a sign you have problems that will likely lead into your home. The yard is typically the source of any ant activity inside your house. Once the ants are eliminated in your yard, your ant issues in the home will most likely disappear. Start by finding the ant hills. You can eliminate ant hills with insecticide treatments or by pouring boiling water down into it.

After ant hills have been eliminated, it will be important to make sure standing water in your backyard is taken care of as well. Do your best to eliminate any sources of standing water. Firewood is also a gathering place for ants, especially carpenter ants. Store firewood twenty feet or further away from the house, and keep branches and shrubbery trimmed as well. Branches make bridges for ants to access your home. Also, you can always call professionals who are trained in getting rid of your ant issues and will do everything they can to protect your home and yard from ants in New Jersey.

Ant and Pest Control in New Jersey

Our service plans are designed to put well-trained professionals to work with the goal of preventing pests from ever becoming a problem. This approach has been proven to protect families and homes from unwanted pests and the diseases they may carry or damage they can cause while reducing the pesticides used inside your home.

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