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Ant Control Portland

Ant Exterminator

Ant Control PortlandAnts can pose a significant problem. They aren’t just an annoyance, and certain varieties can cause severe property damage. Improper treatment can make the problem worse, and that’s why you should always get professional ant control in Portland by New Leaf Pest Control. There are several reasons we stand apart. As an ant control company in Portland that only uses green methods, we use the safest products available that still provide complete ant control. Some species respond rather poorly to many standard non-green products. These manufactured ant control methods can agitate certain varieties of ants, causing them to relocate to other areas of your property. That’s why professional ant control in Portland from a name you can trust is so important. We provide a variety of pest control services in addition to ant control, including wasp removal and rodent control.

Ant Infestation

Ants are the most common pest that we treat in the Portland area. To many people, it is hard to distinguish the difference between common ants in the northwest, but it is essential to know what you have. You may have a common nuisance ant infestation in your home, which is harmless (yet annoying), or you might have something worse, like a wood destroying ant. Regardless of what ant infestation you might have, we recommend that you give us a call. We would be happy to provide you with some advice or schedule a free inspection.

How Do I Get Rid Of Ants?

Complete pest control requires a partnership between you and your exterminator. Working together, we can keep your home pest-free. There are a few things you can do in between treatments to ensure those pests don’t find their way back in.

First, walk around your home and look for conducive conditions. Carpenter ants are looking for softer wood, so remove any firewood piles, tree stumps, etc. Also, if you have shrubs touching the house, you should trim them back so that they do not come in contact with the structure. Probably more than any other pest, it is critically important to keep your home clean when dealing with sugar ants. We recommend doing a deep cleaning of your kitchen and pulling out the oven and the fridge and making sure there is no grease or other food sources behind them. Since sugar ants need to be near a water source, make sure to wipe the counter and sink and keep them dry. Lastly, be sure not to use any repellents!

Sugar Ants

You can find these ants throughout the Portland area. They eat sugary substances and are attracted to food and scraps. They can be challenging to remove as they nest in your walls. If you believe you have them, do not remove them yourself. Typical store-bought products can cause “budding.” This process occurs when ants panic and they may move elsewhere in your home. You can quickly identify sugar ants by crushing one. The smell they release is similar to ammonia or gasoline-like.

These ants will invade just about every home at some point. They are seemingly everywhere in the Portland area and can quickly get out of hand in a kitchen or bathroom. Sugar ants are a type of soil ant that make their way up from the ground and typically nest in a wall in your home. Once established, they can be complicated to irradicate fully. As their name implies, they are attracted to sugary substances but are not that picky. If you have any leftover food, they will swarm over the scraps. Treating for sugar ants is made harder because of the many ways homeowners can make the problem worse. Store-bought products like Raid, Black Flag, and other ant sprays seem to make the problem worse by setting off a process called “budding” within the colony. Basically, because of the repellent quality in these products, it creates panic within the nest and can spread the infestation to other areas of the home.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter Ant Removal PortlandCarpenter ants are the most common wood-destroying pest that we have in the area. They are typically larger than other ants that you might observe, but they can vary in size depending on how old the colony is. They are black and can have wings when they are in the reproductive stage. Although they are wood-destroying insects, they do not eat the wood (like a termite, for example). Instead, they excavate the wood to form galleries for their nest and typically leave behind fine sawdust called “frass.”

Their food source is found outside of the home as they feed on other insects and some plants. For this reason, they are easier to get rid of then other insects that do not move around as much.

Efficient ant-control in Portland is imperative with a carpet ant infestation. These ants nest in wood, often making their homes in structural beams and other wooded areas. They frequently cause damage to homes, and can be identified by their larger bodies and signs of “frass.” Frass is sawdust-like and is left behind as they build tunnels. Carpenter ants are the most common wood-destroying insect that we have here in the Portland area. Although termites account for more damage nationally, carpenter ants are far more destructive in the Pacific Northwest. Estimating that a fully developed nest can do $15 worth of damage per day, it is crucial to eliminate these insects quickly.

Pavement Ants

It can be challenging to tell the difference between pavement and sugar ants when looking at them. A crush test will quickly tell you which type it is. These ants regularly live below slabs and are much easier to eliminate. Our green ant-control in Portland can rid you of pavement ants while maintaining a safe environment.

Pavement ants are so similar looking to sugar ants that you might not be able to tell the difference. Although they look strikingly alike, they are far easier to eliminate. One easy way to know if you have a pavement ant is to squish it and see if it emits an odor. A sugar ant gives off a smell almost like gasoline when crushed, where a pavement ant has no such smell. You can also identify them by their large head and smaller body (sugar ants are more proportional).

Pavement ants typically come from under slab foundation and make their nests under concrete (hence the name). They differ from sugar ants in the fact that they are quite easy to get rid of and do not have all the adverse effects that can sometimes come with using over the counter products.

Moisture Ants

Similar to carpenter ants, this species also inhabit wood in structures but prefer moist and rotting wood instead. We have ant control treatments that can rid you of these ants. But we recommend addressing any damp or rotting wood you may have to ensure they do not return.

Moisture ants are another wood-destroying ant that is common in the Portland area. They are similar to carpenter ants in most ways but look a bit different. They are more often mistaken for a sugar ant because of their smaller size (although they can vary in size like a carpenter ant). Their bodies are dark red, and their thorax section is shiny and almost translucent looking.

As their name entails, these ants infest areas where moisture is present. Typically, if you have rotting wood, you could be drawing these ants into your home to infest the softwood. The best remedy for moisture ants is to remove the conducive condition or rotting wood. Treatment can then be applied to eradicate the nest.

Pacific NW Pest Control Company

Ant Pest Control Near Me PortlandAs a professional pest control company in the Pacific Northwest, we carry the products and experience needed to get these destructive guys under control. Our process is pretty simple. We identify the source of your infestation and create a custom plan to protect your home. We use a combination of green pest control sprays and baits that are safe for the entire family. And we always explain what your expectations should be after we complete your treatment. With sugar ants, we start by doing a free no-obligation inspection of your home. After our inspection, we prepare a custom treatment plan that is specific to your home. If you allow us to start treatment, we carry the highest quality products on the market — including several “non-repellents,” which are essential in treating sugar ant colonies. We utilize a pest control approach called “integrated pest management,” which focuses on targeting our treatments to have a maximum effect with as little environmental impact as possible.

Ant Exterminator Near Me

If you are struggling with getting rid of ants, we invite you to contact us. We would be happy to schedule a free inspection of your home or at least answer a few questions for you. We have a staff of highly trained ant exterminators and access to the best green options for ant control in Portland. When you want practical, environmentally responsible ant control in Portland, give us a call!

We offer a variety of services in addition to ant control. When you’re looking for ant, termite, rodent, or wasp control give us a call! We provide our services to those in Portland, Vancouver, Camas, and the surrounding areas!