The way to stop ants coming into a Brooklyn house is to treat the colony, not the trail. We use baits that the worker ants carry back to the nest, so the queen and brood are affected. Spraying the line of ants on the counter only kills the foragers, and the nest sends out replacements within hours.
Why ants find so many ways into Brooklyn houses
Older homes settle over the decades. Plaster cracks along window sills, skirting pulls away from the wall, and old wooden window frames shrink and leave a gap. Every one of those is an ant route. Outside, the roots of Brooklyn's big trees lift paving and garden edging, and the gaps underneath make ideal nest sites, sheltered, dry and right next to the house.
The trees play another role, too. Many ants farm aphids and scale insects on trees and shrubs for the sweet honeydew they produce. A trail running up a tree trunk is often a sign of that, and those same ants will happily follow a branch or a wall into the kitchen when they find sugar.
When ants are worst
Activity usually jumps in spring and just before the summer rains, when colonies are growing and looking for food and water. Heavy storms can also flood nests and push ants indoors in large numbers. In winter they slow down, but colonies under warm paving or inside wall cavities can stay active all year.
Signs to look out for
- Steady trails along skirting, window sills or the edge of the counter
- Ants clustering around sugar, pet food or a dripping tap
- Small heaps of fine soil between paving bricks
- Trails running up tree trunks and garden walls
- Winged ants emerging from a crack after rain
Ants or termites?
Winged ants and winged termites swarm at similar times, and people mix them up all the time. Ants have a narrow, pinched waist and bent antennae. Termites have a thick waist, straight antennae and wings of equal length that drop off easily. If you're finding mud tubes or damaged timber, you need our page on termite treatments in Brooklyn instead.
Our process
- Follow the trail. We trace the ants back to where they enter the building and, where possible, to the nest itself.
- Identify the ant. Different species prefer sugar, protein or grease, so the bait has to match what they're feeding on.
- Place baits along the route. Workers carry the bait home and share it, which reaches the queen and the brood.
- Treat outside entry points. Where needed, an odourless, non-staining barrier treatment around the base of the walls stops new trails.
- Check back. Baits take a few days to work through a colony. Heavy infestations get a follow-up.
Offices and rented homes
In converted offices, ants usually head for the tea station, the sugar bowl and the bin under the desk. Staff wiping trails away with surface cleaner every morning can spread the problem along the building rather than fix it. We place baits out of sight and give the office manager a short note on what to leave alone while they work.
The mistake almost everyone makes
Spraying the trail as soon as the baits go down. Ants need to find the bait and carry it home. Killing them on the way stops the bait from ever reaching the nest. Once baits are placed, let the ants feed on them, even if it means seeing more ants for a day or two.
A tip for Brooklyn gardens
If ants are trailing up a tree near the house, check the leaves for aphids or scale. Treating that plant problem, or cutting back the branches that touch the house, removes both the food source and the bridge into your kitchen.
What does ant control cost?
For a typical home with ants in the kitchen and bathroom, it's a fairly modest job. The cost goes up with the size of the property, the number of colonies, whether we need to treat outside barriers too, and whether an office or food outlet needs regular visits. If you have a small trail and one obvious entry point, a good ant bait from a hardware store, placed on the trail and left alone, may sort it out.
We treat ants across the city through our ant control for Pretoria, and we see very similar tree-and-paving colonies in Waterkloof ant work. For the other pests in the suburb, see Brooklyn pest control. We've been doing this for 25 years and are SAPCA registered. If ants return within 3 months of treatment, we come back. Call 012 012 5526, or WhatsApp us a photo of the ants and the trail.
Questions we get asked
Why do ants keep coming back after I spray?
Because spray only kills the workers you can see. The nest stays alive and sends out new foragers. Baits that reach the colony solve that.
Are ants in my Brooklyn house coming from the garden?
Usually, yes. Most nests are under paving, at the base of walls or near tree roots, with workers foraging indoors.
Can ants damage my house?
Most ants don't damage structure, but some nest in wall cavities and push soil out through cracks. Termites, not ants, are the ones that eat timber.
How long do ant baits take to work?
You should see fewer ants within a few days, and the trail should stop within a week or two as the bait works through the colony.
Are ant baits safe with pets?
We place them in protected spots along the trail and away from where pets eat and sleep, and use only the amount needed.
Why are there more ants before it rains?
Colonies get active ahead of summer rain, and heavy storms flood nests, which pushes ants into houses looking for dry ground and food.