The Case Of The Perpetual Ants

It was a beautiful day in Orange County when a homeowner called Termite Terry. The owner said, “I’ve got a bad ant problem at my house. I have tried my best to get rid of them, but everything I do seems to make things worse. That’s why I’m calling you; I need your help!”
When Termite Terry arrived at the home, he asked if the owner would show him around the home so he could see where the ants were located. As they toured the home, ants could be seen in almost every room. Even some of the rooms on the second story were infested!
After looking around, Termite Terry said to himself, “This is bad, really bad!” He could already feel a tension headache coming on because he knew this would be a very tough problem to solve. Terry went back to his truck so he could get the tools and begin the treatment.
While touring the home with the owner, one of the worst areas he saw was in the master bath on the first floor, so he figured this would be a good place to start. The ants were in the large bathtub, and they appeared to be going into the tub drain for water. Ants need water for their survival, so it is common to see them entering structures to look for sources of moisture.
Terry got down on his hands and knees, and started watching the ants. He followed the trail and he could see that they were heading toward the bathroom door. From there, he could see they were coming from the exterior door in the adjacent room. This was a large trail of ants, and they could be seen emerging from a crack between the door’s jamb and the threshold. This was an interesting situation because no ants could be seen on the outside of the house, anywhere.
Termite Terry prefers to do “crack & crevice” treatments on the interiors of homes because he doesn’t want the family or pets to be exposed to pesticides. So, he took out his “injection needle” and carefully put it in the crack between the door jamb and threshold. He saturated this cavity with a “non-repellant” product that doesn’t have a smell or taste. This product is slow acting, but when applied correctly, he knew they would take it back to the colony, and hopefully eliminate them all.
The next place he looked at was the first story hall bath. There, he could see ants coming out from under the bathroom door jamb, and going into the bathtub. The ants were also coming out from under the toilet, and climbing into the toilet for water. He carefully treated the crack under the jamb, and the joint between the toilet and floor.
The kitchen sink was next to be treated. Ants were found to be coming up around the sink drain, and the water supply lines.
Termite Terry continued, inspecting and treating every room in the home where he could find ants.
At this point, it was becoming obvious that there were a number of ant colonies living under this home. No signs of ants could be found anywhere on the outside of this home, but he went ahead and performed an exterior-perimeter treatment of the home, just in case.
Termite Terry finished with his work, and told the owner to be patient because it may take a few days for the ant problem to die down.
About a week later, the owner called Terry and said there were new signs of ants in the kitchen and laundry room.
Termite Terry investigated the kitchen, and he found a few ants near the sink. So, he did some more targeted-treatments in those areas.
The laundry room was next on his list. He could see a large trail of ants coming out from around the water valves where the washing machine lines hook up. This was new because this evidence was not there the week before.
It was evident that the ants were coming up from below the slab foundation, through gaps around the plumbing pipes. Terry had to pull out the washing machine to access the area. Once he got in behind the washer, he was able to treat around the plumbing pipes, and inside the wall void.
Termite Terry thought he had finally solved this case. But then, he got another call from the owner – they were seeing ants back in the kitchen sink area.
Some of these ant cases can be very difficult to solve. So, Termite Terry went back to the house to look for more clues.
There were only a few ants crawling on the kitchen counter when he got there. For the longest time, he kept watching these ants but they seemed to be walking around in circles. He just couldn’t figure out where they were coming from, or going to!
He went outside to see if any ants were out there, and went back inside to check again. Still, he found no answer to this problem. Termite Terry was now stumped.
“Gee, this case is driving me nuts! I know there are ants in here, so they’ve got to be coming from somewhere,” Termite Terry said to himself.
Fortunately, the homeowner was not there to watch Termite Terry going back and forth, from the kitchen to the outside of the house.
On his last trip to the outside of the house, he stopped and stared at the exterior wall. That is when he took another look at the drain clean out that was located on the exterior wall. He got down on his knees to look closer at it. That is when the answer came to him and he said to himself, “I’ve got it! The ants have got to be coming up around the kitchen sink drain line, where it goes through the slab, and into the ground!”
Termite Terry went back into the house to find the owner. He took the owner outside, and showed him the area. He then asked the owner for permission to drill holes through the exterior wall, so he could treat the drain pipe area. The owner agreed, and Termite Terry went back to work.
Drilling holes through a home’s stucco wall to perform a treatment is something that is rarely done. But, Terry carefully drilled two small holes through the wall, and injected his product into the wall void. The small holes were repaired with small dabs of stucco so that no one would notice anything had ever been done there.
This case was finally solved, and no signs of ants have been found inside this home in over a year’s time!
Do you have an ant problem at your home or business? Call us at (949) 631-7348, and we will schedule an appointment at your convenience.