CALL US TODAY! 800-273-6050

About Us    I    Careers    I   Service Areas

CALL US TODAY! 800-273-6050

WHAT TYPE OF ANT IS IT?

Name:Pavement Ant

Pavement Ant (Tetramorium caespitum)

Appearance: The pavement ant is dark brown to black in color and averages a length of 2.5 – 4mm long. It has grooves along its head and thorax, and has two nodes on the petiole. Often seen on sidewalks emerging from in between cracks in the pavement during the spring and summer.

Habit: Pavement ants are well known because they are often seen during the summer making their home underneath slabs of concrete on sidewalks. They will often remove the sand that is between concrete blocks to vent their nests, leaving a typical ant hill that is so often seen on sidewalks during this time of year. Pavement ants tend to be aggressive to other ants and can be seen in early spring attacking other colonies to expand their territory.

Diet: Scavenger diet; eats everything from other insects to bread, meat, sweets and fruit.

Reproduction: Like most ants, Pavement ant colonies operate on a “Caste” system. This means that different groups of ants within the colony will have specific jobs, some to mate and reproduce, others to help feed and protect the colony. Alates, a group containing male and female reproductives, have nuptial flights where they will mate. The female will then find a nesting location, dig a founding chamber, and lay her eggs. Emergence of these ants is often seen during the early spring and summer months.

Name:Carpenter Ant

Carpenter Ant (Camponotus)

Appearance: Easily distinguishable due to their size, carpenter ants are 1/4 to 1/2 inches long and are one of the largest ants in New Jersey. They are commonly black in color and often have large mandibles.

Habit: Given their name due to the damage they cause to homes and other structures, carpenter ants cut “galleries” in wood to create nests. They do not feed on wood like termites, but will use moist or decaying wood as nesting and breeding sights. Thriving both indoor and outdoor all year-round, they will often create nests outdoors while still traveling into homes to forage for food. The chewed up wood particles that they leave behind called “frass” are an indicator that carpenter ants may be damaging the wood in that area.

Diet: Carpenter ants prefer to feed on human food like sweets and meat products, but will also consume other insects.

Reproduction: Carpenter ant queens will commonly lay 20 to 30 eggs per year and can live up to twenty years, with workers living up to seven. Carpenter ants can make their homes in porches, windowsills, roofs, and almost any wood that is in contact with the soil. To effectively eliminate them, their nest must first be found. This can be done by watching their activity at night when they are most active and following them to where they are entering the home or structure. Controlling moisture problems and replacing damp wood is also recommended when treating or attempting to prevent carpenter ants.

Name:Citronella Ant

Citronella Ant (Lasius interjectus)

Traits and Appearance: Averaging from ¼ inch to ½ inches in length, and entirely yellow in color. The common name, “Citronella Ant”, comes from the citrus odor that is released when a worker ant is stepped on. Citronella ant swarmers have black wings and are often seen during the mid to late summer. Other common names for these ants are “moisture ants” and “yellow ants”.

Habit and Habitat: Citronella ants nest in soil and are most often found outdoors making nests under rocks, logs, and concrete slabs. They excavate tunnels underneath these objects and create soil mounds around their exit tubes. They require high moisture levels to survive and are usually found in homes with water damage or in areas of high humidity.

Diet: Citronella ants feed on the honeydew that other insects acquire from feeding on plant roots.

Reproduction: Citronella ants swarm in mid to late summer looking to establish new colonies.

Flying Ant - Reproductive AntGeneral Information: Winged ants are commonly seen swarming during the the spring and summer months and are usually seen after a heavy rainfall.

Traits and Appearance: Winged ants can be identified by their elbowed antennae and tapered abdomen. They come in various colors and sizes dependent on the species. Winged ants are are often confused for termite swarmers, but can be distinguished by their elbowed antenna and tapered abdomen.

Habit and Habitat: They are often seen during the summer months after heavy rainfall. They can enter the home by swarming near it or creating a nest in a wall void or underneath the concrete slab.

Reproduction: Ant colonies consist of at least one egg producing queen, workers, and winged reproductives. Winged ants are generally the reproductive males and females that will travel off to mate and create new colonies.

ANT FACTS

Pest Entry: Ants are usually a problem in the spring and summer months, making their way into homes through small cracks in window sills and doors that most people don’t even know are there. When ants do make their way inside, they are usually searching for places with food and water like kitchens or pantries. Once they have found a food source, Ants will often leave scent trails that contain pheromones to lead other ants to the food source they’ve located.

Environment: Ants can create nests in a variety of places including lawns, tree stumps, wall voids, and inside the home. Nest locations often vary depending on the particular species.

Reproduction: Can number up to 300,000 to 500,000 and whole colonies can uproot and relocate quickly when threatened. A colony can live a relatively long lifetime. Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.

Health/Damage Concerns: Ants can contaminate food products in the home and can certainly be a hassle when cooking or preparing food outdoors.

Home Remedies: Home remedies only work temporarily, since contact sprays only kill the ants that you actually see. Most of the time these sprays will not reach the nest, causing them to come back time after time.

Why Families and Businesses Choose ParamountPest Control - Service Technician

  • Faster Service – Get your services scheduled quickly and on YOUR time. No one wants to wait weeks for treatment, and we get that.
  • Local and Reliable – We have pest control technicians in Union City, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, North Bergen, and Hudson County everyday to assist our customers at a moments notice!
  • More Efficient – We get things done right the first time, saving you time, money, and frustration.
  • Better Tools – Our technicians only use the best products available on the professional market making treatments more effective and longer lasting.
  • Better variety of treatment methods – Including green treatments and baiting programs.
  • More Experience – We’ve been defeating all types of pests since 1930, and have the most experienced technicians in the industry.

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday – Friday: 8am – 4pm
Saturday: 8am – 2pm
Sunday: Closed
• 24-Hour Emergency Service Available •
• Free Evaluations •
Proudly Serving Jersey City, West New York, Guttenberg,
Hoboken, Weehawken, Secaucus, & All of Hudson County

CALL US TODAY

Union City, NJ      Rutherford, NJ     Ridgewood, NJ
(201) 865-7799     (201) 945-7066    (201) 423-0234

Newark, NJ           NJ Toll Free         Jersey City, NJ
(201) 242-2212     (800) 273-6050     (201) 435-5900

729 32nd Street, Union City, NJ 07087