Ant control in La Crosse, WI

Your next step after calling

A La Crosse home with ants at the utility chase needs that spot named when you call, so the visit starts in the right place.

What ant problems look like in La Crosse

Summers here are humid and the river valley stays damp, which suits ants. In older houses, wet window frames, porch timbers and fascia boards give carpenter ants an easy way in.

Mature trees along the older streets put carpenter ant nests right beside the house. On the bluffs and out at the edge of town, field ants build mounds in lawns.

Heavy spring rain floods nests and sends ants into kitchens, and the first warm spell in April is usually when the trails appear.

The ants La Crosse homeowners meet

• Black carpenter ant: big and black, it nests in damp or decayed wood and pushes out coarse sawdust.
• Pavement ant: small and dark brown, it nests under slabs and throws up little piles of sand.
• Odorous house ant: shiny and dark, with a smell like rotten coconut when crushed, and a taste for sweet food.
• Field ant: medium-sized and mound-building, found in lawns and under stones, occasionally coming indoors.
• Citronella ant: yellowish, usually in damp cellars and crawl spaces.

What an ant inspection in a La Crosse home checks

• Window and door frames, thresholds and siding, where trails slip in.
• Plumbing in kitchens and bathrooms, and the cabinets around it.
• Concrete slabs, patios and cracks in the foundation, where nests may be.
• Soft, stained or discoloured wood on porches, decks, fascia and sills.
• Writing down where ants were seen near Riverside Park area, including the eave gap, makes the La Crosse visit shorter and more exact.
• Pet food, bird seed and rubbish within easy reach.

How ants are controlled in La Crosse

• Bait that foragers carry home to the nest, placed along the trail and near the entry points.
• A treated band around the foundation, doors and windows.
• In La Crosse, ants near Onalaska are traced from the garage-door sweep, not from a product chosen before anyone looks.
• Repair of the dampness that carpenter ants rely on.
• Near the South Side, ants turn up at the attic hatch before they turn up in the main rooms.

Ask how long to leave the trail alone and when a return visit will check the result.

Ants near Downtown La Crosse

• Spraying the trail, which can split one colony into several.
• For ants in La Crosse, the visit starts at the weep holes and then follows whatever that shows.
• If you have seen ants near West Salem, leave the soffit gap as you found it and photograph it.
• Treating the kitchen and leaving the nest outdoors.
• Letting branches or woodpiles touch the house.

Ants through the year in La Crosse

The first trails come in April as the soil warms, starting with pavement and odorous house ants. Carpenter ants follow in May and June, when the winged adults appear.

Summer is the high season for kitchen ants, and storms drive more indoors from flooded nests.

By autumn the outdoor trails fade, but a carpenter ant colony in a warm wall can stay active all winter.

Ants in La Crosse rentals and student housing

Where a house is split into flats or rooms, ants travel along pipes and wiring from one unit to the next, so the trail in your kitchen may begin in someone else's.

Tell the landlord or manager when trails return and photograph the route and the time of day. One coordinated visit works better than treating a single unit.

Tenants help by keeping food sealed, taking out rubbish each night and reporting leaks as soon as they notice them.

Photographing ants for a La Crosse inspection

Ants around Onalaska follow the way the house is built, and the door threshold is one of the first places checked.

Ants around Onalaska follow the way the house is built, and the door threshold is one of the first places checked.

Mention pets and small children, because that affects where baits can go. Note any water stains or soft wood near the trail, since damp wood is where carpenter ants nest.