Got Ants in Your Maine Home? Here’s What Their Size Means and Why They’re There

Why Are There Ants in My House?

Well, to be quite frank, I eat in my room.

I am a snacker. I shove fistfuls of popcorn down the hatch and watch the debris crumble down to the ground. I do my best to pick up my crumbs but according to the ant farm brewing in my bedroom, I don’t do a very good job at the clean up.

I have the little ants and at this point they are my dear friends even though I do have to bust out the vacuum sometimes and suck them up. But, there are many different kinds of ants that can infiltrate your home and for varying reasons.

Ant Species in Maine

Maine is home to many different species of ants and you may start noticing them come spring and summer. Maybe you’re like me and have the little guys running around, or perhaps you have the big fat boys roaming across the walls. The most common types of ants you’ll find in Maine are: Black and red carpenter, European red, larger yellow, odorous house, pavement, and pharaoh ants.

So, if you have them, why are they there?

According to Big Blue Bug Solutions in New England, the types of ants I have running around are the odorous house ants which can pop up in large quantities overnight when a food source is found. Just like when I ate flavor blasted goldfish in my room and woke up to hundreds of ants the next day. They literally show up overnight and it is disturbingly impressive.

The other small ant species, such as the pharaoh ants, build nests in walls, floors, furniture, and are looking for the same thing: Food. So if you see any small ants running around, you’ve got some cleaning to do.

But what about the big boys? You know, those giant fat black ants you can see from across the room sprinting across your wall. Those, my friend, are not a good sign. Carpenter ants, as Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry shares, these big common ants are an indicator of a construction problem. These ants nest in wet, moist wood which means if you see these around your house, you may have a moist or decaying wood problem. A bit of a bigger problem than just having popcorn on the floor…

Getting Rid of the Ants

I really don’t mind ants and I can coexist comfortably with them but you definitely should deal with the problem if it arises. Whether that’s vacuuming them up, sealing off the source of their entry, using traps, or calling a pro, if you’re noticing ants around your house, they really shouldn’t be in there.