When do ants go away for winter

Where do ants go in the winter? As soon as cold weather arrives, ants seemingly disappear into thin air! And how do ants survive in the winter? Are they, like us, wrapping up their outdoor lifestyles and heading indoors or to a warmer climate? As we nestle in, stocking up on hearty soups, richer vegetables and piles of firewood, are ants also taking steps to brave the elements? The answer is yes.

Table of Contents Show

Ants Prepare for Winter
The Awakening in Spring
What Happens to Ants in Winter
How Ants Survive the Winter
What It Means if You See Ants in the Winter
Why You Should Call in the Professionals
Do ants go away in winter?
Where does ants go in the winter?
How do I permanently get rid of ants?

Ants Prepare for Winter

Ants are masters of overwintering, or waiting out the winter season. When cold air arrives, ants' body temperatures drop dramatically and their movements become sluggish. Ants respond by seeking out warm places, such as deep soil, under rocks or under the bark of trees.

Ants overwinter on a community level by hunkering down in clusters to maintain body heat, as they huddle protectively around the queen, sheltering their population's lifeline. During this time, the entrance to their nests close as ant traffic slows down and ceases. When warm weather returns, the ants will become active again, opening up the entrance to venture outside. drop dramatically and their movements become sluggish. Ants respond by seeking out warm places, such as deep soil, under rocks or under the bark of trees.

Most species of ants consume large amounts of food in the autumn to put on fat, thereby allowing them to go without much food through the winter. As winter passes, ants enter a dormant stage in which they lay low, feeding off the fats, carbohydrates and proteins they stored the previous fall.

The Awakening in Spring

The first warm days of spring lull the colony out of their dormancy, and it's back to work. Worker ants leave the nest in search of food. After they've located a food source, they eat and head directly back to the colony to alert others of the food find. Marking their return path, the worker ants lie down an odor trail leading from the food to the colony. The nesting ants then follow the odor back to the food; this explains the "ant trails" we see across the kitchen counter.

Knowledge of how ants live during the winter can help homeowners prepare for, and prevent, spring invasions. As cold air approaches, eliminate the chance of a colony overwintering in your walls by treating the perimeter of your home with TERRO® Outdoor Ant Killer with Multi-Purpose Insect Control. This powerful ant killer not only kills ants on contact, but it also provides long-lasting control to keep next spring’s hungry ants out of your house.

Find out more about ants and discover ant facts in our insect library. For more information on how to control ants and other pests, view the series of TERRO® how-to-videos.

Date Posted: January 11, 2019
Category: Ants

You are used to seeing ants scurrying around your patio or driveway, ant hills protruding out of your grass, and even ants who’ve made their way into your home marching in a trail toward your pantry in warm months. Seeing ants in your home in New England in the winter could signal a serious problem, though.

What Happens to Ants in Winter

In the winter months, most ants go into hibernation mode. Their body temperatures drop and they become sluggish. They prepare their colony for winter, sealing up their ant holes and burrowing into the warmer ground or behind tree bark.

How Ants Survive the Winter

Unlike humans, ants can go for a long time without food. They eat a lot of food in the fall to fatten up and prepare for winter. They huddle in groups to stay warm and protect the queen in a dormant state.

What It Means if You See Ants in the Winter

If you see ants outdoors in the winter, it’s likely there’s been a warm spell that tricked them into coming out to seek food. Once the temperatures drop again, they will go back into hibernation.

If you are seeing ants inside your home in the winter, it likely means that they’ve formed a colony inside somewhere. While they won’t come indoors from outside in the winter, they will certainly remain active if they are already there.

Why You Should Call in the Professionals

While ants in your home at any time of the year becomes a nuisance that you don’t want to deal with, ants in your home in the winter is a much bigger problem. Having an ant colony infest your walls, attic, basement, or even pantry, can be damaging to your family and home. At a minimum, ants can invade your pantry and spoil your food. At worst, some ants, like carpenter ants, can actually cause structural damage.

Our professional technicians are experts in dealing with ants in New England homes. We will work with you on exclusion techniques to eradicate the colony and rid your home of these pesky ants. Call us as soon as possible if you suspect a winter ant infestation!

Tags: ant control | ants |

Do ants go away in winter?

Ant activity indoors generally may actually decrease in winter, but observing ants swarmers or foragers during the cold weather months may indicate that an ant colony exists somewhere inside the home.

Where does ants go in the winter?

Ants Prepare for Winter Ants respond by seeking out warm places, such as deep soil, under rocks or under the bark of trees. Ants overwinter on a community level by hunkering down in clusters to maintain body heat, as they huddle protectively around the queen, sheltering their population's lifeline.

How do I permanently get rid of ants?

In a disposable container, make a mixture of half a spoon of borax, 10 spoons of sugar and a cup of lukewarm water. Dip old rags of clothes or cotton in this mixture and place them in areas of ants to permanently get rid of ants. Once done, dispose the container.