It is very likely that you have spotted ants in and around your home. Several species of ants can be found across the globe, with the exception of Antarctica. Every species of ants has distinguishing characteristics. They live in colonies and infest your houses, offices and other surroundings.
Most of them build their nests in the ground, some like carpenter ants, also use wood to make their nests. Moreover, some ant species hibernate during colder months and seek warm places for themselves. Let us learn through this article when ants are most active during the year.
Active During Spring Season
Ants are warm-weather creatures. As the spring season starts, the ants come out of dormancy and become active. When the temperatures are high, you will find ants such as carpenter ants crawling everywhere as the heat makes them active.
The worker ants start searching for food, and as soon as they find a food source, they head back to their nest to alert other ants about the food source. The worker ants leave an ant trail leading from the food source to the colony, which the nesting ants follow to reach the food source. In addition, the carpenter ant colony releases reproductive winged queens along with males to mate and set up new colonies in the spring season.
Most ants become active during the spring season and remain active until early fall. This is also the season when most species reproduce.
Rain and Drought
As per a Stanford study, the Argentine ant infestations occur during summer droughts and winter rainstorms. Therefore, the Argentine ants are most likely to infest your homes in cold, wet conditions, and you will see a little peak during hot and dry conditions.
Ants In Winter Months
The cold weather slows down the ants and forces the ants to go into hiding or hibernation mode. Many ants in a colony die during the winter months as they cannot survive cold weather. The ants respond to cold months by burrowing further into the ground to keep themselves warm to overwinter.
After finding a warm place, ants come together for warmth. As winters approach, the ants go dormant and feed on the fat, proteins and carbohydrates they store during autumn. In the winter months, carpenter ants are least active. However, you may see some activity if the nest of carpenter ants is indoors.
Wrap Up:
While spring is the season when ants are most active, the ants can remain active during any time of the year if they can find a warm place for themselves. In addition, if they find a warm place, the ants can avoid going dormant.
It is advised not to wait for a specific time of the year when ants get active as they might cause considerable damages in other seasons also. It is recommended to take the help of a professional pest control company to determine if your house is infested with ants or not and if yes, they can help you eliminate the colonies of ants.
