There are lots of different species of ants in this world, and they are all very different in their habits, likes, and characteristics. Depending on which species you are dealing with, ants can survive and thrive in several different types of environments. Some ants live on and in the ground, some can live in the walls of your home, and some will even establish colonies and thrive in the gutters of your home.
How can ants possibly live in our gutters? Let’s be honest with ourselves here…how many of us clean our gutters out as often as we should? Gutters collect all kinds of dirt and debris, leaves, pine straw, water, etc. Over time, all of these things build up, creating a combination of mush that ants love! Have you ever known ants to stay put and be content with what they have? Nooooo. These ants living in your gutters will eventually venture out, making their way into your home in search of food / water. In this type of situation, the ants need to be targeted using specialized bait products, since they will probably never come in contact with the traditional pesticide products that are placed on the ground in and around the home.
How to keep this from happening?
1) Keep gutters clean
2) Make sure gutters drain properly and don’t have any “bird bath” areas
3) Keep bushes and tree branches trimmed back from the house and roof. Don’t give ants an easy highway to use to travel back and forth from the ground to the roof line.