Little Black Ants

Join the crowd if you’ve tried to get rid of these pests! Little black ants easily outsmart most people. Regular inspections and service is necessary to find and treat new colonies. When you’re ready to call in an expert, contact Suburban Exterminating at 864-6900!


Basic facts about Little Black Ants

Size 1/16- inch long   

Color Jet-black

Activity/Behavior Little black ants like to feed on a variety of foods. They eat aphids as a source of honeydew, feed on meats and greases. Indoors they feed on both greases and sweet foods. Most home infestations occur when workers are searching for food.

Where They Live They nest beneath stones, in lawns, and in areas that lack vegetation. Their nests are easily located because they form small craters of fine soil at their entrances. These ants also nest in rotting wood and behind the woodwork or masonry of structures. Indoors they can be found under the edge of carpeting, in old termite galleries, and in wall voids.

Basic Tips for Control

• Eliminating ant nesting sites like wood piles, rock piles, and bricks

• Keep water away from home’s onto the foundation.

• Sealing cracks and holes in the home's exterior

• Keeping tree and shrub branches trimmed away from home.

Learn more about our Little Black Ant control services

Bugs in your House Plants ! ? !

This video describes a common insect problem (fungus gnats) that can develop in your house plants.  Give us thumbs up if this video makes you dance!

Customer Compliments

We receive many customer compliments but not many handwritten letters. Thank you for the compliment, Mrs. G of Kings Park!

Bed Bugs in Smithtown

Learn about Bed Bugs on Monday August 15th at the Nesconset Branch Library

Employee Spotlight - Yolanda

Earliest Bug Memory: While climbing a tree in Farmingdale, an earwig went into Yolanda’s mouth. Gross!

 

A secret bug she really loves is spiders. Yolanda finds them intriguing, and they are, ranking seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms (Spiders of India, University Press)

Her favorite movie is Arachnophobia. She found the movie (centered on the fear of spiders) intense and the special effects well-done. She loves sci-fi movies.

Her surprising recent bug/wildlife encounter – brown and white finches (a type of bird) waited on her deck to be fed popcorn.

For friends, she says “don’t let the bedbugs bite!”

Yolanda's Favorite Movie Star

Suburban Exterminating Technicians Pass Safety True or False Questions! Can You?

Safety training is an important part of Suburban Exterminating continuing education program. Below are just a few of the safety questions. 

While some of these questions are “easy”, they remind our employees to continue to “Be Safe”.  See if you can answer them correctly.

True or False:  Inspect all power tools and cords prior to use.

True or False:  When carrying any objects, make sure you balance the load properly and watch where you step.

True or False: A ladder should always be placed on a solid base.

True or False: Bend your knees and use your thigh muscles to help lift.

Click here for answers

Colonies of Carpenter Ants

Size:  Up to 5/8-inch long. Carpenter ants are one of the largest ants on Long Island.

Carpenter Ant Damage

Color:   Black.   Sometimes red and black, solid red, or brown in color

What Do Carpenter Ants Eat? Carpenter ants will eat almost anything that people eat. The ants especially like sweet foods and meat.  They actively feed at night. They search for food up to 300 feet away from their nests. Sometimes, you can see their narrow paths.

Where are Carpenter Ants found?   Carpenter ants are social insects that usually nest in wood.  They are usually found in structures with moisture problems. The ants enter structures through gaps or cracks while looking for food. 

The appearance of large numbers of winged adults inside a structure indicates that the nest(s) exists indoors.  The workers push wood shavings and pieces of foam insulation out of the nest through slit-like openings in the wood or other nesting material.  This material, which may contain fragments of other insects, and structural moisture problems are things to look for when trying to locate a colony in an infested structure.  Rustling sounds in wall voids are another indication that there is a colony in the area.

Tips for Control: These ants are hard to control and may not eat ant baits. Experts must find the many colonies and treat them directly. Colonies can be located high in trees or on a neighboring property. A large number of trees and other conditions may create a high risk of re-infestation.  Regular inspections and service are necessary to find and treat new colonies as they move in from neighboring properties.

-          Keep bushes and shrubs trimmed back off home.

-          Seal cracks in home’s exterior

-          Eliminate nesting sites like tree stumps, piles of wood and other debris

-          Repairing leaks in  home and keeping water away from the home’s foundation

Suburban Exterminating technicians will provide a free inspection for the carpenter ant colonies. 

Let our experts help you to get rid of your carpenter ants.Call (516) or (631) 864-6900