You’ve tried the sprays. You’ve set the traps. But those tiny invaders keep marching back like they own the place.
Here’s what changes when you get real ant control: No more finding ants in your coffee maker at 6 AM. No more explaining to guests why there’s a trail of sugar ants across your dining room. No more wondering if that carpenter ant you spotted means your deck is being eaten from the inside out.
Professional ant control doesn’t just kill the ants you see. It eliminates the colony that’s sending them. That means the queen, the workers, and the scouts that keep finding new ways into your kitchen.
Around The Clock Pest Service isn’t some corporate franchise where you never know who’s showing up. When you call, you work directly with the owner. When we schedule your service, the owner handles your account personally.
We’ve built our reputation in Hernando County and surrounding areas on something simple: answering every call, responding within 24 hours, and treating your ant problem like it’s happening in our own home. Over 100 five-star Google reviews don’t happen by accident—they happen when you consistently deliver results that actually work.
Florida’s warm, humid climate makes Trilcoochee a perfect breeding ground for ghost ants, fire ants, carpenter ants, and pharaoh ants. We know these species inside and out because we’ve been dealing with them for years in homes just like yours.
Most companies spray what they see and call it done. We do the detective work first.
Our process starts with identifying exactly which species you’re dealing with. Ghost ants need different treatment than fire ants. Carpenter ants require a completely different approach than pharaoh ants. Get the species wrong, and you’re just wasting time and money.
Next, we trace their trails back to find where they’re actually nesting. Those ants in your kitchen are coming from somewhere—usually wall voids, under slabs, or outdoor colonies that have established satellite nests inside your home. We locate the source, not just the symptoms.
Then comes the targeted treatment. We use professional-grade baiting systems that worker ants carry directly back to their queens. The colony eliminates itself from the inside out. It’s not instant, but it’s permanent when done right.
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Your ant control service covers species identification, colony location, targeted baiting, and follow-up monitoring. We don’t just treat and disappear.
In Trilcoochee’s climate, different ant species are active at different times of year. Fire ants build new mounds after summer rains. Ghost ants move indoors when outdoor conditions get too dry. Carpenter ants become more active during Florida’s humid months when they’re expanding their galleries in wood structures.
We tailor our approach to what’s actually happening on your property. Outdoor fire ant mounds get direct treatment and broadcast baiting. Indoor ghost ant trails get precision baiting that targets their preference for sweet substances. Carpenter ant infestations require locating their galleries and treating the structural areas where they’re nesting.
Every service includes identifying entry points we identify during inspection and recommendations for reducing the conditions that attract ants in the first place. Because the best ant control prevents the next infestation before it starts.
Those tiny ants are likely ghost ants or pharaoh ants, and they’re coming from a colony that’s probably located in your wall voids or under your home’s slab. When you spray the ants you see, you’re only killing the workers that are out foraging for food.
The colony itself—including the queen and hundreds or thousands of other workers—remains untouched. Within days, new workers replace the ones you killed and follow the same scent trails back to your kitchen. Even worse, some ant species like pharaoh ants actually split into multiple colonies when they sense danger, making your problem bigger than when you started.
Professional ant control uses targeted baiting systems that the worker ants carry back to their colony. This eliminates the entire population, including the reproductive ants that keep the infestation going.
Fire ant elimination typically takes 2-4 weeks with professional treatment, but you’ll see activity reduction within the first week. The timeline depends on colony size, weather conditions, and whether you’re dealing with single or multiple queen colonies.
We use a combination of direct mound treatments and broadcast baiting for fire ant control. The direct treatment kills the mounds you can see quickly. The broadcast bait works slower but eliminates satellite colonies and prevents new mounds from establishing in your yard.
Fire ants are particularly challenging because queens can live 5-7 years and lay up to 1,000 eggs daily. DIY treatments often just scatter the colony or kill surface workers while leaving the reproductive ants untouched. Professional treatment targets the entire colony structure for permanent elimination.
Carpenter ants don’t eat wood like termites do, but they’re still damaging your home’s structure. They excavate galleries in wood to create nesting sites, preferring wood that’s already softened by moisture or decay.
The damage happens when they hollow out wooden structural elements like floor joists, wall studs, or deck supports. You might find small piles of sawdust-like material called frass near baseboards, window sills, or wooden structures where they’re actively tunneling.
Carpenter ant infestations often indicate moisture problems in your home since they’re attracted to wood with higher moisture content. Professional treatment eliminates the colony and includes identifying the moisture sources that attracted them initially. Left untreated, carpenter ants can compromise structural integrity over time, leading to costly repairs.
“Sugar ants” is actually a common name used for several different small ant species that are attracted to sweet substances. In Florida, when people say “sugar ants,” they’re usually referring to ghost ants, pharaoh ants, or sometimes little black ants.
Ghost ants are the most common indoor “sugar ant” in Florida. They’re tiny, with pale legs and translucent bodies that make them hard to see. They form large colonies with multiple queens and are particularly attracted to sweet liquids and grease. They nest in wall voids, behind baseboards, and in other hidden areas inside your home.
The key difference is in treatment approach. True ghost ants respond well to liquid baits placed along their trails. Other “sugar ant” species might require protein-based baits or different placement strategies. Proper identification ensures we use the most effective treatment method for your specific situation.
Ant baiting systems exploit the natural behavior of worker ants who forage for food and bring it back to share with their colony through a process called trophallaxis. When workers find our professional baits, they consume some and carry the rest back to feed other colony members, including the queen and larvae.
The active ingredients in professional baits are specifically designed to be slow-acting. This gives the worker ants time to return to their nest and distribute the bait throughout the colony before the effects take hold. Within days or weeks, the entire colony is eliminated from the inside out.
Spray treatments only kill the ants they directly contact. The colony remains intact and simply sends out new workers to replace the ones that were killed. Baiting targets the source of your ant problem, not just the symptoms you see crawling across your counters.
Professional ant control uses commercial-grade products that aren’t available to consumers, along with the expertise to identify species and place treatments correctly. Store-bought baits often contain lower concentrations of active ingredients and may not be formulated for the specific ant species in your home.
Different ant species have different food preferences that change seasonally. Ghost ants might prefer protein during dry periods and switch to carbohydrates during rainy seasons. Pharaoh ants require specific bait formulations because they’re extremely sensitive to repellent chemicals that can cause colony budding.
We know where to place baits for maximum effectiveness, how to avoid contaminating bait stations, and when to switch bait types if ants stop feeding. We also identify and identify entry points, eliminate attractant conditions, and provide follow-up monitoring to ensure complete elimination. Most importantly, we guarantee our work—if ants return, so do we.
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