Ant Exterminator Services in the GTA

Q: Why do I get ants every spring?

Spring warmth activates overwintering ant colonies. Scouts look for food inside your home and leave pheromone trails for other workers to follow. Annual spring ants mean there's an established colony outside with access to your home.

Q: Can I spray ants myself?

Surface sprays provide temporary relief for pavement ants but don't eliminate the colony. For pharaoh ants, spraying triggers budding and worsens the infestation significantly. Professional identification and treatment is always more effective.

Q: How do I know if I have carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants are significantly larger (6–13mm) than common ants and are usually black. They are active at night and leave coarse sawdust-like frass near excavated wood. If you see large black ants inside your home in spring, call Pestisect.

Licensed technicians who identify the exact ant species before treatment — because the wrong treatment makes ant problems worse.

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About ants

The Problem With Generic Ant Control

Most store-bought ant sprays don’t work and some make infestations worse. When worker ants are killed at the surface, many species interpret this as a threat and split into multiple satellite colonies (a process called “budding”). The problem spreads from one nest to five.

Professional ant control starts with species identification. The ant species determines the colony structure, the nesting behaviour, and which treatment will actually eliminate the infestation versus scatter it.

Pestisect’s licensed technicians identify the exact species active in your home, locate nesting sites (including hidden ones inside walls and under flooring), and apply species-specific treatment that eliminates the colony not just the surface workers you can see.

ant colony

What is Ant Colony Budding?

Budding is a survival mechanism used by certain ant species (most notably Pharaoh ants) where queens and workers leave the main colony to establish multiple new satellite nests in response to environmental stress, such as the application of chemical sprays.

Industry Fast Facts:

Only 10% of an ant colony’s population leaves the nest to forage. Surface sprays only kill this small fraction, leaving the queen completely unaffected.
A mature Carpenter Ant colony can consist of up to 10,000 workers
Pharaoh ants are documented carriers of over a dozen pathogenic bacteria in hospital and restaurant settings.

Common ants

Ant Species Common in GTA Homes

Different ant species require different treatment approaches. Here are the most common ants we encounter.

Pharaoh Ants (Monomorium pharaonis)

Size: 1.5–2mm — very small

Color: Yellow to light red-brown

Where They Nest: Warm, moist areas — inside walls, under appliances, near plumbing, in hospital and restaurant environments

Behaviour: Pharaoh ant colonies have multiple queens and “bud” when threatened — splitting into new colonies at multiple sites throughout the building. This budding response makes them the hardest ant species to eliminate.

Risk: In hospitals and care facilities, pharaoh ants enter wounds and IV equipment and carry pathogens.

Treatment Approach: Slow-acting gel bait placed at foraging trails ever spray them. Spraying pharaoh ants causes immediate budding and dramatically worsens the infestation.

Carpenter Ants (Camponotus spp.)

Size: Workers 6–13mm; Queens up to 25mm — the largest ants in Ontario

Color: Black, or Black with reddish body segment

Where They Nest: Moist or previously water-damaged wood — window frames from past leaks, basement beams, wood near plumbing, decks, and stumps near the home

Behaviour: Carpenter ants do not eat wood — they excavate it to build galleries. Infestations indicate moisture damage somewhere in your structure. They produce “frass” (coarse sawdust-like material mixed with insect parts) near excavated wood.

What is Carpenter Ant Frass? Frass is the debris left behind by carpenter ants as they excavate wood to build their nests. It resembles coarse sawdust and often contains insect body parts and dead worker ants.

Treatment Approach: Locate and treat the primary nest + all satellite colonies. Address underlying moisture issue. Dust injection into wall galleries + exterior spray.

Pavement Ants (Tetramorium caespitum)

Size: 3-4 mm

Color: Dark brown to black

Where They Nest: Under pavement slabs, sidewalks, driveways, and along foundation walls. They enter homes through cracks in concrete and expansion joints.

Behaviour: Form distinct foraging trails 30–50 metres long. Wage visible “wars” with competing colonies on sidewalks in spring.

Treatment Approach: Exterior perimeter spray + interior crack-and-crevice treatment targeting colony entry points.

Signs of an Ant Infestation

Visible trails

Lines of ants leading to food sources or wall gaps

Sawdust-like frass

Near window frames, baseboards, or beam ends (carpenter ants)

Colony "wars"

Clusters of ants fighting on driveways in spring (pavement ants)

Winged ants

Inside the home in spring indicates an established colony nearby

Small yellowish ants

in kitchen areas (pharaoh ants in warm buildings)

Ant damage

Small piles of excavated wood material near carpentry

Ant Infestations

Prevention Tips Between Treatments

Reduce conditions that attract ants to your home:

Keep clean

Wipe pet food bowls between meals; clean grease from stove surfaces

Remove wood debris

Stumps, woodpiles, and debris near the home attract carpenter ants

Seal all food

Use airtight containers; clean up spills immediately

Fix moisture sources

Leaking pipes, condensation on plumbing, wet basement wood

Caulk foundation gaps

Expansion joints and cracks where ants enter

Trim vegetation

Branches and shrubs touching walls act as ant highways

OUr ant Control Process

How We Eliminate Ant Infestations

Our systematic approach ensures complete elimination of ant colonies and long-term prevention.

Identification

Your technician identifies the ant species by size, colour, and behaviour — often within the first few minutes of inspection.

Colony Tracing

We trace foraging trails back to the nesting site — inside walls, under slabs, in moist wood, or in exterior soil — and identify all active entry points.

Targeted Treatment

Treatment is 100% specific to the identified species. Pavement ants get perimeter spray; carpenter ants get dust injection and moisture assessment; pharaoh ants get slow-acting bait protocols only.

Prevention

We identify and recommend corrections for the conditions attracting ants to your home:
- Sealing foundation cracks and expansion gaps
- Addressing moisture issues (carpenter ants)
- Trimming vegetation touching the structure
- Correcting food storage and garbage practices

Areas We Serve

Service Areas for Ant Extermination

Ant Control Toronto

Ant Control Brampton

Ant Control Mississauga

Related services:

Residential Pest Control

All Pests We Treat

Frequently Asked Questions — Ant Control

Why do I get ants every spring?

Spring warmth activates overwintering ant colonies. Scouts emerge looking for food and water. If scouts find reliable access inside your home, they leave a pheromone trail — and hundreds of workers follow. Annual spring ants indicate an established exterior colony with unblocked access to your home.

Can I spray ants myself to get rid of them?

For pavement ants, surface sprays provide temporary relief but don’t eliminate the colony. For pharaoh ants, spraying makes the problem significantly worse by triggering colony budding. For carpenter ants, surface sprays don’t reach hidden wall galleries where the colony lives. Professional identification and species-specific treatment is always more effective.

How long does ant treatment take to work?

Pavement and carpenter ant treatments typically show results within 3–5 days as the product moves through the colony. Pharaoh ant bait can take 4–8 weeks to fully collapse a colony — this is intentional; the bait must be carried back to all queens.

Do ants come back after treatment?

Our treatments include an entry point assessment and sealing to reduce re-infestation. If ants return within the warranty period, we retreat at no charge.

How do I know if I have carpenter ants or regular ants?

Carpenter ants are significantly larger (6–13mm) and are usually black. They are most active at night. Pavement ants are small (3–4mm) and dark. If you see large black ants — especially inside during spring — call us for an inspection.

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