What’s not to love about Perry, Georgia? With a small-town atmosphere located near Macon and Warner Robins, the town’s picturesque streets and steady growth make it a great place to live. And when the Georgia National Fair comes around each fall, the folks in Perry get a front-row seat to one of the biggest events on Georgia’s calendar.
There is one thing, though, that folks in Perry, across Middle Georgia, and around the entire Southeast all have to deal with: ants.
From the familiar, harmless-but-pesky Argentine ant to the dreaded Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA), Perry, GA, is home to dozens of ant species that can invade your home, bringing a number of threats inside to where your family lives and making your outdoor living situation a nightmare.
In this article, we’ll explore various ways you and your trusted pest control team can help control your ant population and take back your home and yard
What Are the Common Nuisance Ants in Perry, GA?
In the great outdoors, many ants are entirely harmless. So long as they stay out of your picnic food, don’t bite or spread disease, or feast on the wood structures that make up your home, you may not even know that they’re living in your yard. These ants – including the common Argentine ant – are really only a problem if they start invading your house.
Other ants, however, are a genuine threat to you and your family. In Georgia, the three most common ants that pose a danger even before they make their way inside are:
Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA)
The bite of a fire ant is a painful experience, as anyone who’s ever suffered one can attest. Compounding the issue is the fact that fire ants seldom bite one at a time. When a nest is disturbed, the fire ants swarm the offending creature and bite almost in unison, causing intense pain, swelling, and a painful, itchy rash that can persist for days. The bites are even more dangerous to the roughly 6% of the population that is allergic to ant venom, as the bites can send them into anaphylaxis and even cause death.
Carpenter Ant
Next to termites and funguses, carpenter ants are some of the most destructive wood-destroying organisms in Georgia. These large ants don’t eat wood but rather chew through wood to build nests, leaving behind a fine sawdust-like residue. When they’re nesting in a hollow log on the forest floor, they contribute to the natural life cycle process of decomposition. When they’re nesting in the floor joists of your house, they’re causing expensive damage.
Pharaoh Ant
A small yellow or light-brown ant, the pharaoh ant is a common indoor pest. They love the hot weather of a Perry, GA, summer and are happy to migrate into your home or business when the weather cools off in the winter. Unusually for an ant, the pharaoh ant is known to carry harmful bacteria such as salmonella, staphylococcus, and pseudomonas, and an infestation can cause severe health impacts for humans.

How You and Your Perry, GA, Pest Control Team Can Get Rid of Ants
Getting rid of ants can be a complicated process. The tiny critters can work their way through the smallest of gaps, making their way inside where larger bugs might not be able to enter. Most species have a complicated and complex nesting structure that’s often underground, making it challenging to eradicate an entire nest. And ants are tenacious – when they find a good source of food or water, they will not give it up easily, finding new routes to get to what they want quickly and efficiently.
Managing an ant infestation usually involves three main components that you and your pest control team can use to get rid of the invaders.
Sealing Up Cracks and Crevices
It may seem like ants can pretty well enter any house they want, but that doesn’t mean you should make it easy for them. If you have ants in your home, trace them back to the source and try to find how they’re getting inside. You may have to get into your crawlspace, look around electrical panels and junction boxes, and make a close inspection of your foundation to find their entry point. Windows and doors are also typical access points for ants.
If you find an entry point, use caulk, sealant, or expanding foam to seal up the breach. If the ants reappear, start the process over again to find out where they’ve shifted their traffic to.
Eradicating Nests and Mounds
All ants are social animals and live in a complex nest structure similar to that of honeybees or termites. Most species build their nests in large systems of tunnels in the ground, centered on a queen who is responsible for laying eggs that become the next generation of ants. Other species nest in hollowed-out wood or other structures.
Getting rid of the nest usually takes a one-two punch of baiting and drenching the mound or nest. The bait, usually in the form of small aromatic granules, tempts the ants into bringing the tasty treats to their queen, killing her and sending the colony into disarray, usually destroying it. Many of the other ants in the colony will take the bait as well.
With the queen dead, any ants remaining alive will scatter, which is where the drench comes into play. Using a concentrated insecticide, a pest-control professional can ensure that the remaining ants don’t survive to make their way into your home in search of food or water.
Getting Rid of Indoor Ants
The final component of ant control is to eradicate any of the insects that have moved into your home or business. For minor infestations, a retail ant spray may be enough to wipe out a small number of ants.
If you have significant numbers of ants in your Perry, GA, home, it’s best to turn to a professional pest control company. They’ll have the expertise and the tools to determine what treatments will best kill or drive off your existing infestation and remain active long enough to prevent future infestations.
Don’t Let Ants Ruin Your Picnic (Or Your Home)! Let National Exterminating Handle Your Pest Control Needs. Call Us: 478-922-1410.
National Exterminating’s licensed pest control professionals are experts at ridding homes and businesses of ants in Perry and across the rest of Middle Georgia. Call us today at 478-922-1410.
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