Local ant information

Ant control in Pennsylvania

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Ants in Pennsylvania: what to know

Around Pennsylvania

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

Where the trail leads

Look for the rooms and outdoor areas where you regularly notice ants. Food, water, and small openings are useful things to mention when asking for help.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to know the ant species before getting in touch.

Local research

Ants in Pennsylvania: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which ants actually live in Pennsylvania, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

about 2,000 to 3,000 workers

Carpenter ant colony size at maturity

Colonies take several years to reach this size, so winged ants indoors mean a long-established nest.

Penn State Extension

Approximately 200 to 400 winged ants

Winged carpenter ants produced per colony

Spring swarms of this size are the most common way homeowners discover a nest.

Penn State Extension

Ant species recorded in Pennsylvania

Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) — Large black or bicolored ants (1/4 to 1/2 inch) that excavate moist or decayed wood for nests rather than eating it; indoor nests are usually satellites of an outdoor parent col…
Odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile) — Small (1/16–1/8 inch) brown-black ant that smells like rotten coconut when crushed; found throughout North America with the widest range and greatest ecological tolerance of any…
Pavement ant (Tetramorium immigrans (T. caespitum)) — Small dark-brown ant (about 1/8 inch) with grooved head that nests under sidewalks, driveways and stones and piles soil at nest entrances; the most common pest ant in and around…
Pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) — Minute (1/12–1/16 inch) light-brown ant adapted to nesting inside buildings; colonies bud when disturbed or sprayed, so baits are the only workable control. Serious pest of hosp…

When ants are busiest in Pennsylvania

Carpenter ant winged forms develop in summer, overwinter, and leave the nest the following spring or early summer (Penn State).

Penn State notes carpenter ants excavate moist, rotting wood and foam insulation for satellite nests, with the parent colony often within 100 yards of the house. A commercial/public applicator license is needed to use pesticides on the property of another in Pennsylvania.

Rules that apply in Pennsylvania

Pesticide Applicators, Registered Technicians, and Certification Exams (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture)

For context, nationally

more than 367 million acres — Acres infested by imported fire ants. USDA APHIS
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Puerto Rico — States and territories with imported fire ant infestations (APHIS). USDA APHIS

Sources: Carpenter Ants; USDA APHIS; Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile Say), EB1550E; Pavement Ants; Ants in the Home, Fact Sheet 5.518. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Pennsylvania cities

Allentown

Humid Continental · urban setting

Ant control in Pennsylvania

Ants in Pennsylvania: what to know

Around Pennsylvania

Where the trail leads

A useful next step

Ants in Pennsylvania: what the public record shows

Ant species recorded in Pennsylvania

When ants are busiest in Pennsylvania

Rules that apply in Pennsylvania

For context, nationally

Explore Pennsylvania cities

Allentown

Altoona

Bethlehem

Chambersburg

Chester

Easton

Erie

Harrisburg

Hazleton

Lancaster

Lebanon

New Castle

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Pottstown

Reading

Scranton

State College

Wilkes-Barre

Williamsport

York

Monroeville

Ask about ant control in Pennsylvania