FAQ

Stinging insects are unique because, depending on where these eco-important pests live, people consider them either beneficial and wanted (outside in nature) or dangerous and unwanted (in our yards or homes). A stinger extending from a stinging insect's abdomen helps predatory species capture their insect prey. Unfortunately, the stinger is also strong enough to pierce through the skin of people if we become a threat to them.

Many different types of stinging insects live across the country and invade our outdoor and indoor spaces. Wasps, carpenter bees, hornets, yellow jackets, and mud daubers are all examples of stinging insects living throughout Illinois.

The ability to sting us and inject their venom into us is what makes these pests so dangerous. Stinging insects deliver painful stings when they feel threatened or think their nest is under attack. When stung by a group of these insects, or if a person is allergic to the venom,  a person may experience a severe allergic reaction that includes difficulty breathing and requires immediate medical attention.

Giving these pests space and not purposely aggravating them is crucial if you want to avoid being stung. Stings are most likely to occur when these pests build nests near the exits or entrances of our homes or in high traffic areas of our yards.

Stinging insects live outside in various places, including our yards, wooded areas, orchards, gardens, and meadows. Our yards offer stinging insects a wide variety of places to build a nest, including:

• Trees and shrubs
• Utility poles
• Ground holes
• Behind outdoor light fixtures
• Under roof eaves, decks, or porch ceilings
• Inside chimneys, attics, or walls voids

Carpenter bees are a bit unique, they are solitary, and each female creates its own nest. Females build their nests by making a hole and tunneling through older or weathered wood. Carpenter bees will nest in things on our property like fences, decks, roof eaves, and wooden play structures or furniture.

Having stinging insects on your property can be stressful, especially if anyone in your household is allergic to their venom. To remove stinging insects from your Illinois home or property, always consult with a professional. At Aerex Pest Control, we have over 70 years of pest control experience.

Our family-owned and operated business is committed to helping people protect their properties from stinging insects and other pests. Our professionals will find and safely remove all stinging insect nests from your property, allowing you to enjoy your outdoor space without the threat of being swarmed by them. If you would like to discover more about our residential or commercial pest control options, reach out to us today!

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep stinging insects off your property.

• Relocate flowering plants planted in pots away from windows and doors that lead into your home.
• Reduce a stinging insect's access to water on your property by keeping gutters clear, repairing leaky hoses, and storing containers that collect water upside down.
• Keep the grass in your yard cut short.
• Control flowering weeds in your yard that attract stinging insects.
• Regularly inspect doorways, decks, treehouses, playhouses, and fences, for stinging insect nests.
• Remove things from your yard where stinging can nest, such as dead trees, tree stumps, brush piles, excess woodpiles, and old fencing.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

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Rodents are common mammals that vary in appearance and behavior, depending on their species. However, what ties all rodents together is their continuously growing, chisel-like front incisors located in their top and bottom jaw. Rodents live in large populations across most of the world. Norway rats, house mice, and field mice inhabit Illinois and have adapted to living near people. They move into our yards and homes in order to have their basic needs met.

Rodents are prolific breeders; a single pregnant mouse finding its way into your home to nest can lead to a big problem for you. A single female can have between five and ten litters per year, with each litter having around six babies (pups), although twice as many are possible. Those “babies” can begin reproducing just a few short weeks later. The more rodents living in your home, the more problems they will cause.

Some of the biggest reasons to keep rodents out of your house are listed below:

• Mice and rats will contaminate food and surfaces of your home with their excrement, urine, and saliva.
• They introduce bacteria, disease-causing pathogens, and parasites into our homes.
• Their sharp front incisors allow them to chew through boxes, flooring, walls, wires, and more, causing costly and dangerous damage to your home.
• Rodents will chew holes in your home’s exterior that will allow rainwater to get inside and cause water damage and mold issues.
• They will create a musty, foul odor to develop in your home, usually near their nesting sites.

If rodents notice that your property offers them access to food, water, or shelter, they won’t hesitate to take advantage. Despite their small size, rodents have big appetites. Their high metabolism causes these pests to eat 15-20 times a day. So any place that offers them easy access to food is a place they want to be. Our gardens, trash cans, pet food, and grill areas are things that may attract rodents to our yards.

Once in our yards, there is a good possibility that rodents will end up in our homes. They can move inside any time of the year, but the chances of a rodent infestation occurring in your home increases in the late fall or winter. When the weather is cold and there is a lack of food outside, rodents are motivated to move indoors in search of warm shelter and food.

Norway rats have a large, heavy body and are not great at climbing, so they live mainly at ground level. In our yards, these rodents burrow under decks, sheds, and the soil next to the foundation. Inside our homes, they usually enter and remain at ground level in places like basements, crawlspaces, and wall voids.

Field mice and house mice are very agile, good climbers, and can jump great distances. They move inside through openings they find both at ground level and aerially. Outside, mice nest in tall grass, gardens, woodpiles, brush piles, under shrubbery, and anywhere else that protects them from predators. Inside, these small pests nest in secluded locations like behind appliances and in the backs of cabinets and closets. Attics, roof eaves, and wall voids are other favorite nesting spots.

If rodents have found a way into your Illinois home, the most noticeable sign they leave behind is their dark-colored, rice-like droppings. Finding rodent droppings on the floor, in cabinets, or on counters means that you need to get immediate help to eliminate these pests from your home!

Partner with a professional to get rodents out of your home and away from your food and family! At Aerex Pest Control, we have over 70 years of pest control experience! Our family owned and operated business is committed to helping people protect their properties from rodents and other pests.

Through our biannual treatments, our professionals will eliminate rodents from your property and stop them from returning in the future. If you would like to discover more about our residential or commercial pest control options, reach out to us today!

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep rodents out of your home.

• Containers like trash cans and recycling bins should have locking lids on them.
• Keep grill and outdoor eating areas free of food debris.
• Pick up your pet’s uneaten food each evening to avoid providing rodents with a free meal.
• Use steel wool that rodents can’t chew through to fill gaps or holes in the foundation or spaces around utilities entering your home.
• Place screens over vents and install caps on chimneys to keep rodents out.
• Reduce the clutter in your yard and inside your home where rodents can hide.
• Remove trash from your home daily.
• Maintain a clean kitchen by regularly washing dishes, putting away leftover food, and sweeping crumbs from the floor.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

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We have put together a helpful list of practical prevention tips to help you keep occasional invaders out of your home.

• Regularly inspect your home’s exterior and interior for leaking fixtures or pipes and repair them.
• Make sure gutters and downspouts are working correctly, and your yard has good drainage.
• Rack back damp mulch, leaves, and other debris from your home’s foundation.
• Maintain gardens and flowerbeds; don’t let them overgrow.
• Inspect your home for cracks or other openings that could act as entry points for these pests; pay special attention to entry points near the ground.
• Place woodpiles, trash cans, and recycling bins back away from the outside walls of your house to stop occasional invaders from gathering underneath them.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

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Centipedes, millipedes, silverfish, ladybugs, and crickets are examples of occasional invaders that live throughout Illinois. We refer to the above insects as occasional invaders because while they spend most of their lives outside, they will occasionally (usually when the weather dictates it) take shelter inside our homes and other man-made structures. 

Occasional invaders tend to be more of a nuisance for people to deal with rather than a danger. Some species like crickets will damage fabrics, and others like silverfish will contaminate dry goods stored within your home, but their threats are minimal.

Having occasional invaders in your house is usually a sign of more serious issues. Their ability to move into your home means other more dangerous and destructive pests will also be able to find a way inside. Their presence also means there could be an underlying moisture problem in or around your home. Most occasional invaders have high moisture needs and are attracted to areas of moisture that may be caused by leaking pipes, dripping air conditioners, or a damp basement or crawlspace.

Occasional invaders mainly become a problem inside our homes when the weather becomes too harsh for these pests to live. During periods of heavy rain, drought, or cold weather, occasional invaders migrate into our temperature-controlled homes.

These pests may also move indoors by accident. When they are living in large numbers in flower beds, woodpiles, or garden areas in your yard, you will likely see these insects in your home at some point during the year.

The best way to keep occasional invaders out of your Illinois structure is to partner with a professional and implement a proactive pest control service. At Aerex Pest Control, we can protect your home from becoming a respite for occasional invaders and other pests through our biannual residential pest control services.

With over 70 years of experience, trust Aerex Pest Control to keep pests away from your Chicago area residential or commercial property. To learn more about our effective pest control options, give us a call today!

Mosquitoes are a type of true fly and a well-known summertime pest. They have a slender body, a single pair of wings covered in scales, and six long thin legs. Unfortunately, both people and mosquitoes are active outside when the weather is warmest. A mosquito uses its elongated mouthpart (proboscis) to feed. Males and females both feed on plant nectar and other sweet liquids as their primary food source; females also feed on the blood of animals and people.

Attracted by our body heat, odor, and the carbon dioxide we emit while breathing, they will use their proboscis to pierce our skin and help themselves to a blood meal. Having a blood meal helps mosquitoes complete their life cycle; the protein they acquire from blood is the only way females can create viable eggs.

Mosquitoes are dangerous and, therefore, unwelcome on our properties. Most people experience a reaction to a mosquito bite. Around the bite site, a raised, itchy welt develops; scratching at these welts can lead to a secondary infection, especially in young children.

Unfortunately, mosquitoes are also vectors of many diseases. While not every mosquito that bites you carries a disease or parasites, the potential is there. A mosquito will feed on many different hosts throughout their short life span, and as they do, there is always the chance they will acquire and pass along a disease-causing pathogen to the next host they bite.

In Illinois, mosquitoes can spread diseases like West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, LaCrosse encephalitis, and eastern and western equine encephalitis.

Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on top of standing water, and the larvae then develop there. Therefore any property with standing water on or near it is a potential hotspot for mosquitoes.

Another reason why mosquitoes may be on your property is there is a lot of vegetation on it. Tall grasses, trees, gardens, and shrubbery are places where mosquitoes like to hide during the day to escape the sun and heat.

Mosquitoes are often spotted swarming around their breeding sites, areas of standing water. These insects can fly a good distance to find food, but most stay near where they hatched.

Females mosquitoes lay their eggs in man-made or natural containers. Buckets, trash cans, tarps, clogged gutters, tree stumps, and brush piles are examples of things that collect water and encourage mosquito activity on a property. In our area, Mosquitoes will also lay their eggs in low lying areas that may be dry but prone to flooding.

Mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn, which helps them avoid direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. In the spring, when the temperatures consistently stays above 50 degrees (usually the end of April), mosquitoes will become active and start feeding and breeding. Mosquitoes are usually active through September, being most active at the peak of summer when temperatures are above 80 degrees.

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep mosquitoes off your property.

• Always remember, the less standing water you have on your property, the fewer problems with mosquitoes you will have.
• Keep gutters clear of debris that allows rainwater to collect.
• Store containers like buckets and wheelbarrows that could collect water upside down when you are not using them.
• Regularly change out the water in things like pet water bowls, birdbaths, and wading pools.
• Level out your yard to stop low lying areas from collecting water.
• Eliminate overgrown vegetation and tall grasses on your property to limit food sources and resting spots for mosquitoes.
• Keep wandering mosquitoes out of your home by keeping doors closed and screens in windows.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

Fleas and ticks are well-known parasites. Despite the descriptive names of flea species (dog and cat fleas) and tick species (American dog ticks, deer ticks, and brown dog ticks), they all feed on a wide variety of hosts, including cats, dogs, deer, mice, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, foxes, other wildlife, and people. Though fleas are insects and ticks are arachnids, both are ectoparasites, which means they attach themselves to the outside of their host's body to feed.

The wide variety of hosts that carry and spread these pests means that fleas and ticks can become a problem on any Illinois property whether you have pets as part of your family or not. Everyone needs to protect their yards and homes from fleas and ticks.

Keeping fleas and ticks away from our yards and inside our homes is important because both can create health issues for people and our pets. Fleas and ticks feed on our blood by biting through our skin, and any opening created in our skin leaves us open to infection.

Ticks are slow feeders and can effectively pass along any diseases they carry to the person or animal they are feeding on. Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are all spread by ticks.

Though fleas spread some diseases, including flea-borne typhus, they aren't a huge vector of diseases in the United States. When it comes to fleas, they are most likely to cause skin irritations. Those allergic to their saliva develop an extremely itchy flea-bite dermatitis. These tiny pests are also intermediate hosts of tapeworm, which can infect both us and our pets.

Ticks have a four-stage life cycle, including egg, larva, nymph, and adult. At each new life-stage, ticks require a new host to feed on. Ticks get into outdoor spaces like our yards on the backs of the hosts they are feeding on. After having their fill of their host's blood, they will fall to the ground, complete the next life-stage and wait for a new host to brush past them that they can attach themselves to. In your yard, that new host could be a member of your family.

Like ticks, fleas are also introduced onto properties by their wild animal hosts. Fleas prefer to feed on animal hosts, hiding in their dense, soft fur. Fleas have a short life of only a few months and usually only feed on one host. People are not the flea's preferred host, but we will do in a pinch. After laying their eggs within their host's fur, the eggs will roll off the animal and onto the ground to develop into new fleas.

You will find that both fleas and ticks are most active during the summer and early fall when temperatures are at their highest. Fleas and ticks usually find their way into our yards and homes after being introduced either by wild animals, our pets, or us. Areas of our yards where we are most likely to come into contact with fleas or ticks include at the edges around wooded areas, in tall grass, leaf piles, woodpiles, the soil under decks or shrubs, or areas in your yard where pets spend a lot of time.

Fleas can complete their life cycle indoors while ticks cannot. Usually, finding a tick in your home means that it has fallen off of you or your pet, not that there are hundreds more lurking in your home, but finding fleas in your house is a different story; their presence is likely due to an infestation that needs to be addressed and quickly eliminated.

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep fleas and ticks out of your home.

• Reduce your yard's attractiveness to wild animals by keeping lids on trash cans, moving bird feeders to the outside perimeter of your yard, and eliminating yard clutter.
• Use a fence to keep your pets in your yard and prevent them from wandering into a flea or tick-infested area.
• Pets should be placed on a year-round flea and tick preventative under the guidance of their veterinarian.
• Maintain your yard by keeping the grass cut short and regularly cutting back shrubbery.
• Store firewood away from your home's exterior walls.
• Remove brush and leaf piles from your Illinois yard.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

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Cockroaches are scavenging pests that live in almost every part of the world. These hearty and adaptable pests have learned that where there are people, there is also food and shelter. While most of the world’s cockroaches live outside and away from us, a few have become a significant issue for home and business owners worldwide.

In Illinois, German cockroaches, Oriental cockroaches, and American cockroaches have all made a name for themselves as being unwanted guests inside our structures.

As unpleasant as it may sound, cockroaches are a threat to human health. Having cockroaches living in your home can affect you and your family’s health in many ways.

As cockroaches feed on decaying organic matter and travel across the ground, they will pick up many parasites, human pathogens, and bacteria on their bodies that can make us ill. After finding their way into our homes, they contaminate food and surfaces with things like salmonella, gastroenteritis, giardia, and E. coli.

Breathing in allergens from their skins and feces can cause asthma; this is especially a problem for young children. The presence of cockroaches can also lead to skin rashes and allergy symptoms like runny noses, watery eyes, and congestion.

When a cockroach infestation grows to a large size, the odor they produce becomes very unpleasant and can even begin to affect the taste of food stored in your home. These pests will also leave a considerable amount of their pepper-like droppings in drawers, cabinets, closets, and on the floors.

Cockroaches can become a problem on any property. The cockroach’s excellent climbing abilities and flexible exoskeleton allow them to enter through and hide within almost any cracks or crevice in our home. Their ability to move through small spaces allows these pests to be a constant source of frustration in multi-unit buildings.

Cockroaches often become a problem after moving into a home or business while foraging for food or sources of moisture. Some of their favorite outdoor hiding spots include flowerbeds, trees, gardens, and trash receptacles.

Cockroaches also get into our homes after being transported in inside of used appliances, upholstered furniture, potted plants, and delivery boxes.

It can take some time before you notice cockroaches in your home, mainly because these nocturnal pests are active at night while we sleep and hide during the day. Walking into a kitchen or bathroom in the middle of the night, turning on a light, and seeing oval-shaped insects scurrying out of sight is how homeowners usually discover an infestation.

German, Oriental, and American cockroaches all have high moisture needs and prefer to live in the dark, damp areas of a structure. These scavengers are mostly attracted to places that offer food sources like pantries, kitchens, and bathrooms. While most people don’t store food in the bathroom, cockroaches will feed on toothpaste, soap, and hair.

Some of the cockroaches favorite hideouts include the following:

Trust Aerex Pest Control to get rid of cockroaches from your Illinois home or business. Our fast and effective services ensure that cockroaches won’t be inside your structure for a minute longer than necessary!

At Aerex Pest Control, we have over 70 years of pest control experience! Our family owned and operated business is committed to helping people protect their properties from cockroaches and other pests. Our professionals will eliminate and prevent cockroaches by completing a thorough inspection and performing biannual treatments. Reach out today to learn more about our residential or commercial pest control options!

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep cockroaches out of your home.

• Store common foraging sites like garbage cans and compost bins a good distance away from the outside walls of your house.
• After eating outside, don’t leave any food on outdoor tables or at the grill area.
• Remove lawn clutter like leaf piles, excess mulch, and woodpiles from your yard where cockroaches can hide.
• Inspect your home’s outer walls, sealing any opening you find.
• Don’t leave pet food out day and night; after your pet’s mealtime, pick up any leftover food.
• Regularly vacuum your home, especially areas where you eat.
• Reduce excess moisture in your home by repairing leaking pipes and wiping away dampness from around toilets, sinks, and tubs.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

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Boxelder bugs are insects that spend most of their time outside living on box elder trees, along with other types of seed-bearing trees. They have piercing, sucking mouthparts used to feed on the liquids from leaves, stems, and flowers of the tree they've infested.

These insects are relatively easy for most of us to identify, mainly due to their striking color pattern. Adults have an elongated, oval-shaped body that is black, and the wings and thorax are outlined in an orange-red color. Newly laid eggs are a straw yellow color, but they turn red as the nymphs inside develop. After hatching the young boxelder bugs are bright red.

The threat of boxelder bugs on our property is not dangerous to us, but is to our yard’s plant life. During the feeding process, boxelder bugs cause unsightly damage and distortion to leaves and fruits. However, only significant damage is done by boxelder bugs when there are substantial populations present.

Another problem with having boxelder bugs living in your yard is that when the cool weather hits, these insects look for a safe, warm area to shelter, often choosing man-made structures. The warm, sunny sides of our homes attract them. Traveling up and along our the exterior walls, they move inside through cracks and any other opening they discover.

Having boxelder bugs or any other pest inside our home is never ideal. As they move across our house, they can stain floors, walls, curtains, and upholstery with their excrement. When crushed, boxelder bugs emit a foul odor that is unpleasant to deal with.

If you have trees that boxelder bugs like to feed on, the chances of experiencing problems with these pests is high. Boxelder bugs live and feed on ash trees, maple trees, apple trees, plum trees, and box elder trees.

If boxelder bugs live on your property or a nearby property, when the weather cools, there is a good chance they will find a way into your home or garage to overwinter. Once inside, these pests are difficult to get rid of until spring when they head back outside.

Keep boxelder bugs out of your Chicago area home with the help of Aerex Pest Control. With over 70 years of experience, our family-owned and operated business is committed to helping people protect their properties from pests. You can count on our professionals to provide the inspection and biannual treatments needed to stop boxelder bugs from gaining entrance to your home or commercial property.

For more information about our pest control options, call Aerex Pest Control, and speak with one of our helpful professionals!

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep boxelder bugs out of your home.

• Cut back tree branches, especially box elder trees branches, from your home’s exterior.
• Plant new ash or maple trees on your property as far away from your house as possible. If possible, avoid planting boxelder trees.
• Seal any openings, no matter how small, in the foundation, exterior walls, and roofline of your home that these insects could use as an entry point.
• Fill in the spaces around wires, pipes, and utilities entering your home using steel wool or another similar material.
• Put weatherstripping around all exterior windows and doors and repair loose screens.
• Put in place any prevention measures that will deter boxelder bugs during the summer, before these bugs are looking for indoor shelter!

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

Bed bugs are insects that feed solely on human and animal blood, with human blood being their preferred food source. These small biting insects have a flattened, oval-shaped body that is reddish-brown, short antennae, six legs, and are wingless. Before consuming a blood meal, they look like an apple seed with legs. After feeding, their body swells into more of a cigar-like shape.

Bed bugs are a worldwide problem and hitchhike on people and our belongings wherever we take them. Hearty pests that have withstood the test of time, bed bugs are difficult for us to avoid and control. The biggest thing to understand when it comes to bed bugs is that a problem with them can develop in any structure, and no place is impervious to them. Contact Aerex Pest Control to ask a question about bed bugs.

You have a bed bug problem because they have hitchhiked into your home. Bed bugs are exceptional hitchhikers and will move into structures on people and our belongings without being seen.

These pests are active year-round and are a constant threat to our homes and businesses. If bed bugs are in your home, you may discover blood drops or dark streaks on pillows and linens, live or dead bed bugs in the seams of mattresses or box springs, piles of their exoskeletons near areas where they are hiding, or the development of a musty odor.

Bed bugs are indoor pests that hide throughout our homes – not just in sleeping areas, as their name suggests. When bed bugs are initially introduced into our homes, they usually move to areas of the house where people sleep. The seams of mattresses and box springs and cracks in footboards and headboards being favorite hideouts. However, over time, and as the bed bugs breed and increase their population, they will move throughout your home.

Though they like to hitchhike, bed bugs are efficient crawlers and will effortlessly move throughout our homes behind walls and under floors. Spaces inside outlets, behind baseboards, within upholstered furniture, and under piles of clutter are other favorite hideouts.

Bed bugs are tricky insects to contend with and are a pest that requires professional pest control services to ensure every egg, nymph, and adult is found and treated. For help getting rid of bed bugs from your Illinois home or business, reach out to the experienced and dedicated professionals at Aerex Pest Control.

Our professionals will perform a thorough inspection of your home and provide the effective treatment necessary to eliminate the infestation. If you are looking for the best bed bug control services in Chicago, reach out to Aerex Pest Control today!

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep bed bugs out of your home.

• When traveling, inspect wherever you will be spending the night for bed bugs before bringing luggage inside; this includes hotels and family or friends’ homes.
• Store all clothing you take on a trip, dirty or clean, in plastic bags.
• After returning home from traveling, immediately wash and dry all clothing on a high heat setting.
• Do not place your personal belongings (coats, luggage, and bags) on the floors of public places for long periods.
• Maintain a clean and clutter-free home. Bed bugs hide in clutter and regularly vacuuming your home will help remove stray bed bugs.
• Minimize the number of used items you bring into your home, especially mattresses and upholstered furniture. As tempting as a free couch may be, the bed bugs potentially hiding inside are not worth the savings.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.

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Ants are common insect invaders into Illinois yards, homes, and businesses. They are insects, closely related to bees and wasps; all three are social insects and live together in large nests, working to ensure the success of their individual colonies.

Since ants are such a common occurrence in our indoor and outdoor spaces, identifying them is quite easy. While their appearance will vary by species, in general, ants have the following physical characteristics: a three-segmented body, narrow waist, short antennae, and chewing mouthparts. Reproductive members of an ant colony are winged and often referred to by people as flying ants. Reach out to our Chicago-based pest experts with any questions about ants in your home.

Ants that live in Chicago and often find a way onto our properties include pavement ants, carpenter ants, Pharaoh ants, and odorous house ants. Each species has its own behaviors and nesting habits that make them unique and problematic.

If given a reason, any ant can defend itself by biting, but in most cases, being bitten by an ant is not a threat. What is a threat is the ant’s ability (depending on the species) to contaminate food, spread bacteria and diseases, and damage the structure of our homes.

Carpenter ants are always unwanted in our homes because they can decide to stay and nest within our home’s structural wood. Pharaoh ants are vectors of diseases and bacteria that can cause serious illnesses in people like streptococcus.

In addition to causing us health and structural problems, ants are annoying to deal with. They invade in large numbers, making trails throughout our homes, and are difficult to eradicate.

The hunt for food and water by ants is seemingly endless. Ants live together in colonies with thousands upon thousands of members, so the need for food is always great. Worker ants leave the colony each day to forage for food; once they discover a food source, they will emit pheromones to alert other colony members.

Any property that offers ants a source of food will experience problems with these pests. Trash cans, recycling bins, gardens, fruit trees, and pet food are where ants regularly forage for food and what attracts them to our properties.

What makes ants especially problematic in our yards and homes is that ants like to feed on many of the same sweets and proteins that we do. Any small spill or crumb in our house is all it takes for ants to feel like we are welcoming them into our family!

When you see ants wandering around your yard or home, they are out gathering food to bring back to the colony. Ants have a unique anatomy that makes them excellent foragers; they have two stomachs - one for eating and one for carrying food.

As ants are out searching for food, they often end up inside our homes. Once inside, if it offers them a warm, safe place to nest near food and moisture, they usually stay. Common ant nesting sites include structural wood (carpenter ants), wall voids near water pipes, spaces under floors, and inside crawl spaces. A single ant colony often has multiple nesting sites; the main nest is outside, and smaller satellite nests are located both outside and inside our structures.

In addition to gathering food, another way that ants (unintentionally) alert us to their presence is when the winged reproductives swarm from a mature ant colony. Winged females and males will leave the nest at the same time to find a mate and start a new nest. Seeing winged ants around your yard or home is an indicator that a nest is nearby.

Don’t allow ants to become regular visitors to your Illinois yard or home. Partner with a professional, and keep these pests out of your house and away from your food and family! At Aerex Pest Control, we have over 70 years of pest control experience!

Our family-owned and operated pest control company is committed to helping people protect their properties from ants and other pests. Through thorough inspections and biannual treatments, our professionals will stop ants in their tracks. If you would like to discover more about our Chicago home pest control or commercial pest control options, reach out to us today!

We have put together a list of practical prevention tips to help you keep ants out of your home.

• Keep hungry ants out of your trash cans, recycling bins, and compost bins with the help of locking lids.
• Make sure all trash bags are placed inside trash containers until trash day.
• Keep ants out of your pet’s food by picking up uneaten pet food each day and cleaning around the areas they eat.
• Regularly check underneath sinks to inspect for leaky pipes that could create extra moisture that attracts ants.
• Store fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator and keep pantry items in hard-sided containers with airtight lids.
• Maintain a tidy home; regularly vacuum and clean the kitchen.
• Keep ants from finding a way into your house in the first place by inspecting its exterior and sealing or repairing any openings you discover.

• Five No-Sweat Ant Prevention Tips For Chicago Homeowners
• How Ant Infestations Start In Chicago Homes
• Total Ant Prevention For Chicago Residents