All About Ants: Facts You Should Know

A group of ants, red and black, walking on a white surface.

Ants are common insects that are found in almost all parts of the world. While ants normally make their homes in nature, they could end up in your home and cause problems for you and your family. By learning more about these bugs, you'll gain a better understanding of the habits of ants and what pest control experts can do to get rid of them from your home.

Ant Colonies

Ants are social insects that build nests where their colonies live. Most ant nests are located underground and consist of a complex network of tunnels and chambers. The ants in these colonies manage a variety of duties to keep their colonies alive. Some colonies consist of thousands of ants.

Ants within these colonies serve different roles, and almost all nonreproductive females are classified as worker ants. Some ants remain and work exclusively within the nest while other ants leave to search for food or mate. The queen is the key female ant that's responsible for laying eggs and maintaining the colony's population. Male ants usually have wings and are only made to breed.

While ants generally form their nests in forests and other natural settings, some may try to build their nests on your property or even inside your home. If you have an ant problem, pest control experts can check all areas of your home to look for nests that should be removed.

Types of Ants

Many different ant species exist, and some species are confined to living exclusively in certain parts of the world. Among the most common ants found in the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area are:

Carpenter ants
Pavement ants
Odorous house ants
Little black ants
Thief ants

Potential Dangers of Ants

Ants can also contaminate food sources in your home and may cause illnesses and allergic reactions in some people. Carpenter ants and other ant species can damage homes by chewing holes into wood.

Food Sources

Ants usually don't have too much trouble finding food in the wild, but they may be drawn to your home if you have a lot of foods that will satisfy their appetites and are easy to bring back to their nest. Ants can also lead other ants to food sources by leaving trails of pheromones. Even the tiniest food particles in your home can attract more ants.

Ants often enjoy eating foods like:

Bread crumbs
Sugary foods
Seeds
Pet food
Plant material

Common Home Entry Routes

Even if ants haven't built a nest in your home or somewhere else on your property, they might still get into your home to search for food or potential mates. Ants can enter through openings around doors and windows as well as cracks and holes that haven't been sealed. Foundation gaps often provide additional entryways for ants. You might also accidentally bring ants that are on objects into your home.

How Pest Control Experts Eliminate Them

Pest control experts can usually eliminate ants more thoroughly than DIY methods. Using chemicals isn't always the best or safest way to get rid of ants, and companies like Pass Pest Control use fewer chemicals and more mechanical controls to baits.

In addition to focusing on the ants themselves, the most knowledgeable pest control professionals target the entrances that ants often use to invade homes. This offers a more thorough way to keep ants from coming back into your home.

You can soon make your house an ant-free zone by hiring the right professionals to rid you of your ant problem. Contact Pass Pest Control to get help from the experts.

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Hand holding a magnifying glass over a bed, enlarging a bee illustration near a bedroom scene

BED BUGS: What They Are, How to Identify Them and How to Eliminate The

August 19, 2026

Bed bugs are small, parasitic blood feeding insects that can a comfortable home into a very unpleasant residence. Although they are not known to transmit diseases to people, their bites can cause itching and irritation, and an infestation can be difficult to correct without a complete application. However, in larger infestations the problem can cause open wounds due to scratching that can become infected. What are Bed Bugs? Bed bugs are small, dark brown insects that feed on blood. Adult bed bugs are about the size of apple seed where younger bed bugs are about the size of a grape seed and lighter in color. They are compact insects, allowing them to hide in cracks and crevices that are about the width of a dime. Despite their name, bed bugs aren’t limited to beds. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, couches, chairs, carpets, cracks and other areas where individuals might rest. How to Identify Them? Bed Bugs can be difficult to spot because they are good at concealing themselves. Most common indications of an infestation are: Blood stains on bedding and mattresss Small dark spots indicating bed bug droppings Small eggs or cast skins Active bedbugs around tufts in the mattress, couches, chairs and cracks and crevices Red bites that occur in lines Where do they originate from? Bed bugs are excellent travelers. Bedbugs have a claw like hook similar to a tick which makes them the ultimate hitchhiker. They can enter a home through luggage, clothing, used furniture, bedding, and other personal belongings. They may also spread between rooms or apartments through cracks and other openings as well as person to person. How do you eliminate bed bugs? A few steps to take reduce your exposure to bed bugs: Inspect used furniture before you place it into the home. Use caution when traveling- inspect head boards, mattresses and all hotel furnishing before removing your items from your suitcase. Carefully check contents of luggage when returning home. Keep rooms organized which will make inspection easier in case of infestation. If you are suspicious of an item treat it for bedbugs before you place it into your home What Do I Do if I Find Bedbugs? Don’t discard of your furniture. Moving the items around can spread the infestation and make the problem worse. Start by carefully inspecting the area where bedbugs were observed. Wash and dry bedding on the highest setting available. Vacuuming is a valuable tool in helping to control infestations but can’t eliminate bedbugs on its own. Bed bugs can conceal themselves in cracks and crevices. Professional pest management may be necessary if the infestations is well established. What to Do? Bed bugs are an unpleasant, but they are a manageable pest problem. Early detection makes treatment easier. If you suspect and problem, inspect carefully, avoid spreading potentially infested belongings and consider contacting a qualified pest control professional for an appropriate treatment plan. If you are experiencing a reoccurring bed bug problem it is likely that you are coming into contact with an infected person or infested item. The key is to act in an organized manner rather than relying on a single treatment for moving to another room. With careful inspection and the correct treatment protocol bed bugs can be eliminated. There are many types of treatments for bedbugs and all of them work to a certain extent depending on the level of infestation and the condition of the home being treated. Heat is a very common way to control bedbugs but it only has about an 80 percent success rate. High clutter and easy avenues to avoid heat impact the ability of heat treatments to be successful. Temperatures have to be maintained at a level of 140 degrees or higher for at least three hours to see optimum results. Uncontrolled heat applications that maintain heat at 150 degrees for higher can result in serious damage to furniture, wiring and belongings. Chemical applications tend to perform very well in small to medium infestations but are challenged by aggressive, more populated bed bug infestations. Cryogenic applications do an excellent job of killing bedbugs on contact but do very little in controlling hidden infestations and leave no chemical residual for long term control. Fumigation is likely the most reliable method. Performed at the proper dosage rate a variety of insects and rodents can be eliminated with fumigation. However, fumigation tends to be more expensive that other applications and leaves no residual as chemical applications will.