What Happens to Ants During the Winter?

In the spring and summer months it may seem almost common place to see a train of ants marching across the sidewalk, a picnic blanket, or unfortunately even across your countertop. You probably tried a variety of different ways to stop this from happening. Then finally by Thanksgiving your efforts seemed to work. The train of ants stopped, hurray! It felt good not to have to deal with them anymore. Does that mean that your ant problem is gone for good? Maybe, maybe not.

We all learned about hibernation in school. Usually we were told about animals like bears eating lots of food in the fall so they could get nice and chubby and happily sleep all winter long. Guess what, in New Jersey ants don’t go to sleep, but they do something very similar.

During the summer ants eat a variety of food from both natural sources (like nectar from flowers) and less natural sources (like juice spilled on our counters). Outdoors they also consume seeds, plants, and even dead insects. Indoors, they seem to consume anything left on the counter. As the weather begins to turn colder, ants start to consume more carbohydrates. These carbohydrates let them gain more weight and store more energy. 
When ants have stored enough energy they go into a slower metabolic state called “diapause.” They appear very sluggish and do not travel far. They do not eat, drink, or lay eggs during this time. Since ants are cold blooded animals they seek out warm places, such as deep soil, under rocks, or under the bark of trees. In order to maintain body heat, ants will clusters together around the queen to protect her. During most winters, the combination of a good overwintering spot and the combined body heat from all the ants being together will allow them to survive the winter.

Your winter may be ant free but what happens in the spring when the weather gets warmer? Hungry ants will forage for food. If your efforts to stop ants in your home last year did not involve stopping them from entering your home, you may be seeing them again. Exclusion is a very important step in ant control. Make sure that easy entry points (like holes in screens and cracks in your foundation) are fixed.

What happens if you are seeing ants in your home now? If you are seeing ants in your home during the winter months most likely the ants have forgone finding a nice patch of deep soil and have created a colony inside your home. Because houses are heated year round, ants will not have to go into a state of diapause, they will continue to forage in places like your kitchen and pantry.
If you have an ant problem during the winter or if your ant problem did not abate until the winter started it is a good idea to give Cowleys a call. Ants will return to places they have found food in the past, if you want to have an ant free spring and summer, reach out to us!