Odorous house ants
Small, dark brown ants that smell like rotting coconut when crushed. They nest under mulch, stones and siding outside, move in after heavy rain, and often run several connected nests at once, so baiting matters more than spraying.
Serving Marion County
Ant Control for Indianapolis Kitchens, Basements and Brick Walks
Colony baiting and foundation treatment for odorous house ants, pavement ants and spring basement swarms on the east side.
- Phones answered 24/7
- Old-house sealing and mice
- Price approved before treatment
- Written report every visit
Get a fast quote
Fastest: call (855) 974-4733. Or send this and we call you back.
Ant Control
Ant Control: what it covers
Quick answer
Indianapolis Pest Control sets up ant control for Indianapolis homes, mostly on the east side around Irvington, Warren Park and Beech Grove. A local technician identifies the species, baits the colony instead of only spraying the trail, and treats the foundation line. Most calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is available.
Ants on the east side tend to arrive with the rain. Wet weeks in April, May and June flood nests under sidewalks, patios and mulch beds, and the workers move indoors looking for dry ground and something to eat. Old houses make that easy: settled foundations, gaps around kitchen plumbing and cracked basement floors give them plenty of doors.
Knowing the ant matters more than the spray. Odorous house ants on a kitchen counter, pavement ants pushing sand up through a basement floor crack, and pale yellow ants swarming out of a foundation in March all need different handling. A technician works out which one you have, then baits, treats and seals to match.
Large black ants that chew into wood are a separate problem with its own method, covered on the carpenter ant control page. Everything else, from Craftsman bungalows in Beech Grove to new builds in Franklin Township, starts here.
- Service area
- Indianapolis & Marion County
- Availability
- Phones answered 24/7
- Typical cost
- $135–$260 (estimate)
- Phone
- (855) 974-4733
Warning signs
Signs you need ant control
Skip the spray along the trail and do not mix store-bought baits with the technician's placements. Repellent sprays scatter colonies into new nests, and competing baits can keep ants from taking the one meant to reach the queen. Keep children and pets away from bait stations.
- Thin trails of small brown ants along the counter, backsplash or dishwasher line
- A rotten-coconut smell when you crush a few of the small ants on the counter
- Little piles of sand or soil next to basement floor cracks, brick walks or patio pavers
- Winged ants at a basement window or coming out of a floor crack in late winter or spring
- Ants in the pet food bowl, the sugar canister or the trash under the sink
- Ants coming up around radiator pipes, plumbing holes or the edge of old linoleum
- Masses of ants tangled together on the sidewalk or driveway on a warm spring day
Cost
How much does ant control cost in Indianapolis?
Ant pricing depends on the species, how many nests there are and whether the work stays in the kitchen or covers the whole foundation. A long, old foundation with porches and additions takes more time than a compact ranch.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| General ant treatment (inside + outside) | $135–$260 | Indoor baiting plus foundation treatment |
| Carpenter ant treatment | $175–$450 | When the ants are excavating wood |
| Initial service to start a quarterly plan | $125–$235 | Covers ants along with other crawling pests |
| Quarterly general pest plan (per visit) | $95–$155 | Keeps spring ant pressure down year after year |
Estimates for Marion County and nearby towns in 2026. The exact price is explained and approved before treatment begins.
Options
Types and options for ant control
Pavement ants
Dark ants that live under sidewalks, brick walks, patios and basement slabs, leaving small piles of sand at the cracks. They come inside for grease and sweets, and in spring rival colonies sometimes fight in large clumps on the pavement.
Citronella and other yellow ants
Pale yellow to amber ants that live underground, feed on honeydew from root aphids and rarely forage indoors. They get noticed when winged swarmers pour out of a basement floor crack or foundation wall in late winter or spring, and they smell like lemon when crushed.
Thief ants and other tiny ants
Very small ants that go after grease and protein and can nest inside walls and cabinets. They are hard to follow on a trail and need fine bait placements. In apartment buildings, tiny ants moving between units call for a plan that covers the whole building.
Need ant control today?
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Why do ants come inside after a wet week in Indianapolis?
Heavy rain floods ant nests in the soil under walks, patios and mulch, so the workers head for drier ground and food, and the nearest dry, warm place is often your kitchen or basement. May and June are the wettest months in Indianapolis on average, which is when many ant problems start.
Odorous house ants are the classic case. A colony living under the landscape bed by the back door can move part of its brood into a wall void or under the dishwasher within a day or two of a downpour. Once the ground dries out, some trails fade on their own, but colonies that find food and water inside often stay.
Old houses add their own entry points. Check the plumbing holes under the sink, the gap where a radiator pipe passes through the floor, settling cracks in the basement slab and the seam where a kitchen addition meets the original foundation.
Are the winged ants in my basement actually termites?
Probably not, but it is worth checking. Ant swarmers have elbowed antennae, a pinched waist and front wings longer than the back pair. Termite swarmers have straight antennae, a thick waist and four wings of equal length. Both swarm in spring on the east side, so save a few in a sealed bag for the technician.
In east-side basements the usual surprise is yellow citronella ants swarming out of a floor crack or around the sump in March or April. They are a nuisance, not a threat to the house. Eastern subterranean termites swarm in the same season, mostly March through May and often after rain, so the question needs a real answer.
If the swarmers turn out to be termites, a termite inspection is the next step. The central Indiana termite guide explains what a spring swarm means for an older house.
Does spraying the ant trail make things worse?
It can. Spraying a trail kills the workers you can see, which are a small share of the colony. The queens and brood stay hidden, and some species, odorous house ants in particular, react to repellent sprays by splitting into new nests. Baits work slower, but foragers carry them home and the whole colony gets dosed.
That is why the technician will ask you to stop using store-bought sprays and wipes along the trail while the baits work. Leaving ants alone for a few days feels backward, but disturbing the trail cuts off the delivery route.
Outside, non-repellent perimeter products work the same way. Ants walk through them without noticing, then share the active ingredient with the rest of the nest.
How soon will the ants be gone?
Most homes see fewer ants within a few days and most trails gone within one to two weeks, depending on the species and the number of nests. Odorous house ants with several connected nests can take longer. Activity sometimes rises for a day or two at first, as foragers find the bait and recruit others.
Keep counters and sinks clean during that time so the bait is the most attractive food around, but leave the bait placements themselves alone. If trails are still busy after about two weeks, call so the technician can look for a second colony or a nest inside a wall.
A cold snap can slow things down in early spring. Ants feed less when the house and the soil are cool, so bait placed in March may take a little longer to work than bait placed in June.
Can brick walks and old basement floors be ant-proofed?
Not completely, but they can be made far less inviting. Pavement ants nest in the sand bed under brick walks and patios and come up through cracks in old basement floors. Sealing slab cracks, closing gaps at the foundation and keeping mulch back from the walls cuts the number that find their way in.
Irvington's brick streets and walks, and the older sidewalks in Woodruff Place and Fountain Square, offer endless nesting room under the pavers. Those outdoor colonies cannot be removed for good, so the goal is a treated band at the house and fewer openings into it.
Inside, caulk the joint where a basement wall meets the floor, seal around plumbing and radiator pipes, and keep pet food in sealed bins. In a historic district, check with the IHPC before changing visible exterior features such as masonry or porch steps.
Our process
How our ant control visit works
Identify the ant
The technician follows the trails back toward the source, checks the kitchen, bathrooms, basement and foundation, and identifies the species, because the right bait depends on what that ant is feeding on.
Approve the price
You hear the cost of the treatment and any follow-up before work starts. Nothing is applied until you agree.
Bait the colony
Indoors, small bait placements go along the trails and near entry points so foragers carry food home and share it with the queens. Repellent sprays stay off the trails because they scatter the colony.
Treat the outside
A non-repellent product goes along the foundation, at door thresholds and at the edge of walks and patios next to the house, following the label. Pet and family precautions are explained before anything is applied.
Report and follow-up
A written service report lists what was found, what was applied and where. If trails are still busy once the bait has had time to work, a follow-up visit is set.
Marion County
Why ant control is different in East side Indianapolis
The east side's older blocks are ant country for structural reasons. Many houses in Irvington, Beech Grove and Cottage Home have additions, enclosed porches and kitchen extensions built decades after the original house, and every seam between old and new foundation is a likely entry. Basement slabs poured long ago are often cracked, and pavement ants use those cracks as doorways.
Big shade trees help ants too. Aphids on maples and oaks produce honeydew, a favorite food of odorous house ants, and branches resting on the roof give ants a bridge to the upper floors. Trimming limbs back from the siding and roofline is one of the cheapest fixes there is.
Ant season usually starts with the first warm days of a wet spring and runs into late summer. In newer homes around Franklin Township, Cumberland and Fishers, ants more often come in along slab edges, garage door seals and utility lines than through an old foundation.
Where we work
Ant Control across Marion County
- Ant Control in Irvington
- Ant Control in Warren Park
- Ant Control in Woodruff Place
- Ant Control in Beech Grove
- Ant Control in Cottage Home
- Ant Control in Fountain Square
- Ant Control in Lockerbie Square
- Ant Control in Garfield Park
- Ant Control in Old Northside
- Ant Control in Downtown Indianapolis
- Ant Control in Herron-Morton Place
- Ant Control in Lawrence
- Ant Control in Cumberland
- Ant Control in Franklin Township
- Ant Control in Southport
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Related
Related services
Carpenter Ant Control
Finding and treating carpenter ant nests in porch columns, sills and leaky roof edges on older east-side houses.
Pest Control
Quarterly or one-time pest control for east-side Indianapolis homes, from Irvington basements to Cumberland subdivisions.
Termite Inspection
Termite inspections and wood-destroying insect reports for east-side Indianapolis homes, home sales and closings.
Spider Control
Web removal and spider treatment for old basements, deep porches and garages across Irvington and the east side.
FAQ
Ant Control FAQs
Ants are on my counter in the middle of a cold snap. What does that mean?
Ants active indoors during winter usually have a nest inside the heated part of the house, often in a wall near the kitchen, under a floor or close to the water heater. Outdoor colonies stay dormant until spring. An indoor nest needs baiting, and sometimes a look behind a cabinet or appliance to find it.
Do ants mean my house has a moisture problem?
Sometimes. Many ants nest near water, and a slow leak under a sink, a sweating pipe or a damp window sill can draw them in. If the ants are large and black and you find sawdust-like debris nearby, that points to carpenter ants and damp or damaged wood.
Is ant control part of a quarterly plan?
Common ants, including odorous house ants and pavement ants, are usually covered by a quarterly pest plan. Carpenter ants and heavy indoor infestations are often treated separately because they take more time. The technician will tell you which applies before you agree to anything.
Should I clear out the kitchen before the visit?
A full emptying is rarely needed. Wipe up crumbs and spills, put food in sealed containers and clear the space under the sink so the technician can reach plumbing gaps. Leave the trails alone that day so they can be followed back to the source.
Are ants under the patio and brick walk worth treating?
Only where they affect the house. Ants under pavers and walks are part of the yard and cannot all be removed. Treating the foundation and the edge of walks right next to the house keeps them from coming inside without treating every crack on the property.
Can I find out what products are being used?
Yes. The technician will name the products, explain the label precautions for pets and children, and list everything on the written service report. In Indiana, pesticide applications made for hire in and around homes are regulated by the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC).