A trail of ants across the kitchen counter is rarely a kitchen problem. The nest is almost always outside — under a driveway slab, in the soil against the foundation, in a landscape timber or a section of wet sheathing — and the trail you're looking at is just the supply line. That's why wiping the counter and spraying the line from a store-bought can tends to buy a few quiet days before the ants come back on a slightly different path. Effective ant work starts with figuring out which ant you have, where it's nesting, and how it's getting in.
Around Roseville and the rest of eastern Macomb County, most calls fall into a few categories. Small dark ants streaming out of driveway and sidewalk expansion joints, with little piles of sand pushed up around the crack, are typically pavement ants — they move indoors when the ground gets saturated or when the weather turns. Tiny brown ants that give off a sharp smell when crushed and show up in pantries and around sinks are usually odorous house ants, and they're the ones that split into multiple nests when treated badly. Large black ants, a quarter inch or better, especially if you're finding coarse sawdust-like shavings or hearing faint rustling in a wall, point toward carpenter ants and a moisture problem — a leaking gutter line, a failed window seal, a deck ledger, a porch roof. That last one matters because treating carpenter ants without fixing the wet wood means treating them again.
A proper visit starts outside: walking the foundation, checking where utility lines and the hose bib enter the wall, looking at the grade, the mulch depth, the downspout discharge, and any trees or shrubs touching the siding. Inside, the focus is under sinks, behind the dishwasher, along baseboards, and in the basement where the sill plate meets the block. Treatment is usually a combination of a non-repellent exterior perimeter application the ants carry back to the nest, targeted baiting at interior trails with a formulation matched to the species, and direct treatment of any nest site found in a void or a slab crack. Baits have to go where the ants are already traveling, not where it's convenient, and repellent sprays near bait placements will undo the whole thing — a common reason DIY and professional products shouldn't be mixed.
What drives the price is the size of the structure, how much of the perimeter is accessible, whether there's a crawlspace or a finished basement wall in the way, the species involved, and whether follow-up visits are needed. Carpenter ant jobs generally take more time than pavement ants because the nest hunt is longer. We give free estimates before any work starts, so you'll know the number ahead of time, and we take several payment methods.
Ask what species they think you have and what they're basing it on. Ask whether the plan includes exterior work or just inside spraying — interior-only treatment on ants is usually a short-term fix. Ask what happens if the trails return in three weeks. And ask whether the crew doing the work holds Michigan pesticide applicator credentials; ours are licensed contractors.
We work Roseville, Eastpointe, St. Clair Shores, Fraser, Warren, Clinton Township and Mount Clemens, Monday through Friday, 8AM to 6PM, with same-day service available depending on the schedule. Call to describe what you're seeing and where — size, color, time of day, which room — and we can usually narrow it down over the phone.