Seattle Area Homeowner’s: What Type of Ants Are In Your House?
Ants in the Seattle metro area aren’t all the same. The persistent tiny black ants in your Redmond kitchen require a completely different solution than the large carpenter ants damaging your Queen Anne home’s window frame. Built on our experience serving Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton, and all King County, will help you identify your ant and find the local, proven solution.
The 3 Most Common Ants in Seattle & Eastside Homes
1. Carpenter Ants: The Silent Structural Threat
Common in: Older Seattle neighborhoods Ballard, Capitol Hill, West Seattle, wooded Eastside areas Sammamish, Issaquah Highlands, and homes with moisture issues.
- Size: Large 1/4 to 1/2 inch long.
- Color: Black, or red and black.
- Local Sign: Frass sawdust piles near the baseboards of your Seattle craftsman or in the garage of your Bellevue home. Often found after our rainy season.
- The Real Problem: They indicate rotten wood. In our damp climate, a leaky roof in Lynnwood or a wet sill plate in Kirkland can create the perfect nest site.
- Risk: HIGH Structural Damage
The Seattle Specific Solution Required:
General spraying fails. We perform a moisture inspection to find the leak, then use direct nest treatments and dust injections into wall voids. Often, we coordinate with local contractors to replace the rotted wood a common need in our region’s older housing stock.
Seen large black ants or frass? This is a job for specialists.
Learn about our Seattle & Eastside Carpenter Ant Extermination Service.
2. Little Black Ants: The Persistent Kitchen Invader
Common in: Apartments and condos across Downtown Seattle, Belltown, South Lake Union, and newer subdivisions in Redmond, Bothell, and Newcastle.
- Size: Tiny Poppy seed sized (1.5-2mm).
- Color: Jet black, shiny.
- Local Sign: Slow, steady trails to pet food in your Kirkland kitchen or along the bathroom counter of your Bellevue condo.
- The Real Problem: The nest is usually outside in landscaping mulch or under patios. They come inside through microscopic cracks, common in both new and old construction here.
- Risk: MODERATE Contamination & Nuisance
The Eastside & Seattle Solution Required:
Store bought baits from the Redmond Target or Seattle Home Depot often use the wrong attractant. We trace the trail to find the outdoor nest in your yard or building landscape and use professional gel baits that workers carry back to eliminate the entire colony, followed by exterior sealing.
Tired of tiny black ants in your kitchen?
Learn about our Guaranteed Little Black Ant Removal for Seattle & Eastside Homes.
3. Moisture Ants: Your Home’s Water Alarm
Common in: Homes with drainage issues in Renton, Kent, Federal Way, older basements in Shoreline, Edmonds, and properties near wetlands.
- Size: Small to medium.
- Color: Light to dark brown.
- Local Sign: Swarms near a leaky window in your Issaquah home, under the sink in your Mercer Island kitchen, or in a damp crawl space in Auburn.
- The Real Problem: They are a symptom. If you have moisture ants in the Puget Sound area, you have a leak, condensation, or poor drainage that will lead to rot and mold.
- Risk: HIGH Indicator of Water Damage
The Western Washington Solution Required:
Killing the ants is pointless without fixing the water. Our service starts with a comprehensive moisture inspection using meters and thermal cameras essential tools for our climate. We then correct the water intrusion and treat the affected area.
Seeing brown ants near a leak or in a damp basement?
You need a Moisture & Pest Damage Inspection.
Which Ant Do I Have? A Local Flowchart
Start Here: Found ants in your Seattle or Eastside home?
- Are they LARGE (1/4 inch+), black, and found indoors, often with sawdust?
- YES Likely CARPENTER ANTS. Common in neighborhoods with mature trees.
- NO Go to question 2.
- Are they TINY (pinhead-sized), in neat trails to food in your kitchen or bathroom?
- YES Likely LITTLE BLACK ANTS. Very common in multi-family buildings and newer homes.
- NO Go to question 3.
- Are they brown/yellowish and clustered near a leak, under a sink, or in a damp basement/crawl space?
- YES Likely MOISTURE ANTS. Indicates a repair need.
Why Local Expertise Matters for Ant Control
A treatment that works for moisture ants in a Renton split-level won’t work for carpenter ants in a Seattle bungalow. Our technicians know:
- The common construction styles and vulnerabilities in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond.
- How Seattle’s microclimates more rain in the north, drier in the east affect ant behavior.
- The specific landscaping and mulch types used in Eastside communities that attract certain ants.
Don’t guess. Get a local diagnosis.
We offer a Free Ant Identification & Inspection for King County residents.
Our local experts will correctly identify the species and provide the right solution for your home and neighborhood.
Call Your Local Ant Experts: (206) 571 7580
Serving Seattle, the Eastside, South King County, and all surrounding communities.
Local Ant Control FAQ
Q: I live in a new construction home in Sammamish. Why do I have ants?
A: Very common. New homes have countless hidden gaps behind siding, around pipes, and under trim where ants enter. We perform new home exclusion audits specifically for Eastside developments.
Q: My Seattle apartment has little black ants. Is my building responsible?
A: Often, the nest is in the building’s exterior landscaping or structure. We work seamlessly with Seattle and Bellevue property managers to solve the problem at the source, not just in your unit.
Q: Are carpenter ants worse in older Seattle homes?
A: They are more common where there’s older wood and a higher likelihood of past moisture issues. However, any home with a leak old or new can become a target.