Ant Control Palm Beach County FL | Ghost & Crazy Ants

Five ants. Five bait preferences.

Know your ant. Treat the colony.

Each species has different food preferences, foraging patterns, and weak points. Misidentifying is the #1 reason DIY treatments fail.

#1 in PBC

Ghost ants

Tiny, pale, almost translucent. Trail along countertops and bathroom grout. Sweet feeders. Spray scatters them — they bud into multiple smaller colonies. Worst possible response. Optigard non-repellent gel + Terro liquid at trail points. 7–10 days.

Treatment: Optigard gel · 7–10 day knockdown

Aggressive

Caribbean crazy ants

Reddish-brown, fast erratic running pattern, found in massive numbers around AC condensate lines and pool equipment. Will short-circuit pool pumps. Won't take sweet baits — only protein-based. Advance 375A protein bait + perimeter residual.

Treatment: Advance 375A protein · 10–14 days

Wood damage

Carpenter ants

Large, black or red-and-black, 1/2-inch. Don't eat wood — excavate it. Found in damp, decayed wood: window sills with leak history, deck framing, bathroom subfloors. Sign of moisture problem first, ant problem second. Dust application + moisture remediation referral.

Treatment: dust to galleries · 14–21 days

Painful

Fire ants

Mounds appear after rain. Aggressive sting that swells and itches for days. Single-mound treatment fails — they bud and split. Broadcast bait (Extinguish Plus) so workers carry it home to multiple queens. Twice a year for full coverage.

Treatment: Extinguish Plus broadcast · 4–6 weeks to queen death

Coastal

White-footed ants

Black with pale lower legs. Massive trails along eaves and stucco cracks of South Florida coastal homes. Don't take traditional sugar bait. Use protein/grease bait at trail points.

Treatment: Advion ant gel · 14 days

Indoor invader

Pharaoh ants

Tiny yellowish-tan ants in commercial kitchens, hospitals, and apartments. Multi-queen colonies — sprays make it worse by triggering bud splitting. Slow-acting professional gel bait only. Don't ever spray Pharaoh ants.

Treatment: EPA-registered slow-acting gel · 14–21 days

The principle

Why we don't spray ant trails.

Spray = colony budding.

Most ant species respond to repellent sprays by splitting the colony. The queen senses chemical stress and creates secondary queens. Three weeks later you have three colonies instead of one. This is documented behavior — called colony budding — and it's why every "we sprayed every month for six months" customer eventually calls us.

The fix is non-repellent chemistry — gels and liquids the ants don't detect. They walk through it, eat it, share it with the colony. The queen dies, the brood dies, the trail goes silent. Permanently.

What we use, and why.

Optigard (thiamethoxam). Non-repellent gel for sweet ants — ghost, Argentine, Pharaoh. Slow-acting on purpose so workers transport it home.
Advance 375A (abamectin). Protein-bait granular for crazy ants and protein-feeders.
Extinguish Plus. Fire ant bait broadcast. Workers carry it back. Queens die 4–6 weeks.
Termidor SC perimeter. Three-foot exterior band, non-repellent, transferred via grooming. Only outdoors.

Honest pricing

What it costs.

All quotes are flat. Inspection is always free.

One-time treatment

$140 – $260

Single visit for an active ant trail. Includes 30-day callback if it's not resolved.

Most homes: $180

Carpenter ant job

$420 – $850

Includes moisture-source diagnosis, gallery treatment with dust, and a written referral for any underlying water damage repair. 6-month follow-up included.

Most jobs: $580

Quarterly program

$80 – $130 / quarter

Four exterior perimeter visits per year + on-demand interior callbacks. Best value for ongoing protection across all ant species.

Most homes: $95 / quarter

Fire ant pasture broadcast quoted by acreage — typical 5-acre property is $280–$420 per application.

FAQ

What people ask before they hire us.

I sprayed and they came back worse. Why?

Colony budding. Repellent sprays trigger ghost, Argentine, Pharaoh, and ghost ant queens to split the colony into multiple secondary colonies. Stop spraying. Don't clean the trail. We place non-repellent gel — workers carry it home, the queens die, no more trail.

Are gel baits safe for pets and kids?

Yes. Gel baits are placed in cracks, hinges, and below-counter spots — pets and kids can't reach them. Active ingredients are at 0.005% to 0.05% concentrations — well below toxicity thresholds. Pets and kids back outside same day; no re-entry restrictions.

How long until they're gone?

Ghost ants: 7–10 days. Crazy ants: 10–14 days. Carpenter ants: 14–21 days (we have to dust the galleries). Fire ants: 4–6 weeks for colony death. We track every job for verification.

I have carpenter ants in window frames.

Carpenter ants are a moisture indicator before they're a pest problem. We treat the gallery, but the underlying water damage needs to be fixed by a contractor — otherwise they come back. We provide a written referral and verify the moisture is resolved before re-treating.

Do you do fire ant pasture broadcast?

Yes — common request from Wellington and Loxahatchee acreage homeowners. Broadcast Extinguish Plus across pasture in March + September. Pet-safe once on the ground 30 minutes. Quoted by acreage; 5-acre property typically $280–$420 per application.

Ants gone in 7 to 10 days. Colony-deep, not scattered.

Workers carry the bait home and feed it to the queens. The colony dies. They don't come back.