★★★★★5.0 · 320+ 5 STAR REVIEWS
Ant Pest Control

Ant Pest Control Melbourne

Safer and Greener Pest Solutions

Ants marching through the kitchen? We treat the nest, not the trail.

Licensed Technicians
Baiting, Not Just Spraying
Homes & Businesses
Family Owned Since 2003
Ant trail running across a kitchen bench

Finding Ants In the House?

The ants on your bench are foragers and only a small part of the colony. Wiping them up changes nothing, because the nest is somewhere else entirely and keeps sending more. You can see our pricing page for what a treatment costs.

Pavement ants: these belong to a single colony, so once we find and treat that nest the problem goes with it. They are one of the two we deal with most across Melbourne.
White footed ants: these are named for the pale feet, which you can only really see under a microscope. They naturally run multiple sub nests rather than one, which is why they take more finding and why a single treatment point rarely does it.
Non repellent insecticides and gel baits together: that combination is what we use on both. The non repellent is carried through the colony because the ants do not detect it and avoid it, and the gel bait targets what is foraging.
Mostly sugar feeders: the great majority of what we treat is after carbohydrate. Protein feeders come up rarely, bull ants being the obvious one, and those need a different approach and a different bait.
Bait first, and give it time to work: the non repellent and the gel bait have to be carried back into the nest by the ants themselves, and that takes time to move through the colony. Ants may need several treatments to clear properly.

Then it is worth knowing that what you buy at the supermarket or hardware store will not fix it. Those are surface sprays, and ants are a colony problem rather than a surface one.

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What Sort Of Ant Baiting Is Needed?

That depends on which ant you have, so we work that out first. We follow the trails back to see where they are running, what they are feeding on, and where the line disappears into a wall, a slab join or a garden bed, because that is what tells us where the nest actually is.

Then we match what goes down to the species and to what the colony is taking. Most ants we deal with are sugar feeders, so a sweet gel is usually the right call, and we combine it with a non repellent insecticide the ants carry back without detecting it.

Sugar Feeders, Protein Feeders And Gel Baits

Sugar feeders are the majority: nearly everything we treat in a Melbourne kitchen is after carbohydrate, so a sweet gel bait is what gets picked up and carried back to the nest.
Protein feeders are the exception: they come up rarely, bull ants being the obvious one, and those need a different bait and a different approach altogether.
Non repellent insecticide alongside the bait: the ants do not detect it, so they walk through it and carry it back through the colony rather than avoiding the treated area.
Placement matters more than volume: gel goes on the trails and at the points they are already using, not smeared across a bench, which is why a professional treatment uses less product than most people expect.

It is deliberately slow. A product that killed a forager on the spot would never make it back to the nest, so seeing ants still moving for a few days after treatment is the treatment working rather than failing.

When To Treat For Ants In Melbourne

Spring is when it starts: the soil warms, colonies come out of their winter slowdown and numbers build quickly. Treating early in the season means dealing with a smaller colony than the same job in January.
Summer is the peak: worker numbers are at their highest, and hot dry weather pushes ants indoors looking for water. That is why bathrooms and ensuites generate as many calls through summer as kitchens do.
Autumn moves them closer to the house: as it cools, some colonies shift to somewhere warmer, and a wall cavity, a slab join or a subfloor is exactly the sort of spot they pick.
Winter quiet does not mean gone: a colony already living in the building fabric never feels the cold. A trail still running in July usually means the nest is in the structure rather than out in the garden.

It is why the same house can be quiet for months and then have trails across the bench within a fortnight. Nothing has changed indoors. The colony outside has simply started working again.

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Ant gel bait placed on a trail so foragers carry it back to the nest
PROFESSIONAL TREATMENTS

Why Ants Keep Coming Back

Ants returning after a treatment is the most common complaint we hear, and there are only a handful of reasons for it. Usually more than one is going on at once.

The nest was never touched: if only the trail indoors got sprayed, the colony out in the garden bed, under the pavers or inside a wall cavity carried on as normal and simply sent more.
The scent trail is still there: ants lay a pheromone trail for the others to follow, and it stays on the surface after the ants are gone. Wiping the run down with hot soapy water breaks it.
White footed ants run several nests: they naturally set up sub nests rather than one colony, so treating a single point leaves the others working. That is how they are built, not something a treatment causes.
Something is bridging them in: branches touching the roof or walls, mulch banked against the brickwork and garden beds hard up against the slab all give ants a way in that never crosses a treated surface.
There is still a reason to come: crumbs behind the toaster, the sticky ring under a honey jar, pet food left down overnight and a dripping tap in a dry spell will all keep pulling them back.

That is also why ant work is judged over time rather than on the day. Whether the bait has been taken and whether the trail has stopped is what shows if it has worked, and where a line is still running the bait may need changing rather than repeating the same one.

Knowing which ant we are dealing with shapes all of it. Pavement ants belong to one colony so the nest can be found and treated, where white footed ants run several sub nests naturally and take more work to clear.

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Ants foraging in a Melbourne kitchen
AFTER THE TREATMENT

Don't Just Take Our Word For It: Ant Control Reviews

★★★★★
5.0 Google Rating
320+
reviews
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A Dcruze profile picture
A Dcruze
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Great experience I noticed one of the workers had parked his van outside my new shop front we are fitting out on his way home from work & quickly bugged him about some termite damage and if it was active He came into the shop and had a quick 2 minute look over the holes in plaster we had cut out and let me know that it had been past damage and we should be okay to proceed with our framing and plastering An absolute ripper bloke to give quick and informed advice and information outside of work hours, we will keep these guys on file for if we ever need pest control services!
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KLD Home
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Ron, Candys and team did great job. Super proffesional and well organised. Much appreciated.
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Autumn Li profile picture
Autumn Li
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Very responsive and helpful! Called and they came on the day. Daniel was also very patient and explained everything and answered any questions we had :)
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Celia C profile picture
Celia C
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I’ve dealt with them several times over the years and have always been impressed by their professionalism. They provide honest advice, practical solutions, and excellent service. Highly recommended.
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barkly gerk profile picture
barkly gerk
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Mick the technician was punctual, professional, approachable, thorough, and got to the source of the issue. Very happy!
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Manuel Amador profile picture
Manuel Amador
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Yesterday, I had my first service with S.O.S. Although I still don't know the results yet, which I will share in few months, the service and customer care was outstanding. Candys & Mick answered all my questions and helped me out quickly and with authentic care. Now I understand why they have five on Google Reviews. See you in 12 months :) Cheers guys.
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Anna W profile picture
Anna W
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Fantastic experience with SOS Pest Control from the initial phone call to the work completed. Mick came out to address the extensive spiders outside our house. He was very punctual, was informative and lovely to work with. Mick was very thorough, included the garage and trampoline, and even removed a wasp nest he found on the way. Thanks heaps Mick! Highly recommend!!
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Michal Segman
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Ron and team were super professional and really accomodating when it came to my challenging schedule. Photos as part of a report were provided and the team checked in regularly over the treatment period, and also upon completion to ensure resolution. Highly recommend!
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Kristina Bratich profile picture
Kristina Bratich
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Daniel was excellent. He took his time checking everything and was polite and committed to the task/Thank you/Kristina
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Julie Loader
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Friendly technician, prompt reliable and explained the process and outcomes

Keeping Ants Out After The Treatment

Ants come back to whatever brought them in, so the treatment holds a lot longer when the trail has nothing to walk towards.

Inside the house it comes down to the small things. Crumbs under the toaster, the sticky ring under a honey jar, pet bowls left down overnight and bins that need a wipe out rather than a new liner will all keep pulling ants back.

Outside, keep branches and shrubs from touching the walls, and keep the garden beds and mulch back off the brickwork. That leaves a clear break between the garden and the house, so the ants have nothing to walk across.

We cover Cheltenham, Bentleigh, Bentleigh East, Moorabbin, Highett, Mentone, Mordialloc, Brighton, Sandringham, Hampton, Oakleigh, Clayton, Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Chadstone, Dingley Village, Keysborough, Springvale, Dandenong, Camberwell, Hawthorn, Balwyn, Box Hill, Toorak, South Yarra, St Kilda and the rest of our service areas.

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The SOS Pest Control team in Melbourne
ANT PREVENTION

How To Book An Ant Treatment

1

Tell Us Where The Ant Trails Are

Call or use the quote form and tell us where the trails are running and how long it has been going on. A photo of the ants helps us pick the bait.

2

We Track The Ants To The Nest

We follow the trails back to find where the colony actually is, then place the right bait for that species at the points they are already using.

3

We Check The Bait Is Working

Activity should drop away over the following week or two as the bait moves through the colony. Some colonies take more than one treatment to finish.

Where We Find Ants In Melbourne Homes

Ants follow warmth, moisture and food. These are the spots we check first.

Kitchen Benches
Wall Cavities
Slab Joins
Bathrooms & Ensuites
Pavers & Driveways
Garden Beds
Cafés & Kitchens
Roof Voids
Not sure which ant you have? Send a photo and we will match the bait before we arrive.Get a Quick Quote →
The SOS Pest Control team

The SOS Pest Control Difference

Experienced Pest Technicians

We have more than 23 years of experience treating ants across Melbourne homes and businesses.

The Same Pest Technician Every Visit

You deal with the same small team each time, rather than a different contractor every visit.

Licensed & Insured Pest Control

We are licensed for pest control and we are insured on every treatment we carry out.

Safer Ant Baiting Around Pets And Kids

Bait goes into the places ants travel, not across the surfaces your family uses.

Honest Pest Control Advice

We tell you where the nest is and what the treatment involves, rather than spraying a trail and leaving.

Rated 5.0 on Google

We have more than 320 five star reviews from Melbourne homes and businesses.

Get a Quote For Ant Control In Melbourne

Tell us where the trails are running and which suburb you are in. We will come back with honest advice and a clear price.

A real person calls you back, usually the same day.
Clear pricing before anyone comes out.
A clear plan, and a follow up if a trail is still running.
Quick Quote
Prefer to chat? Call us on 1300 737 821.

Ant Control FAQs

Need An Ant Exterminator In Melbourne?

Tell us where the ants are running and we will tell you what it takes to clear the nest.