Silver Spring Ant Control
Family-owned & local since 1968
Ants up through the slab, along the sink, or out of the woods behind your yard. We find the nest and treat it at the source.
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From Your Silver Spring Neighbors
Trusted Ant Control in Silver Spring, MD — in Our Customers' Words
Hear what Northern Virginia and Maryland homeowners have to say about our service — in their own words. Real customers from real homes, sharing why they trust Better Termite with what matters most.
- Homes protected
- 100k+
- Google reviews
- 4.9★
- Years local
- 58+
Why Better Termite
Ant Control in Silver Spring you can trust — from $49/mo with no binding contracts.
Lower-Impact Products
Hand-picked, EPA-approved treatments selected by our research team — without 9 of the harshest products still used by most companies.
Local Ant Control Experts
Family-owned since 1968, with 300+ years of combined experience protecting Silver Spring homes. A licensed local tech answers the phone.
The Better Promise
Unlimited free re-services and no binding contracts — we keep coming back until your problem is gone. Cancel anytime with 30 days notice.
About Better Termite
Silver Spring Ant Control That Fits the House You Live In
A Split-Level, a Cape Cod and a Condo Get Ants in Different Ways
Silver Spring is not really a city. It has no city hall and no mayor. It is a large unincorporated part of Montgomery County that runs from the towers by the Metro out to wooded lots in Kemp Mill and Colesville. Within a few miles you can find a 1920s bungalow, a 1940s brick Cape Cod, a 1960s split-level and a new condo. Each one gets ants a different way, so each one needs a different plan.
So nobody shows up with one spray for every house. We name the ant, find its water and its way in, then use a non-repellent product the workers haul back to the nest without noticing. Our in-house research team cut 9 common products that did not meet our standards, and each visit ends with a written report.
We are a family business that has worked in Montgomery County homes since 1968. Pricing is simple: $49/month to start, three scheduled visits each year, return trips at no charge when ants reappear, and you can leave any time with 30 days notice. Dial 703-683-2000 to reach a licensed technician, not a call center.
Local Ant Pressure
Why Ants Thrive in Silver Spring
A Hundred Years of Houses Side by Side
Woodside Park filled in during the 1920s. Woodmoor, Indian Spring and Four Corners grew through the 1930s and 1940s with brick Cape Cods and colonials. Kemp Mill came in the late 1950s with brick split-levels and ramblers, and Colesville Manor added more split-levels in the 1960s. Downtown has been rebuilt with mid-rise and high-rise apartments. Older homes have settled foundations and tired wood trim. Newer buildings have long plumbing runs and shared walls. Ants use all of it.
Stream Valleys Behind the Backyards
Sligo Creek starts in Silver Spring and runs about 9 miles south toward the Anacostia. Northwest Branch, Long Branch and Rock Creek cut through town too, and Wheaton Regional Park and Brookside Gardens sit just north. Those parks are full of fallen limbs, old stumps and damp leaf litter. That is prime carpenter ant and field ant country. When your yard backs onto parkland, the nearest big colony may be 50 feet from your deck.
Hilly Lots That Send Water at the House
Much of Silver Spring is rolling ground. Split-levels and walkout basements were built into those slopes, so one wall of the lower level sits below the yard. After a summer storm, water runs downhill and soaks the soil against that wall. Ants follow the moisture. They nest in the damp soil, then find the slab joint, a cracked block or a gap at the door threshold to get inside.
Slabs & Lower Levels
Ants Coming Up Through the Floor of a Silver Spring Split-Level
The Slab Under the Family Room
In a Kemp Mill or Colesville split-level, the family room and laundry usually sit on a concrete slab. The slab meets the block wall at a joint, and after 60-plus years it has settled and cracked. Pavement ants nest in the soil under that concrete and push little piles of sand up through the gaps. Odorous house ants use the same cracks. You see them along the baseboard, under the laundry sink, or in the garage next to the dog food.
What the Worst Slab House Taught Daren
Our technician Daren calls one slab house the worst ant job he has seen. Trails three or four ants wide ran all around it. Two things were feeding them: wood rot along the house, and a pile of mulch against the walls that the owners added to every year. They had fought ants on and off for about 10 years. Once the rot was fixed, the problem stopped. His lesson: a slab will always have cracks, so keep mulch thin, pull it a few inches back from the siding, and fix wet wood fast. Learn how to spot them on our pavement ant page.
Wooded Lots
Carpenter Ants Near Sligo Creek and Northwest Branch
Big Black Ants From the Woods Out Back
Homes in Indian Spring, Northwood Park, Franklin Knolls and Kemp Mill often back right onto stream valley parkland. Carpenter ants live in the dead wood there and forage at night, sometimes 100 yards from the nest. When they find a soft spot on your house, they start a second nest. On ramblers and split-levels we find them behind gutters, in fascia boards, under leaky window sills and where a deck is fastened to the house.
Spraying Alone Will Not Fix It
A lot of people think a carpenter ant problem gets sprayed once and is done. Daren says that is the biggest myth he hears. Carpenter ants do not chew through healthy lumber. They hollow out wood that moisture has already softened and broken down. Until the leak or rotted trim is fixed, more ants will keep moving in, no matter how much product goes down. So we treat the nest and the trails, then show you the wet wood that drew them. If you see big black ants inside in late winter, the nest is likely inside the walls. Our list of signs of carpenter ants shows the clues.
Townhouses & Condos
Ants in Silver Spring Townhouses and Condos
When the Colony Lives Next Door
Downtown, Fenton Village and the blocks around the Silver Spring and Forest Glen Metro stations are packed with townhouses and condo buildings. In these homes, the tiny dark ants on your counter are usually odorous house ants. Their colonies have many queens and spread out into many nests. One colony can live in a shared wall, a pipe chase or the soil under a stoop, and send trails into two or three homes at once. That is why wiping up a trail in your kitchen does nothing for long.
How to Get Ahead of It
In a townhouse, we treat inside along the trail and outside along your foundation, steps and utility lines. In a shared building, the trail may start outside your unit, so tell your HOA or building manager what you see and where. Either way, skip the store-bought sprays. A repellent spray makes an odorous house ant colony split up and move, and now you have two nests instead of one. Our guide to tiny ants in the kitchen explains why.
Ants or Termites?
Flying Ants or Termites in a Silver Spring Basement?
Check the Waist and the Wings
Winged ants and termite swarmers both show up in spring, often near a basement window or a sliding door. Here is the fast check. A winged ant pinches in at the middle like an hourglass, its antennae bend like an elbow, and its back wings are clearly shorter. A termite swarmer is one straight tube from head to tail, with straight beaded antennae and two matching pairs of wings that drop off easily. Piles of loose wings on a sill point to termites. Our comparison of carpenter ants vs termites has photos.
The Ant Call That Was Really Termites
Daren once went out to start an ant plan for "flying ants" in a basement that had just been fully remodeled with new floors. They were termite swarmers. Because the sill plate was covered by new drywall, he had to warn the owners that treatment might mean drilling into their brand-new floor. It is a good reason to have a licensed tech look before you assume. If your swarmers turn out to be termites, our Silver Spring termite control team can set up a free homeowner inspection.
Every spring, pavement ant colonies fight turf wars on sidewalks and driveways. It looks like a pile of pepper that moves
Old webs can be full of dead ants or swarmers. Daren reads them like a map to find where a trail is coming from
Odorous house ants are small and brown-black, and they give off a rotten-coconut smell when crushed. Most Silver Spring kitchen calls are this ant
Outdoor work stays on the house: the foundation line, the steps and each place a pipe or wire enters. We leave the lawn alone
Termite workers are pale and soft. If you find these in damp wood instead of ants, call us before you treat
Little sand piles at the edge of a walk or along a slab joint are the calling card of pavement ants
Everything We Do
Every service we offer in Silver Spring — one local team, one phone call.
Core Programs
- Home Pest Control in Silver Spring
- Termite Control in Silver Spring
- Rodent Control in Silver Spring
- Mosquito & Tick Control in Silver Spring
- Extermination Services in Silver Spring
- Eco-Friendly Pest Control in Silver Spring
- Sentricon® Termite Baiting in Silver Spring
- IN2CARE® Mosquito System in Silver Spring
- Commercial Pest Control in Silver Spring
- Pre-Construction Termite Control in Silver Spring
Insects & Spiders
- Ant Control in Silver Spring
- Carpenter Ant Control in Silver Spring
- Sugar Ant Control in Silver Spring
- Spider Control in Silver Spring
- Roach Control in Silver Spring
- German Cockroach Control in Silver Spring
- Oriental Cockroach Control in Silver Spring
- American Cockroach Control in Silver Spring
- Flea Control in Silver Spring
- Silverfish Control in Silver Spring
- Carpet Beetle Control in Silver Spring
- Pantry Pest Control in Silver Spring
- Stink Bug Control in Silver Spring
- Lady Bug Control in Silver Spring
- Boxelder Bug Control in Silver Spring
- Cricket Control in Silver Spring
- Tick Control in Silver Spring
- Earwig Control in Silver Spring
- Millipede Control in Silver Spring
- Centipede Control in Silver Spring
- Pill Bug Control in Silver Spring
- Springtail Control in Silver Spring
- Clover Mite Control in Silver Spring
Stinging & Flying
Rodents & Wildlife
What Our Customers Say
1800+ Reviews on Google "We had a bad cockroach problem - we knew it was bad because of all the baby cockroaches we spotted. It took a while but Better Termite ultimately solved it and our house is cockroach free. Cindy in particular, was quick to help out and made it pain free."
"I highly recommend this company for your home pest control. Their technicians are thorough and have prevented any unwanted problems from happening on our property. During our last treatment, Jasmine took care of our outdoor spider webs without us even asking. Last summer they removed a mud dauber's nest under our deck and above our patio door. That attention to detail speaks volumes. Thank you for taking care of us!"
"The team at Better Termite & Pest control are phenomenal! I feel like my family and my home are in good hands. Everyone I have come into contact with has been responsive, pleasant and professional. The price is right and the service is superb!"
"Joann is amazing! She always takes time to talk with me and check inside boxes. I so appreciate her!! I have been using Better Termite and Pest Management for over 20 years."
"I love Darren over at Better Termite. He is always so attentive and kind, and really goes, IMO, out of his way to do a fantastic job. And I am so happy that I had NO MOSQUITOES this summer in my backyard in spite of the fact that there is a drainage area right behind my house, and that is 100% because of Better Termites services."
"We had a bad cockroach problem - we knew it was bad because of all the baby cockroaches we spotted. It took a while but Better Termite ultimately solved it and our house is cockroach free. Cindy in particular, was quick to help out and made it pain free."
"I highly recommend this company for your home pest control. Their technicians are thorough and have prevented any unwanted problems from happening on our property. During our last treatment, Jasmine took care of our outdoor spider webs without us even asking. Last summer they removed a mud dauber's nest under our deck and above our patio door. That attention to detail speaks volumes. Thank you for taking care of us!"
"The team at Better Termite & Pest control are phenomenal! I feel like my family and my home are in good hands. Everyone I have come into contact with has been responsive, pleasant and professional. The price is right and the service is superb!"
"Joann is amazing! She always takes time to talk with me and check inside boxes. I so appreciate her!! I have been using Better Termite and Pest Management for over 20 years."
"I love Darren over at Better Termite. He is always so attentive and kind, and really goes, IMO, out of his way to do a fantastic job. And I am so happy that I had NO MOSQUITOES this summer in my backyard in spite of the fact that there is a drainage area right behind my house, and that is 100% because of Better Termites services."
How It Works
How Ant Control Works in Silver Spring
A Licensed Tech Answers
Call 703-683-2000. Tell us what the ants look like, which floor you see them on, and whether you live in a house, townhouse or condo. That shapes the plan, and you get a price on the call.
78-Point Inspection
We find the ant first, then its water and its way in: the lower-level slab joint in a split-level, the eaves and fascia on a rambler, the sink and dishwasher lines in a condo kitchen, and the wood line out back.
Non-Repellent Treatment Indoors
Along the trail we place material the ants cannot detect. Workers haul it back to the nest and feed it to the queens, so the colony shrinks from the inside. No fogging rooms and no spraying open floors.
Foundation and Entry Points Outdoors
We treat the base of the foundation, door thresholds, steps, slab edges and utility openings. Where wood rot is feeding a carpenter ant nest, we point it out so it can be repaired.
Three Visits a Year
Triannual service lines up with the spring swarm, midsummer foraging and the cool-weather move indoors. You get a written report after each visit that lists what we found and what we used.
Free Return Trips
Ants back before the next visit? Call, and a technician returns at no charge, as many times as needed. Nothing locks you in; 30 days notice ends the plan.
Your Local Office
Ant Control Across Silver Spring, MD
From Downtown, Woodside and Forest Glen to Four Corners, Indian Spring, Kemp Mill, Hillandale, White Oak and Colesville, across ZIP codes 20901 to 20906 and 20910.
Get in Touch
Call Us
703-683-2000Email Us
info@bettertermite.comVisit Our Alexandria (Headquarters) Office
2647 Duke StreetAlexandria, VA 22314
Office Hours
- Mon, Tue, Thu7:30 AM – 7 PM
- Wed, Fri7:30 AM – 8 PM
- Sat, Sun9 AM – 6 PM
Good to Know
Silver Spring Ant Control Questions
Still have questions? A licensed local tech picks up at (703) 683-2000.
Our Free Callback Promise
See pests between scheduled visits? We come back and retreat at no extra cost — as many times as it takes. No binding contracts, cancel anytime with 30 days notice.
Other Services in Silver Spring
Ant Control in Nearby Communities
Your Local Office
Silver Spring is served by our Alexandria, VA team.
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