The ants you actually see here
Three ants cause most of the calls in the Lansing area. Pavement ants are the small dark ants that nest under driveways, patios, and slabs and trail inside along foundations. Odorous house ants are the ones that march across the kitchen counter toward anything sweet and give off a coconut smell when crushed. Carpenter ants are the big black ants that matter most, because they tunnel into damp or aging wood to nest and are worth taking seriously in older East Lansing homes and anything near trees.
Signs you have an ant problem
Trails of ants along counters, baseboards, and the foundation are the obvious sign. With carpenter ants, watch for piles of what looks like fine sawdust (frass) near wood, a faint rustling in walls, or winged ants indoors in spring, which points to a nest inside the structure rather than outside.
How ant control works
Killing the ants on the counter does nothing for the colony. The fix is to trace the trail back, treat the nest and the entry points, and lay a treated barrier around the foundation so new foragers cannot get in. For carpenter ants, finding the moisture or wood problem that drew them matters as much as the treatment, or they come back.
Call and connect with a local East Lansing exterminator who can identify the ant, find the nest, and handle it inside and out.