Why do I get ants in my kitchen every spring?

On Long Island the spring kitchen ants are almost always pavement ants or odorous house ants. Pavement ants are dark brown, about 1/8 inch, nest in soil along cracks in pavement, patios, driveways, and foundations, and come inside in large numbers when they forage for crumbs (Utah State). Odorous house ants are the same size, brown to black, nest near moisture and in wall voids by heat sources like tubs and sliding doors, and smell like rotten coconut when crushed (Utah State). Crush one and you'll know which you have.

Repellent sprays kill the workers on the counter and cut the indoor ants off from the colony. With odorous house ants that triggers budding, where a queen and workers split off and start a new nest, so one trail becomes three nests in the walls (Utah State). Non-repellent baits do the opposite: the ants don't detect them, walk through them, and carry the product back to the queens. Sweet liquid borax baits clear a small pavement ant invasion in about five days (Utah State).

The classic setup is a 1950s or 1960s split or ranch in Plainview, Levittown, Hicksville, or Massapequa with a patio slab off the kitchen and a sliding door with a worn threshold. The colony is under that slab. Treating the nest sites along the foundation and baiting inside ends the annual return; wiping the counter and spraying the trail guarantees it.