Ant Calls Up 22% in Nashville-Area Homes After Record-Dry September

September 2026 was the driest September on record in Nashville, and our technicians felt it in Middle Tennessee kitchens. When we compared this September’s residential service visits with last September’s, one pest stood out: ant calls were way up. As we explained in our drought and pests article, when the ground dries out, ants go looking for water, and the most reliable water around is often inside your home.

A September for the record books

Nashville’s official weather station at the airport recorded only a trace of rain for the entire month, making September 2026 the driest September on record. A typical September brings about 3.6 inches of rain (WSMV).

• It was the first September in Nashville’s records, which go back to the 1870s, with no measurable rainfall.
• It was only the second month ever with no measurable rain in Nashville. The only other was October 1963.
• The previous driest September was in 2019, with just 0.02 inches.
• It was hot, too: the average high was 93.2°F, tying 2019 for the hottest September on record.

Franklin and Clarksville were nearly as dry, and drought conditions spread quickly across Middle Tennessee (WKRN). For ants, that meant the usual outdoor water sources dried up fast.

What our September service data shows

• Ant calls in Nashville-area homes rose 22% compared with September 2025.
• Ant calls in homes served by our Hendersonville branch rose 9%.
• Mosquito, tick, and flea treatments rose 8% in the Nashville area and 13% in the Hendersonville area. Biting pests didn’t take September off.

In both areas, ants also made up a larger share of the residential calls we handled than they did last September, a sign that this was about what pests were doing, not just a busy season.

Why ants move indoors when it’s dry

Every ant colony needs water. In a normal September, ants find it in damp soil, dew, and puddles. In a drought, those sources disappear, and foraging ants follow moisture to dripping outdoor spigots, AC condensate lines, damp crawl spaces, watered flower beds, pet bowls, and the kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms inside your home. A trail along a countertop or around a sink is often the first sign.

Common ants Tennessee homeowners deal with

These are the ants our technicians run into most often in Middle Tennessee homes:

• Odorous house ants: small, dark brown ants that give off a rotten-coconut smell when crushed. They’re the classic kitchen-counter trail, and dry spells and heavy rains both push them indoors.
• Pavement ants: small dark ants that leave little piles of sand in sidewalk and driveway cracks, then wander inside through slab cracks.
• Argentine ants: light-to-dark brown ants that form huge, busy trails and have many queens, so store-bought baits rarely wipe them out.
• Carpenter ants: large black or red-and-black ants that nest in damp or damaged wood. Piles of coarse sawdust are a warning sign.
• Fire ants: reddish ants that build mounds in sunny lawns and sting when disturbed. Mostly an outdoor problem, but a painful one.
• Pharaoh ants: tiny yellowish ants that turn up in kitchens and bathrooms. Spraying can make a colony split into several new ones.
• Acrobat ants: named for raising their heart-shaped abdomens over their backs, they often nest near moisture-damaged wood.

Not sure which one you have? Our Tennessee ant identification guide can help you tell them apart.

Mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas stayed busy too

Warm, dry fall weather didn’t slow biting pests down. Mosquito, tick, and flea treatments were up in both of our residential service areas. Ticks in Middle Tennessee stay active year-round, which is why our mosquito control and tick control programs run all twelve months.

What you can do now

• Fix dripping outdoor faucets and make sure AC condensate lines drain away from the house.
• Wipe up crumbs and spills, and store sugary foods and pet food in sealed containers.
• Don’t spray ant trails with household sprays. They can scatter a colony and make the problem harder to solve.
• Seal gaps around pipes, windows, and doors where ants are coming in.
• Keep mulch and plants a few inches back from your foundation.

When to call a professional

If ants keep coming back after a few days, you see trails in more than one room, or you notice large black ants near wood, it’s time for help. Large black ants can be carpenter ants, which can damage wood. Our ant control service finds where they’re coming from and treats the colony, not just the trail, and it’s backed by our Whatever It Takes Guarantee.

Call us at 615-590-1260 and talk to a real person in our local office, or schedule a free inspection.

How we measured this

We compared U.S. Pest Protection residential service visits completed September 1–30, 2026, with the same dates in 2025, for our Nashville and Hendersonville branches. Ant calls are visits where ants were the only pest listed for the service. Mosquito, tick, and flea treatments are counted together. Commercial accounts are not included. We share percentages rather than totals.