Shade, Old Trim and Rail Corridors: What Bugs Montclare's Tudors and Bungalows

A Jens Jensen pond plan and a neighborhood that dries slowly

In 1909 Jens Jensen, then superintendent of the West Park Commission, drew a plan for land the Rutherford family had donated here, calling for native plants, trees and a pond in a low area. That vision survives as the Rutherford Sayre Natural Area inside Rutherford Sayre Park, about 14 acres assembled from three adjoining parcels along the railroad. Thomas A. Rutherford, the area's first postmaster, gave the eastern section near Belden and Oak Park avenues, his sister-in-law added five acres in 1909, and the Sayre family contributed land in 1916. The three pieces were combined into one park in 1999.

The rest of Montclare is less a nature area than a mature suburb inside the city, but it shares that park's character: big trees, shade and soil that stays moist. Single-family homes cover roughly 250 acres here against about 63 acres of multi-family housing, and decades of maples, oaks and elms now arch over the parkways and back yards. Shingles, gutters and wood trim under that canopy dry slowly after every rain. That one fact explains the two leading pest calls in the neighborhood, carpenter ants in damp wood and squirrels traveling the limbs to the roof.

Carpenter ants: parent colonies outside, satellite nests in the trim

Black carpenter ants are the largest ants in Chicago homes, often a half inch long, and they nest in wood rather than soil. They do not eat it. Workers excavate smooth galleries in wood that moisture or decay has already softened, pushing out coarse frass that looks like sawdust mixed with bits of insulation and insect parts. A mature parent colony usually lives outdoors, in a hollow limb, an old stump or a buried landscape timber, and it sends out satellite colonies into nearby damp wood. Under Montclare's canopy, the house is often the nearest damp wood.

Satellite nests show up in predictable spots on the local housing: the half-timbered trim and wood-framed gables of Tudors, window frames beneath gutters that overflow, porch roofs and their support posts, the sill plate under a leaking downspout and bungalow soffits that have been painted many times over rot. Large black ants on a kitchen floor in March or April, before outdoor colonies are active, strongly suggest a nest inside the structure. Winged swarmers indoors in May or June confirm a mature colony.

Treatment means finding the nest rather than spraying the ants you see. A provider follows the foraging trail, usually at night when workers are most active, to the void where the colony lives, treats it directly with a non-repellent product and often treats the outdoor parent colony as well. Then comes the part that prevents a repeat: fixing the gutter, flashing or downspout that softened the wood, and replacing wood that is too far gone. Trimming limbs back from the roof helps against both ants and squirrels.

• Coarse frass piles under a window sill, beside a porch post or below a soffit.
• Faint rustling inside a wall or window header on a quiet night.
• Large black ants trailing along a foundation or a tree limb that touches the house.
• Winged ants indoors in late spring, often near a window.

Fourteen houses in 1889, then the Grand Avenue streetcar

William Sayre bought land here at a Jefferson Township land sale, and the 1870s brought a railroad and a planned subdivision that developers named for Montclair, New Jersey. Growth was slow. When the township was absorbed into Chicago in 1889, it had about 14 houses and 120 residents. The real change came in 1912, when the Grand Avenue streetcar was extended out to the neighborhood and builders began putting up Tudor Revival houses for families who wanted a near-suburban feel inside the city.

Brick bungalows followed through the 1920s, and Cape Cods and Georgians filled the remaining lots after World War II. Today about 14,000 people live in just under one square mile, the Mont Clare Metra station near Grand and Sayre still serves the Milwaukee District West line, and Elmwood Park sits directly across Harlem. Many of the streetcar-era Tudors have features newer houses lack: basements of porous brick or early poured concrete, coal chutes bricked over decades ago and clay sewer laterals that may have cracked. Each can let in water, and with it centipedes, millipedes and the occasional rat.

Squirrels on steep gables and painted-over soffits

Eastern gray squirrels and the larger, rust-colored fox squirrels use Montclare's canopy as a road system. From an overhanging limb they can reach nearly any roof, and the housing gives them plenty of ways in. Tudors have steep cross-gables, wood-trimmed eaves and decorative chimneys. Cape Cods have dormers whose cheek walls meet the roof at awkward angles. Bungalows have hip roofs with wood soffits that have been painted many times. Squirrels chew into softened corners, gaps where gutter boards meet fascia and the screening behind gable vents.

Females look for den sites in late winter, so February and March bring the first scratching at dawn, followed by a second wave in late summer. Removal works best through exclusion rather than trapping: the specialist inspects the whole roofline, seals secondary gaps, installs a one-way door on the main entry and closes it off with thick steel mesh after the last animal is out, then repairs the damaged wood. If young are present, the work is timed so none are sealed inside. Steep Tudor roofs are a job for someone with proper ladders and anchors.

Rail acreage, the old Dunning spur and rats on the south side

Transportation uses, mostly streets and railroad right-of-way, take up close to 200 acres of Montclare's land, an unusually large share for a residential community area. The Milwaukee District West tracks run along the southern edge beside Rutherford Sayre Park, and a former rail spur that once ran north toward the old Dunning institution grounds has since been removed. Those corridors give Norway rats long, undisturbed travel routes, and blocks along the tracks see more alley burrows and garage activity than streets near Belmont.

Rats along the tracks follow fence lines to food, so the usual draws are carts that do not close, compost, fallen fruit and spilled birdseed. Effective control pairs locked, anchored bait stations along the fence and garage with real garage repairs: a new door sweep, patched slab edges and replacement of any rotted sill plate. Asking 311 to have the public alley baited helps, and coordinating with neighbors on the same alley helps more. Before the visit, note where you have seen rats cross at dusk and whether a neighbor's garage door leaves a daylight gap at the bottom; those details tell the technician where the colony actually lives and where stations will do the most good.

Mice and moisture in streetcar-era basements

House mice are the most widespread indoor problem once the weather cools. In bungalows they come in through softened mortar, old wood basement windows and gaps around gas and water lines. In Cape Cods and Georgians with attached or close-set garages, they often enter through the garage and reach the kitchen through a shared wall or utility opening. The first droppings usually appear in October, behind the stove or in a basement storage area. A provider traps along the runways, seals entry points with steel or copper mesh and sealant and checks the garage, which is often the staging area.

Older basements also hold moisture pests. A Tudor basement that smells musty after rain, silverfish in a laundry sink or house centipedes running across the floor at night point to humidity first. Run a dehumidifier, extend downspouts, check that old coal chute openings are fully sealed and have a plumber camera any clay lateral if droppings or debris appear near a floor drain. Fixing the water problem usually ends the insect problem without treatment.

How the year goes, roof to basement

Late winter starts the wildlife season and fall ends with the mouse push, with wood insects in between. The shade here can delay spring drying by a week or two compared with sunnier blocks, so carpenter ant activity on north-facing trim often runs a little later than on open lots. Use this as a rough guide, and expect a wet spring or a mild fall to shift each stage.

• February and March: squirrels and the occasional raccoon look for attic and chimney nest sites.
• March and April: carpenter ants appear indoors from satellite nests in walls and trim.
• May and June: carpenter ant swarmers; termites swarm in the few houses with wood-to-soil contact.
• July and August: rat activity along the tracks; second round of squirrel litters.
• September and October: squirrels gather acorns and test missed openings; mice begin moving indoors.
• November to January: best window for roof and foundation exclusion work.

Checklist for Tudors, bungalows and Cape Cods

These steps target the single-family houses that make up most of Montclare. Several address the tree canopy directly, because shade and limbs drive both the ant and the squirrel problems. Roof work on steep Tudor gables is often best left to a roofer or wildlife specialist with the right equipment, but most of the ground-level items are weekend jobs an owner can finish before the spring swarm season.

• Trim limbs so no branch comes within six to eight feet of the roof.
• Remove dead stumps, hollow limbs and buried landscape timbers that could host parent ant colonies.
• Clean gutters twice a year and extend downspouts away from sill plates and porch posts.
• Replace soft fascia, soffit and half-timber trim rather than painting over it.
• Install chimney caps and steel mesh behind gable and soffit vents.
• Repoint soft mortar at grade on bungalows and screen basement windows.
• Weatherstrip the door between an attached garage and the house.
• Keep bird feeders well away from the house and store seed in metal cans.

On the city side of Harlem: booking and what to expect

Montclare sits right on the city limit, with Elmwood Park across Harlem Avenue. Animals and insects do not stop at the line, and many providers work both sides. If a squirrel or ant problem seems to involve a neighbor's tree, stump or garage, a specialist may suggest talking with that owner too. Chicago rules apply to your house, including 311 requests for alley rat baiting, while the village next door runs its own services. Forest preserve land along the Des Plaines River lies a short drive west, so raccoons and opossums occasionally travel in along rail corridors and wooded yards.

A carpenter ant visit usually includes an outdoor walk to find foraging trails and parent colonies, an indoor inspection of likely nest sites and advice on the moisture source. A wildlife visit starts with a roofline inspection, an explanation of where animals are entering and whether young might be present, then one-way doors and a return trip to seal and repair. Illinois regulates nuisance wildlife removal, so ask whether the provider holds a state permit. Same-day slots are often available when an animal has reached living space.