This species of ant is native to Argentina and Brazil and was probably introduced to the United States in freight ships around the 1890’s. These ants can be found in southern states and in California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Washington.

Common Name: Argentine Ant, Size: 1/16"to 1/4", Shape: Segmented, Oval, Color: Dark brown to black and shiny,Legs: 6, Wings: Varies, Antenna: Yes, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Species: Linepithema humile, Species: Linepithema humile

DIET

Argentine Ants prefer sweet substances but will eat almost anything including meats, eggs, oils and fats. Also, when foraging for food, Argentine ants leave pheromone trails everywhere they go, instead of just from nest to food source. This habit ensures they do not waste time visiting the same area twice. While in other ant species worker ants are primarily responsible for gather food, Argentine queens also assist with foraging for food.

HABITAT

Argentine ant colonies are located in wet environments near a food source. These colonies can grow to monumental size, sometimes covering entire habitats, such as an entire garden or your whole back yard

Carpenter Ants get their name because they build their nests in wood. That can cause significant damage to the wood in your house. There are nine types of carpenter ants throughout the U.S. and range in size from one-quarter inch (about the width of a pencil) for a worker carpenter ant to three-quarters of an inch (about the size of a quarter) for a queen carpenter ant.

Each colony is established by a single, fertilized queen. She starts her nest in a cavity in wood, where she raises her first brood of workers. She feeds them saliva and does not leave the nest or feed herself during this time. When they are ready, those workers then get the job of gathering food to feed the next generation. Once mature, this first generation of worker ants work to increase the food supply for the colony. The colony population grows very rapidly. A colony can eventually produce 2,000 or more workers.

Common Name: Carpenter Ant, Size: 5/8", Shape: Oval, Color: Range in color from red to black, Legs: 6, Wings: Varies, Antenna: Yes, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Species: Camponotus, Family: Formicidae

lifecycle

• Swarms appear in the Spring.
• The colonies of carpenter ants can live from 3-6 years.

DIET

Carpenter ants do not eat the wood they remove during their nest-building activities, but deposit it outside entrances to the colony in small piles. The diet of carpenter ants includes living and dead insects, meat, fats and sugary foods of all kinds, including honeydew and nectar from plants.

When Norway rats invade buildings, they usually remain in the basement or ground floor. They also live in fields, farms, woodpiles and buildings. Their nests are usually lined with shredded paper or cloth.

HABITAT

Carpenter ants build nests anywhere they can find water and moldy or damp wood, such as tree stumps, firewood or in the plants around your house. Carpenter ants also build nests inside, usually entering buildings through wet, damaged wood, although it isn’t uncommon for them to adapt to drier environments.

Habits

• Locations - both moist and dry wood, but prefer moist, eg wood dampened by water leaks.
• Internally - excavate galleries in wood with a smooth appearance.
• Externally - sometimes hollow out sections of trees.
• Visibility - hunt for food mainly at night but also during the day in early spring / summer. Signs include sawdust, wet wood, or unusual noises coming from the walls.
• Feeding - primary food is honeydew, also eat plant secretions, fruit juices and insect remains. They do not eat wood. In homes they are attracted to sweet substances, fats, grease and meats.
• Contact - rarely come into contact with people, but if they do will try to escape. They cannot sting.

Carpenter ants don’t carry disease, but when building a nest inside a home, Carpenter Ants dig smooth tunnels inside the wood. These tunnels weaken the wood and potentially damage the wood that keeps the house standing. This kind of damage can be very expensive to fix.

PREVENTION

• Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
• Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
• Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
• Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.

This ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smells it gives off when crushed and the fact that they commonly nest in or around houses. Native to the United States, these ants are very social, living in colonies of up to 100,000 members.

Common Name: Odorous House Ant, Size: 1/16"to 1/8", Shape: Segmented, Oval, Color: Brown or Black, Legs: 6,Wings: Varies, Antenna: Yes, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Species: Tapinoma sessile, Family: Formicidae

Lifecycle

Time to adult phase of development is 34-38 days.

• Typically live for several years.

DIET

Odorous house ants like to eat dead insects and sugary sweets, especially melon.

HABITAT

ypically living for several years, these ants commonly make their homes in exposed soil, under stones, logs, mulch, debris and other items. They will also nest in wall and floor cracks.

Habits

• Feeding - eat most household foods, especially sugary food, eg sweets and fruits such as melon. Also eat pet food.
• Locations – attracted to moisture. In hot, dry environments nests can be found in house plants and even lids of toilets.
• Odor - produce a coconut smell when crushed.
• Colonies - range in size from 100-10,000.

IMPACT

Odorous House ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.

PREVENTION

• Avoid using other individuals' combs, hats, towels, etc.
• Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
• Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
• Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
• Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.

Although these ants can live inside, they get their name because they make their nests in or under cracks in pavement. They are typically found in the eastern half of the United States, California and Washington. Pavement ant colonies average 3,000 to 4,000 members and have several queens.

Common Name: Pavement Ant, Size: 1/8", Shape: Segmented, Oval, Color: Dark Brown to Black, Legs: 6, Wings: Varies, Antenna: Yes, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Species: Tetramorium caespitum, Family: Formicidae

Lifecycle

• Visible Spring and Summer.
• Have been known to emerge any time of the year in heated structures.

DIET

These ants will eat almost anything, including insects, grease, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, meats, nuts and cheese.

HABITAT

This ant gets its name because it most commonly nests in soil next to and beneath slabs, sidewalks, patios, and driveways. Indoors, pavement ants nest under a building’s foundation and within hollow foundation walls.

Habits

• Feeding - eat almost anything that humans eat, and also pet food.
• Visibility - seen entering houses looking for food, most often at night. May move through pipes and electrical wires.
• Nesting - in lawns or under stones, wood, or boards. Mounds built along sidewalks, baseboards, and near foundations in clusters. Colonies found near water.

IMPACT

Pavement ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.

PREVENTION

• Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
• Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.

Fire Ants are more aggressive than other ant species and have a painful sting. These ants and their telltale mound nests should be actively avoided. Red Imported Fire Ants can adapt to many climates and conditions in and around their environment. For example, if the colony senses increased water levels in their nests, they will come together and form a huge ball or raft that is able to float on the water!

Common Name: Fire Ant, Size: 1/8" to 3/8", Shape: Segmented, Oval, Color: Dark Reddish Brown, Legs: 6, Wings: Varies, Antenna: Yes, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Species: Solenopsis invicta, Family: Formicidae

Lifecycle

• After swarming from the nest and mating the queen searches for a suitable spot to lay her eggs. Once found, she can lay up to 125 eggs in late spring.
• Larvae hatch within 8 to 10 days, and the pupal stage lasts for 9 to 16 days.
• Larvae feed on secretions from the queen’s salivary glands and broken down wing muscles until the first worker ants emerge. After this first batch of larvae moult into workers the queen’s role returns to egg laying – she can lay up to 1500 per day. Worker ants continue with larval care, nest building and food foraging.
• Fertile males are produced later in the season.

DIET

They primarily feed on vegetation.

HABITAT

Red imported fire ants will build their nests in mounds of soil outdoors, in landscape areas or near a building’s foundation. They occasionally enter buildings through holes or cracks in walls and foundations.

Habits

• Foraging workers diet consists of dead animals, including insects, earthworms, and vertebrates. Workers also collect honeydew and forage for sweet food, proteins, and fats.
• Swarming characteristics – mating between queens and fertile males takes place on the wing mid to late summer. Males perish after mating.
• Nest locations can be a mound of up to 40 cm or next to objects found on the ground, e.g. logs.
• If aggravated, these react aggressively and can inflict a painful sting, resulting in a pustule some 48 hours later.
• These ants are a major agricultural and urban pest, destroying crops and invading residential areas both outdoors and indoors.

IMPACT

The sting of a Red Imported Fire Ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.

PREVENTION

• Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
• Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
• Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
• Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.