Odorous House Ants, Sugar Ants, and Nuisance Ants
| Pest | Odorous House Ants; Sugar Ants, Nuisance ants |
| Pest category | Nuisance Ant Species – Common Names |
| Do they Carry Disease? | No |
| Do They Cause Structural Damage? | Yes |
| Other Damage? | Psychological. These ants can infest and cause to be wasted large stores of food products. |
| Signs to Look For | Ants foraging in and around structures; piles of sand/dirt at cracks and crevices in sidewalks and concrete/asphalt slabs. These ants are typically first noticed in and around kitchens and bathrooms…on the counters and around sinks, cupboards, cabinets and plumbing fixtures where they are foraging for food and moisture. They get worse as the season goes on and the colonies continue to grow. They do not go away on their own, they have to be forced to leave. |
| Where are they noticed? | Can be seen anywhere in a structure. Noticed normally in kitchens and bathrooms, around concrete slabs, garden beds etc… |
| Habits | Prefer nesting in warm, moist areas. Often found inside homes in attics, crawlspaces and wall voids. Can also be found nesting under concrete slabs, driveways and in flower beds. Prolific foragers, traveling large distances in search of food. Noticed primarily in warmer months. Colonies can have more than one queen and any structure can be home to multiple colonies. Treatments usually require visits over a longer period of time. |
| If Untreated… | The infestation will continue to grow until a point where no part of the structure will be free from ant activity. |
| Tips | Over the counter products offer a temporary fix, but this species of ant will be back. The right products applied in the correct manner make all the difference in being rid of this pest. Non-residual products, as well as ant baits, reach the queen at the heart of the colony. Over the counter products, while they can kill worker ants, will alert the rest of the colony to danger. This, often times, forces the colonies to move to different parts of the structure and can also cause the colonies to split and create what are known as “satellite colonies”. When this happens the infestation worsens. Do it yourself methods are especially discouraged with this species of ant. |
