Ants

(Family Formicidae)

Ants are invaders, tiny soldiers that march their way into households around the world.  They’re found in private homes, buildings, hospitals, restaurants, warehouses, offices. Wherever there’s food and water, the ants will find a way in.

Ants help control outdoor pests such as fleas, termites and caterpillars. They’ll feed off dead insects and dead animal tissue. Ants protect insects that produce honeydew – soft scales, whiteflies, aphids and mealybugs.

Winged ants resemble termites.Worker ants are easily recognized in their wingless, adult form. Worker ants are sterile females that keep the colonies in perfect condition for the queen. In warm weather, they travel with crowds to mate and build new colonies. Workers gather food, protect and feed the larvae, build tunnels, and defend the colony. The Queen is the largest ant in the colony. She lays eggs and participates in their feeding and grooming. Workers feed and care for the males, whose sole purpose is to mate with the Queen.

Over 12,400 species of ants exist in the world, but less than a dozen irritate humans. When it comes to battling with ants, Full Force Ant Exterminators is your best defense.

Odorous House Ants

(Tapinoma sessile) 1/8 in. Dark brown or black.

These little workers love sweets and proteins. They’re the most common household ants that scurry across floors and counters. Normally, they live outdoors in shallow debris and soil mounds. Before the rainy season comes, give Full Force Ant Exterminators a call. Odorous house ants get indoors looking for food and a dry place. They’ll camp around heaters, water pipes or in wall holes. If crushed, they’ll release a strong, rancid odor akin to rotting coconut or blue cheese.

Pavement Ant

(Tetramorium caespitum) 3/16 in. Dark brown or black

Pavement ants nestle under stones, boards and in lawns. They eat sweets, grease and protein and build mounds near water or along buildings and sidewalks.

Ghost Ant

(Tapinoma melanocephalum) 1.3 to 1.5 mm. (0.05 to 0.06 of an inch.)

Like their namesake, Ghost ants will sneak up on humans. Their legs and abdomen are pale and the rest of their body is dark, making them hard to spot. Ghost ants are mostly found in Florida but have appeared in the North after travelers and businesses accidentally carried and shipped them out. They feed on sweets and like to stay in heated buildings. Crushing Ghost ants releases a rancid smell like Odorous ants. Full Force Ant Exterminators will search for colonies in wall voids, flowerpots, and baseboards.

Carpenter Ants

(Camponotus spp.) ¼ to ½ inch. Black/Bi-colored red and Black

Carpenter Ants are the largest, industrious worker ants in the U.S. and thrive around wood. They’re found in tree stumps, fence posts, firewood, window frames or hollow doors. Carpenter ants eat feed on ripe fruit juice, insects and sweets. They typically avoid human homes, but if seen crawling around, call Full Force Ant Exterminators immediately is the best solution. Carpenter ants make nests in decaying wood and while they don’t cause damage, they weaken the wood structure of any home or building.

Rover Ants

(Brachymyrmex spp) 2.5mm. (0.10 of an inch.) Pale yellow to black-brown.

Hide the sugar bowl, syrups, and honey and clean up the crumbs, otherwise tiny, bothersome Rover ants will march across floors, rugs, and countertops. They typically reside outdoors in pine forests, nestled by the trees, in soil, and deadwood. They’re found on beaches and prairies, hiding in plant debris and thatches of grass. In urban areas like New York, they set up small colonies in wall voids and infest homes, buildings, hospitals and offices. Fortunately, Rover ants don’t eat wood or create structural damage, but their presence is enough to make a call to Full Force Ant Exterminators.

Argentine Ants (aka Sugar Ants)

(Linepithema humile) 1/8-inch long. Medium brown

Argentine ants, usually found on the California coast, thrive on sugar, sweets, oil, and crumbs. With hundreds of queens, the colonies number in the millions. They nestle under slabs, debris, soil, mulch and wood in shallow mounds. Argentine ants are all the same size and move rapidly in long trails on sidewalks, up the sides of buildings, and trees. Come spring, Argentine ants enter homes looking for dry nesting areas and they’re hard to miss. You’ll spot them along carpet edges indoors.

Fire Ants

(Solenopsis invicta) 1/16 to ⅕ inch long. Reddish body – dark brown gaster on the abdomen and stinger

Aggressive, with burning, painful stingers, Fire ants thrive in hot, sunny climates, nesting in visible mounds seven inches tall and two feet wide. They avoid wooded areas. Fire ants hunger for meat, grease, vegetable and sweet food sources ranging from insects to dead animals and plant seeds. Fire ants repeatedly sting victims with an alkaloid venom and send humans to the hospital with severe reactions – Sweating, nausea, and extreme itching. Their bites may leave red bumps, white pustules and scars. Some people may develop fatal reactions. It’s vital to call Full Force Ant Exterminators immediately and medical assistance for stings. It could save lives.

Crazy Ants

(Paratrechina longicornis) 2.2mm to 3mm long. (0.09 to 0.2 in.) Dark brown to black

Frantic, erratic and unpredictable, Crazy ants originated in Southeast Asia but are a world-wide environmental pest. They eat a variety of foods such as dead insects, sweets, and grease. Check the electronics, because they keep warm in wires and circuitry. But they’re versatile, and found in dry and moist habitats – rotted wood, tree cavities, under rocks, and buildings. Crazy ants scatter all over and can reportedly heap by the thousands over one dead ant, making their infestation easily distinguished from other ant species. Crazy ants lose direction without a leader, but following as they carry food will reveal where their nest is located. Full Force Ant Exterminators will track them down fast.