Odorous House Ants
Your Ant Problem, Gone For Good, Guaranteed.
DESCRIPTION:
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Odorous house ant workers are brown to black and 1/16 to 1/8-inch long. The best identifying characteristic is the rancid butter smell these ants produce when they are crushed, hence their name. When alarmed, the workers scurry around with their abdomens raised in the air.
BIOLOGY:
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These ants swarm to mate from early May through mid-July, and also mate in the nest, forming new colonies by budding off the original colony. A colony has approximately 10,000 workers and several queens, each laying one egg a day. Developmental time (egg to adult) is 34-83 days; however, during the winter, it may take six to seven months. Workers and queens live for several years.
HABITS:
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Odorous House Ants often nest outdoors under stones, logs, and in the nests of larger ants. They can also nest indoors in wall or floor voids, and around heat sources. These ants travel in trails and prefer sweets, although they eat almost any household food. They usually invade structures during rainy periods after honeydew on plants has washed off.
Odorous House Ants
These are really small ants that can easily live inside of your home. They are so small that they can find ways into your wall voids. Odorous house ants smell like rotten coconut when smashed.
Pavement Ants
These little black ants are often found building their cone shaped colonies in the cracks of your sidewalk. You can also find them invading any structure that is built on the ground level.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants do not eat wood, but they burrow through it and create the tunnels and galleries that will form their nest. While not as destructive as termites, carpenter ants can still do a lot of damage.
Pharaoh Ants
If you see a small yellow ant in your home, you are probably looking at a Pharaoh ant. These ants love anything sweet and are completely happy to create nests inside of homes and buildings.
Argentine Ants
This species of ant does not swarm. Instead, argentine ants create connecting colonies with a queen for each one. This strategy makes them difficult to eliminate because there are so many egg-laying queen ants.
Acrobat Ants
Acrobat ant nests are most often found in areas with moisture. That means if you have high moisture areas in your home, that is where this type of ant will build it’s nest.
Thief Ants
These tiny ants get their name from their questionable activity. They sneak into larger ants nests and steal larva. If a thief ants get into your home, they will gladly switch from eating stolen larva to stealing your food.
