Ant Pest Control Services
Carpenter Ants
Color: The common western species of carpenter ants are dull black in color with reddish legs and golden hairs covering their abdomens. Other species are black, a combination of red and black, or completely red or brown.
Characteristics: Carpenter ants don’t eat wood like termites. Instead, they push the bits of sawdust called frass out of the tunnels they create.
Size: Worker carpenter ants vary in size, ranging from 1/8 of an inch to 1/2 an inch long. The queen carpenter ant can be up to 5/8 of an inch long.
Potentially Dangerous: To property, not people.
Description: Usually found in old firewood, rotting fence posts, stumps and dead portions of living trees, and even under stones and logs
Nesting Sites: Carpenter ants will nest both indoors and outdoors, they will nest inside of wood that is hollow, wet, moldy, or decaying. Outdoors carpenter ants can be found nesting in tree stumps, fallen logs, firewood, and other landscaping; inside they will nest in water damage wood found behind walls and underneath of flooring. Carpenter ants only use wood to nest in, not to feed on; like other ant species, they will create their nesting areas close to their food sources such as sweets and meats.
Damage
Carpenter ants can jeopardies the structures in Texas as they hollow out the wood making it unstable. They can cause painful bites to humans.
Signs of an Infestation
A sign of a carpenter ant infestation is to see large ants in your home, particularly in kitchen and pantry areas where they are foraging for food. If you have carpenter ants in your home you may hear “rustling” or “crackling” sounds from behind your home’s walls as they work.
Another sign is an ant swarm, a carpenter ant swarm occurs when the winged reproductive members of a mature carpenter ant colony leave the colony and “swarm” together looking to mate and establish a new colony.
Carpenter Ant Prevention
- Remove moisture around your home
- Replace old or damaged wood that may be moist.
- Seal any cracks or crevices found in your home’s exterior walls.
- Remove potential food sources inside the home and out like spills or crumbs left behind.
Pavement Ants
Color: Brown to black bodies with paler legs and antennae.
Characteristics: Build outdoor nests in cracks of pavement, along curbs and under rocks. Inside they commonly nest in walls and under floors.
Size: Typically about 1/16 of an inch to 1/8 of an inch long, although the queens are much larger at 3/8 of an inch long.
Potentially Dangerous: No
Description: They are attracted to other insects, honeydew, seeds, plant sap and household foods such as meats, nuts, cheese, honey and bread, pavement ants will seek out foodstuffs in or around your home. These pests often nest inside walls, insulation and even under floors and like to be near a heat source during the wintertime. They will follow pipes, which come through slabs to access the upper floors of buildings.
Nesting Sites: They are outside in the cracks of pavement, underneath of sidewalks, cement slabs, bricks, logs, stones, patio blocks, and in the cracks along curbs. Pavement ants may find their way inside of homes and other buildings as they forage for food. Once inside they may decide to stay and nest behind walls, under floors, and in insulation.
Signs of Infestation
Pavement ants will be in large numbers and may overtake homes and outdoor patio areas as they forage for food by following a scent trail from their nest to food source, you may also see these in your kitchen.
Pavement Ant Prevention
- Trim back trees and bushes away from home.
- Seal cracks and crevices found in and around home.
- Remove garbage from around your home.
- Keep food sealed up.
Pharaoh Ants
Color: Pale yellow to red bodies. Abdomens are almost black. The queen is slightly darker in color.
Characteristics: Often pose a serious threat to hospitals where they infest IV units, medical preparation areas, and even open wounds.
Size: 1/16 inch in length, although the queens are about twice that size.
Potentially Dangerous: Yes
Crazy Ants
Color: Usually reddish brown.
Characteristics: Have tiny hairs on their bodies. Known for their erratic behavior when foraging, these pests look like they’re running all over.
Size: Approximately 1/8 of an inch long.
Potentially Dangerous: No
Nesting Sites: Officially called “Rasberry Crazy Ants” they have been known to build their nests inside walls and even inside electrical equipment like air conditioning units. Crazy ants will nest in both dry and moist areas; outside they can be found nesting in the soil, in tree cavities, under rocks, under rotten wood, and under buildings. Crazy ants don’t like and can’t survive in cold weather; they will move inside from the outside to infest homes and other structures when the weather becomes too cool for them.
Damage
They can take over your yard and your home quickly. Their populations are enormous and they even drive out other types of ants and animal populations. They are known to bite, but their bite is considered less painful than that of fire ants, for example. They are a problem when they enter your home in large numbers or when they build their nests inside your home or inside electrical equipment, which can then cause the equipment to malfunction.
Signs of Infestation
Crazy ants move in an erratic, jerky way. Other ant species will move in a straight line as they work together searching for and gathering food, crazy ants do not, they move in more of a frantic zigzag pattern. The unique “crazy” way that they travel is the best indicator of your home being infested by crazy ants.
Argentine Ants
Color: Light to dark brown
Characteristics: Argentine ants tend to have massive colonies with several queens. These ants eat anything but prefer sweets.
Size: Usually about 1/16 of an inch long. The queens tend to be larger, approximately 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch long.
Description: Argentine ants have a tendency to make their way indoors when the weather is very wet or very dry, or when they are short on honeydew as sweets, oils and fats will do as a substitute.
Nesting Sites: Outdoors Argentine ants build shallow nests along sidewalks, along buildings, underneath plants, under logs, and under boards or stones. They usually build their nests in moist soil that is located near food sources.
Signs of Infestation
Argentine ants are a type of “trailing” ant which means that thousands of ants will walk single file following a trail that is 200 feet or longer from their nesting area to a food source. This trail of ants is one of the major indicators that Argentine ants have nested in or near your home. Other signs include ants flocking to areas of moisture like around pipes and in bathroom areas. You may also find these ants crawling over everything in your home
Argentine Ant Prevention
- Eliminate clutter around home including leaves, firewood, and toys.
- Don’t overwater around your homes foundation.
- Trim back trees and bushes around home
- Seal Cracks and crevices in foundation and around windows and doors
- Keep food sealed and protected