About Orange County

Ants are successful because they are social insects often forming complex colonies. Certain species of ants are specialized in their behavior, for example, living on only one type of tree. Many other species are very adaptable and exploit numerous different living environments and food sources.

The presence of ants in nature ensures the health of the natural environment. In homes and other buildings, however, ants are not so welcome. The same reasons ants are successful in nature makes them very well suited to sharing man's living quarters.

Structures can be threatened by damage from carpenter ants. Pharaoh ants can carry disease organisms. The stings of fire ants can threaten a person's health.
 

Basics of Ant Control
Controlling ants in structures need not be so difficult. To be successful, you must follow a few basic rules:

1. Identify the species of ant involved. (critical)
2. Perform a thorough inspection.
3. Determine where the ant colonies are located.
4. Treat the ant colonies directly if possible.
5. Use baits for ant colonies that cannot be treated directly.

It is not always possible to find where the ant colony is located. In this case, bait insecticides placed directly in the path of ants or where ants can find them are very effective and can save a tremendous amount of time.

Time-Saving Tips
Practicing a few proven field tips can save time in uncovering the source of an infestation.

CARPETS - Most pest ants like to trail under the edge of carpets. Inspect along the walls under the carpet beside the tack strip. A good place to start is in front of fireplaces and sliding glass doors. When foraging ants are found, try to trail them back to their colony location.

FOUNDATIONS - When ants are found inside along exterior walls, look for colonies living in the soil beside the foundation.

VEGETATION - Ants like to nest and forage in trails out of sight behind any vegetation which rests against foundations, patios, etc. Pull back the vegetation to look for ants. Attempt to follow foraging ants back to their colony.

GROUND SURFACES - Any item sitting on the ground could harbor a colony of ants. Check under all items, especially those near the foundation.

MULCH - Mulch often harbors numerous colonies of ants such as pavement ants, fire ants, crazy ants and Argentine ants. Rake mulch back from the foundation to check for colonies.



Don't Buy Retail Ant Baits !
Most over the counter baits sold at hardware stores and retailers do not contain the same attractants or active ingredients as professional use baits.  Although the packaging and advertising may appear convincing, millions of dollars are wasted by consumers annually on over the counter ant bait products that simply do not work.  For this reason, epestsupply is committed to offering only the finest Professional Quality ant bait products and at the lowest possible price.  You can depend on epestsupply and our commitment.

 

Ant Control By Species

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Fire Ants

 
Imported Fire Ant
1/4" - 1/2" inch, reddish brown, different sizes of workers

 

There are 3 species of fire ants that are common to the Southern US. The red imported fire ant, the imported fire ant, and southern fire ants. Fire ants are a significant health threat due to their stings. Regular outdoor applications to lawns and foundations are often necessary because re-infestation from neighboring properties is common. The key to fire ant control is to locate all mounds and treat them. Mounds can be treated by drenching with liquid insecticides.  Fipronyl is carried by back to the ant mounds by the workers and then fed to the ant population.  Fipronyl is then spread throughout the colony by means of food sharing by the ants and then slowly wipes out the entire population including the queens.  Fipronyl is non-repellent to the ants which means that they cannot sense that there is a pesticide or toxicant present which greatly encourages feeding and the consumption of the bait.

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Carpenter Ants

Carpenter Ants
Minor workers 1/4" inch, Major workers 1/2 inch", tan, red, black

Carpenter ants are one of natures most aggressive wood destroyers.  Similar to termites, carpenter ants damage wood.  They can do lots of damage.  As such, they are of economic importance to the pest control industry and to homeowners alike.  Unlike termites however, carpenter ants do not eat wood for food.  Carpenter ants only bore into wood to establish and/or enlarge their nest.  Carpenter ants eat aphids.  Its their #1 choice of food.  Carpenter ants will care for, groom, raise and nurture aphids within their colony in special "aphid" chambers.  Carpenter ants do this to derive "honeydew" from the Aphids.  Aphids secret honeydew which is the Carpenter ants favorite food.  Carpenter ants take care of Aphids to get their honeydew.  Its nature's way of allowing ants and aphids to live in harmony with each other.  What happens when the Aphids stop secreting honeydew?  They become carpenter ant bait!

It has often been thought that in order to get rid of Carpenter ants, all one has to do is to get rid of the Aphids.  Aphids will attack all kinds of outdoor plants, so by spraying the plants you get rid of the Aphids.  Unfortunately, this often provides poor control since Carpenter ants can forage several hundred yards looking for Aphids.

Carpenter Ant Damage
Carpenter ants can be considered wood destroying pests because of their ability to cause damage to wood.  The amount of damage carpenter ants cause is usually far less in comparison to that of subterranean termites, however, if carpenter ant nests are left untreated and undisturbed, the shear numbers of ants can be enormous and the resulting damage caused by "mining" of wood to increase the nest can be substantial.

Carpenter ants cause damages to wood primarily due to nest construction.  In other words, damages are only a result of their nest building efforts.  As a general rule, carpenter ants do not damage wood as heavily as subterranean termites, but given enough time and a large enough nest, damages can be severe.  Carpenter ants have a habit of cleaning and polishing the galleries in the wood.  The galleries are smooth in appearance and do not resemble the rough jagged appearance of subterranean termite galleries.

Big Black Carpenter Ants Excavating A Nest




Carpenter Ant Damage To Pole

 

During the mining or excavation phase of nest building, Carpenter ants make small "kick-out holes" out of which all the trash and debris accumulated within the nest are tossed out.  The tossing's which consist primarily of wood chips, insect particles, dead ants, etc, often form small scattered piles.  These small scattered piles are often referred to by professionals as "frass".  If frass is found, then it should be carefully inspected with a magnifying glass to determine that it is carpenter ant frass and not the frass of drywood termites.  Drywood termites (only found in southern coastal regions) will toss frass out of small kick out holes too.  The difference is that drywood termite frass is made up of their excrement and does not contain any insect particles, wood shavings, etc.  Drywood termite frass only contains drywood termite fecal pellets which if viewed under a magnifying glass resemble a small football with 6 concave sides.

Any wood destroying  insect damage should be a cause for concern and should be carefully evaluated.  If you discover that carpenter ants are the problem then the appropriate action needs to begin immediately -  and preferably during the early stages of colony development. If you let the carpenter ants continue to populate and the nest to grow, then control becomes much more difficult and in some severe cases almost impossible to achieve.



Types of Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants in North America usually involve 3 main species.  The Florida Carpenter Ant usually referred to as the red and black carpenter ant, the Camponotus Modoc (western US) and Camponotus Pennsylvanicus (eastern US) usually referred to as the big black carpenter ants will be focused on in this discussion.  Since the Florida Carpenter Ant, Camponotus Modoc and Pennsylvanicus  have similar nesting patterns and feeding patterns, we will focus on control of carpenter ants in general, although all carpenter ant species may have different diets and habits depending on the geographical region in which they are located, time of year, and certain other factors.
 

Florida Carpenter Ant
(also referred to as the red and black carpenter ant)

Big Black Carpenter ant colonies are usually of moderate size, some containing over 3,000 workers (up to 10-15,000 including satellite nests) when maturity is reached in about 3 to 6 years. The typical western carpenter ant (C, Modoc) mature colony contains about 10,000-20,000 workers, with large colonies having up to100,000 workers. Developmental time (egg to adult) for workers takes at about 60 days. Workers have different sizes (polymorphism), with majors, minors and intermediates present.

There is usually only one functional, wingless queen per colony. Swarmers are not produced until the colony is more than 2 years old, usually 3.5-4 years old for C. Pennsylvanicus and after 6-10 years old for C. Modoc.  Swarmers appear from May until August in the east and from February through June in the west.
 

View of the adult stages of the carpenter ant: Top Right- Queen Top Left - Male Bottom Right - Minor worker Bottom middle - Intermediate worker Bottom Left - Major worker

 

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Signs of Carpenter Ants
In order to effectively eliminate carpenter ants, you have to be absolutely sure that it is carpenter ants to begin with.  Look for the following signs:

• Presence of ants (workers or winged reproductives) - An occasional ant may be a scout looking for food and may not indicate the presence of a nest, but continuous or numerous ants are a sign of nesting.
   
• Frass - Accumulating in piles or caught in spider webbing; has a finely-shredded appearance. Do not confuse with small sawdust from construction, doors or cabinets rubbing on one another, or drywood termite fecal pellets.
   
• Trails - Carpenter ants will often form tight closely associated trails that can be traced to the area of the nest.  Many times trails can be tracing along carpet edges, door frames, outside eaves, fence tops, telephone and power lines, etc..
   
• Sounds - Rustling or tapping noises produced when disturbed ants rasp the substrate with their mandibles or gasters or when excavating wood. If you put your ear up to a hollow door and then scratch your fingers on the other side, the scratching sound will give you a good idea of what carpenter ants sound like. 
   

Finding Carpenter Ant Colonies 
Carpenter ant control begins with a search for the colony or nest.  Before any efforts are made to eradicate carpenter ants, a program or strategy needs to be implemented.  Do not simply spray "something" on the carpenter ants without considering the consequences.  Simply spraying an "over the counter poison" on the ants without any other consideration will greatly complicate your control and sometimes make the infestation much worse. 

#1  Reason you do not want to spray:  Sprays will only kill the exposed worker ants.  Spraying will have no effect on the queens.  Therefore if large numbers of worker ants begin to die - guess what happens ?  The queens will lay more eggs, and since the queens will not be killed by sprays, the number of eggs will grow and multiply and eventually outnumber by many times the numbers of the original workers.  That means your carpenter ant colony is now several times larger - all because the ants have a "natural tendency to survive".

#2  Reason you do not want to spray:  Most chemical pesticide sprays tend to be very repellent to the ants.  Chemical or pesticide repellency simply means that the ants can sense the presence of pesticides and they will avoid them.  That's right - the worker ants will simply avoid the chemical that you sprayed and travel or trail around it. If the chemical is sprayed too close to the nest, the queens will engage the workers to pick up the eggs and move the nest farther away from the pesticide !  And usually, as a result of moving, the queens will also engage the workers to divide or "split" into several new nests.  This splitting of dividing of the carpenter ant nest is also called "satelliting"  After the new nests are setup and established, the new queens begin to lay more eggs and the entire carpenter ant system is divided and now instead of a single nest there are several nests to deal with, making control much more difficult.

Some pest control technicians as a result of using repellent sprays or dusts actually create more problems than they solve !  Yes, they use repellent sprays thinking they are "doing a good job", but create more problems than they solve - as a result of not following rule #2.

Their are no non-repellent pesticide sprays labeled for ant use.  The only product that comes close to being non-repellent is PHANTOM a liquid spray product that also has an indoor ant label.  Termidor also has an ant label for outdoor barrier use.

The only non-repellent dusts are Borid, Timbor and Nibor.  The ants will contact these dusts by crawling or trailing through them not realizing the presence of the dust.  The ants will die within 7-14 days after being exposed these products.  Nibor can be mixed with water and sprayed like a liquid pesticides.  When the water evaporates it leaves a thin film of Nibor on surfaces sprayed.

The bottom line is, you have to find or make an attempt to find the carpenter ant nest and not use repellent sprays or dusts.


Most nests of C. Modoc which can be found are associated with (in order of frequency):

Outside walls and voids - 35%
Attic - 21%
Ceilings - 19%
Crawl space - 19%
Other Interior sites (including interior walls, roof, sill plate, and supports in crawl space and stacked lumber)
Porch pillars
Support timbers
Window framing and sills
Roofs
Shingles
Siding
Girders
Joists
Studs
Casings of houses, garages and other buildings
Insulation
Drawers of dressers and cabinets
Behind books
In hollow doors
Under floors
Attic spaces
Buried wood, stumps or construction debris

Nest Location Outside Structures:

Forest (within 50 meters) - 27%
Live trees (excavate heartwood; enter by knotholes, wounds, etc.) - 17%
Dead trees, stumps or logs, buried wood - 16%
Wood debris - 8%
Decorative wood in landscape - 7%
Stacked lumber - 3%
Firewood - 3%

Carpenter ants can usually be controlled by finding and treating their colonies located in wall voids and wood. Drilling and dusting of infested walls and voids with insecticidal dusts are very effective.

Perimeter treatments with a liquid spray will help prevent ants from entering. Applications with to trees where colonies are located are also helpful.

Outdoor baiting such as is the most effective long term solution.
 

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Acrobat Ants

 
Acrobat Ant
1/8" inch, tan, red, workers all same size

 

Acrobat Ants are similar to carpenter ants but are much smaller in size. They nest in old carpenter ant galleries, termite galleries, in voids and in insulation. The key to identifying acrobat ants is to look for a heart shaped abdomen that is often raised well above the main body. This raising of the abdomen is a defensive mechanism that acrobat ants use to fend off their enemy.  The same treatment techniques that apply to Carpenter ants apply to Acrobat ants.

Outdoor baiting such is the most effective.

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Pharaoh Ants

 
Pharaoh Ant
1/16" inch, yellow, reddish brown, workers all same size

 

Pharaoh ants can only be effectively controlled through a comprehensive baiting program. Treatment with liquid insecticides actually makes the infestation worse by causing the ants to "bud" or "split" into several smaller satellite colonies. There are many excellent baits on the market for pharaoh ant control. The more successful baits contain special attractants. They also contain a slow acting poison that gives the worker ants time to get back to the colony and feed them. Again, it must be emphasized that spraying makes pharaoh ants worse. In areas where Pharaoh ants do not respond to baits, Pharorid Ant Growth Regulator may be the answer. Pharorid contains "Methoprene" an ant growth regulator.  Using growth regulators for ants will result in sterilization of the queens and ultimately elimination of the nest.

Another indoor alterative for Pharoah ants is the application of Phantom Insecticide.  Phantom Insecticide is an odorless, non-repelling spray the kills ants within a few weeks of application.  Phantom works by entering the ants nervous system through grooming and food sharing and then systematically kills the ants through a degeneration process.  Phantom is very effective at controlling most hard to kill species of ants.

Outdoor baiting such is the most effective.

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Little Black Ants

 
Little Black Ant
1/16" inch, black, workers all same size

 

Little black ants most often forage inside structures from colonies located outside. Location of nest or colony and it's treatment with a residual spray will provide good control.  Try following the ants back from the food source.   Dusting the voids of outside ground-floor walls and infested interior walls along with the outside spray treatment is effective.  Baiting with the recommended baits is also effective.  Treatment with a residual spray along foundations, and around windows are helpful in preventing foraging ants from entering. 

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.

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Pavement Ants

 
Pavement Ant
1/8" inch, workers all same size

 

Pavement ants like to nest next to and under sidewalks and other types of slabs. They often enter buildings through expansion joints in slabs. Application of insecticides through these cracks may help in controlling the colony beneath. In severe infestations, a slab floor may need to be drilled and treated by pumping chemical underneath with a specially equipped sprayer. Outside perimeter treatments with products are helpful in preventing re-infestation.

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.

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Crazy Ants 

Crazy Ant
3/8" inch, unusually fast moving, workers all same size

Crazy ants are one of the most difficult ants to control in structures. Their colonies are often numerous and they are aggressive foragers. Perimeter treatments with a liquid spray insecticide are helpful where crazy ant colonies are abundant outdoors. Several baits are effective against crazy ants.

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.

 

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Odorous House Ants

Odorous House Ant
1/8" inch, brown color, workers all same size

 

Odorous house ants get their name from the fact that workers give off a rotten coconut odor when crushed. They are often confused with the Argentine ant except their one node is flattened, not pointed, and it is not visible from above or the side because it is hidden by the abdomen. They are small, brown ants about 1/8-inch (3 mm) in length. Workers of the odorous house ant are all one size.

The odorous house ant is closely related to the ghost ant but is easily distinguished by size and coloration Ghost ants are considerably smaller and have a dark head and thorax and pale, almost translucent, abdomen and legs. The antennae of both species have 12 segments and no club.

Odorous house ants are found throughout the United States and from Canada to Mexico. It is a major structural pest in California, particularly in central and Northern California. Its presence in Southern California is less frequent in areas populated by Argentine ants. It is also found up the gulf coast into Oregon and Washington. In the mid-south region of the U.S. in northern Mississippi, west Tennessee, and Arkansas, it is the primary pest ant invading buildings. It will also occasionally be found infesting structures throughout the lower Midwest.

Odorous house ants rival Argentine and crazy ants in their persistence in invading buildings. Its basic biology and habits are similar to those of the Argentine ant.

As seen with many successful tramp pest ants, this species has multiple queen colonies numbering tens of thousands of workers. Huge extended colonies, or "super-colonies of foraging trails along which workers, food, and brood (larvae and pupae) are exchanged. The workers from separate colonies are antagonistic to each other so separate colonies will not integrate and split apart as is seen with the Argentine ant. Workers and queens may live for several years.

Colonies also frequently occur under the loose bark of trees, in cavities in trees, and in bird and animal nests, including honey bee hives. The colonies locate themselves in the top of the hives, apparently for the warmth the hive produces. The ants feed little on the honey even though they are ravenous sweet eaters.

Inside they will commonly nest in wall voids, particularly around hot water heaters and hot water pipes. Dusting these areas with Borid Dust will provide good control.  Outside perimeter treatments with residual sprays are especially helpful. Odorous house ants love sweet baits containing sugar and or honey.

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.

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Argentine Ants

Argentine Ant
1/8 inch (2.6mm) light to dark brown

 

The Argentine ant is a small, light to dark brown ant about 1/8 inch (2.6mm) in length.   They have been reported to crawl onto people and bite them while they are asleep.   Reports from the early 198%'s describe babies being attacked in their cribs. 

The Argentine ant is most often confused with the odorous house ant, but the node on the abdomen of the Argentine ant has a sharp, pointed peak, while that of the odorous house ant is flat in shape and is hidden.  It may also resemble the Crazy ant and the Small Honey ant, however, the Argentine ant does not have a small circle of hairs on the tip of its abdomen.  Argentine ants have multiple queen colonies and the queens will often be found along argentine ant trails.  Occasionally, winged queens will be seen in a colony.  The Argentine ant is important because it is ideally suited to urban environments.  Where it occurs, it can be one of the most difficult pest ants to control.

A single colony of Argentine ants can contain thousands of workers and many queens.   The queens in an Argentine ant colony live about 1 year.  A typical colony consists of about 90% workers and 10% Queens.  Control of Argentine ants typically requires a thorough outdoor baiting treatment.

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.   This combination is currently under evaluation by the USDA, several Universities as well as many Vineyards in the California NAPA Valley and provides the most promising control of argentine ants.

Indoors, treatment of wall voids with Borid Dust usually provide the best results.  Indoor baiting with Gourmet Ant Bait Gel or Whitmire Dual Choice is also effective.

Don'ts - Do not spray any repellent spray pesticides around Argentine Ants.  Spraying will not kill the queens but will increase the egg laying and will only compound the problem.  Only use liquid baits on Argentine Ants outdoors.

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Ghost Ants

Ghost Ant
1/16-inch (2 mm), dark head and thorax and a pale abdomen and legs

 

The ghost ant is a very tiny ant less than 1/16-inch (2 mm) long that has a dark head and thorax and a pale colored, almost translucent, abdomen and legs. For this reason, it may also be called the black-headed ant. The ghost ant is related to the odorous house ant   and resembles it except for the size and color. The odorous house ant is larger and is colored completely brown. Like the odorous house ant, ghost ant workers emit a rotten coconut odor when crushed.

A colony of ghost ants may be moderate to large in size, containing thousands of workers and numerous reproductive queens. Colonies are typically located in sites that are too small to house an entire colony so the colony is usually divided into sub-colonies.

The ghost ant's primary habitat is outdoors, and like most successful tramp ant species, it is highly opportunistic in its nesting habits. It will nest in soil, in debris in crotches of trees, dead tree limbs, under and inside logs, in and under firewood, and under stones.

Indoors, colonies will be located inside walls, in boxes, between sheets, towels, and folded clothing, in waterbeds, and virtually any other dark protected site. One colony was discovered in a Miami home when the iron was plugged in and ghost ants poured out of the holes in the bottom of the iron! This ant challenges the Pharaoh ant for versatility in selecting nest sites.

The workers are very fond of the honeydew secreted by aphids, mealy bugs, and scales and will protect them from predators.  Ghost ants readily attack and kill insects and will forage on dead insects in window sills and around outdoor light fixtures. Indoors, ghost ants show a preference for sweets. They are commonly found inside packages of candy, sugar, and similar foods in kitchen pantries.

Ghost ants seem to have a high need for moisture.  Ghost ants readily live inside wall voids, and homeowners often report seeing workers trailing out of electric outlet plates, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms. Like Pharaoh ants, these ants use electric wires to travel from room to room. By removing electric outlet plates and inspecting with a flashlight, foraging ants can sometimes be seen in these areas. These boxes can be baited with baits.

Successful control of ghost ants depends on the ability to locate foraging ants and nesting sites. Ghost ant colonies living in the soil or under items, such as stones or logs, should be treated by drenching each individual colony with a residual insecticide using a hand held sprayer or backpack sprayer.

Ghost Ant colonies living inside wall voids can be treated by drilling a small hole into the wall and injecting a small amount of an aerosol or dust insecticide such as  Borid Dust.

If the ghost ant colony cannot be located, outdoor liquid ant bait stations must be used.  Sweet baits  seem to be preferred over other liquid baits by ghost ants..

Some experts have found that ghost ants respond better to granular ant baits if the granulars are ground into finer, smaller particles.

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.

Don'ts - Do not spray any repellent spray pesticides around Ghost Ants.  Spraying will not kill the queens but will increase the egg laying and will only compound the problem.  Only use liquid baits or non-repellent insecticides on Ghost Ants outdoors.

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White Footed Ants

White Footed Ant
1/8inch (3 mm)

 

White-footed ant workers are about 1/8inch (3 mm) in length. The body resembles that of the crazy ants.  The legs and antennal scape (first long segment) of this species, however, are much shorter. The key identifying character is the pale yellow coloring at the end the legs. This species also resembles the odorous house ant, except for the white-footed ant's darker color and light colored  legs.

This ant is a pest in south Florida in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties in south Florida. It also has been found in Naples, Fla., and Sarasota, Fla. It is a pest on Oahu in Hawaii, and established colonies have been found in San Francisco, Calif.  It is now an established pest of structures in south Florida, and it may very well be the most difficult structure-infesting ant to control where it occurs. Many pest control experts have literally "thrown up their hands" in surrender when attempting to control this species.  The white-footed ant appears to be more of a pest of homes than of commercial buildings, but given time this species should become more widespread in its range and infest all types of structures.

Huge colonies containing several million adults are formed and winged females emerge annually in large numbers from late May to mid June. Colonies that have multiple queens and also contain "intercastes" that have the characters of both queens and workers and which can produce eggs and assist in colony reproduction. The colonies can be huge and eventually contain up to one million individuals. Almost half of the colony consists of workers; the other half is made up of "intercastes" (wingless males and females). Satellite colonies are formed and connect together by foraging trails, creating a large extended colony or "super-colony." A single extended colony of this ant has been observed to affect numerous adjoining homes, thus confounding control efforts directed at single dwellings.

White-footed ants are particularly fond of sweets and, like many ants, will tend and protect aphids, mealy bugs, and scales that produce "honeydew." A unique observation is that no oral exchange of food seems to occur among adults of this species. Nutrient transfer occurs via specialized trophic eggs that are produced by all females ( queens, intercastes, and workers). These trophic eggs serve as the food source for the intercasts that do not forage. For this reason, baits prove to be ineffective because only foraging workers may be killed, not the other half of the colony - the queens and intercastes that do not forage.

Outside, trails of white-footed ants will usually be quite visible on walkways, foundations, and the sides of buildings. Once a trail of ants is found, workers carrying bits of food or whose abdomens appear swollen with food or water will usually be returning to the colony. The trail should be followed in the direction in which these workers are heading.

Successful control of White Footed ants depends on the ability to locate foraging ants and nesting sites. White Footed ant colonies living in the soil or under items, such as stones or logs, should be treated by drenching each individual colony with a quality residual insecticide using a hand held sprayer or backpack sprayer.

White-Footed Ant colonies living inside wall voids can be treated by drilling a small hole into the wall and injecting a small amount of a dust insecticide .  Be sure to use a good duster.

If the White Footed ant colony cannot be located, outdoor liquid ant bait stations must be used.  Sweet baits seem to be preferred by White Footed ants.

Some experts have found that White Footed ants respond better to granular ant baits if the granulars are ground into finer, smaller particles using a coffee bean grinder.

Outdoor baiting is the most effective.

Don'ts - Do not spray any repellent spray pesticides around White Footed Ants.  Spraying will not kill the queens but will increase the egg laying and will only compound the problem.  We recommend to use liquid baits on White Footed Ants outdoors.
 

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Thief Ants

Thief Ant
1/16inch (1.3 to 1.8 mm)

 

Thief ants are tiny ants less than 1/16inch (1.3 to 1.8 mm) in length, probably the smallest ants found infesting structures. The workers are light brown or yellow in color. The antenna has 10 total segments and ends in a 2-segmented club. The first segment of the antenna is about half the length of the head. It has a sting at the tip of the abdomen, but the sting may not be exerted and visible.

The thief ant is most often confused with the Pharaoh ant which is the same general size and color. The primary difference between the two species is the thief ant has a 2-segmented antennal club while the Pharaoh has a 3-segmented antennal club.

Thief ants are found throughout the United States. The thief ant is likely not a single species but rather a group of closely related species. It has been estimated that dozens of species and subspecies could be involved in this group. This ant is nicknamed a "thief' because it commonly lives near the nests of other ants and "steals" their larvae and food to feed its own colony. They enter the other ants' nests by means of tiny passages that are too narrow for the larger ants. Thief ants may be considered beneficial because they kill and eat the immature forms of some pest ant species. In Florida, they are known to be predators of fire ant queens.

A thief ant colony is relatively small, containing workers of one size (monomorphic) and many queens. The queens are about 1/5-inch (5 mm) in length. In one study of this ant's biology, the queens were found to deposit 27 to 387 eggs which hatch within 16 to 28 days. Larvae may complete development in as little as 21 days, but this period may be greatly extended when the ants overwinter as larvae. The pre-pupal and pupal stage last from 15 to 38 days combined.

As stated earlier, thief ants will nest in or near the colonies of other ant species. The author has discovered several colonies of these ants while collecting carpenter ants from wood in trees or logs as well as wood in structures. Nests outdoors may be located in the soil under items such as rocks or logs and inside decaying wood found in stumps and logs. Inside structures, thief ants will nest in a variety of locations including wall voids, cabinet voids, and behind baseboards.

Workers forage in set trails which can be found along baseboards, inside cabinets and closets, and on walls. They can use electric wires to move from room to room and have been observed exiting from behind electric wall plates. Their trails are often in the same locations as those of Pharaoh ants. They can easily enter packaged foods due to their small size.

Thief ants often feed on the larvae and food of other ants. They are also predacious on the immature stages of many insects. They will also feed on other food found within structures, such as dead insects and grease. These ants have been observed feeding on the carcasses of dead rodents in buildings, and they are a concern in poultry houses where they will attack young chicks. They also feed on germinating seeds and the honeydew produced by  aphids, mealybugs, etc.

The first step when encountering tiny yellow ants in a structure is to identify whether the ant is a thief ant or a Pharaoh ant. The control procedures used for these two ants vary greatly. Once correct identification of the pest ant involved is made, an inspection can be conducted.

Inside buildings, trails of thief ants may be found along baseboards, on walls, in closets, inside cabinets (particularly ones which contain food products), around sinks, and along window sills. Inspections should be focused in rooms where the customer has seen ants. If ants are found, an attempt should be made to follow the trail back to the nest location.

Outside, inspections should be focused on finding possible ant trails on walls near windows and doors. In addition, foraging workers may be found trailing onto the building from tree and shrub branches which brush against the structure. Any item in contact with the soil, such as rocks, logs, and debris, could harbor an ant colony. The author has discovered thief ant trails by pulling the grass away from the side of patios and foundations.

Infestations of thief ants are sometimes difficult to eliminate due, in part, to the fact that the colonies and the workers are small, thus making colony location difficult. Thief ant colonies living in the soil or under items such as stones or logs should be treated by drenching each individual colony with a residual insecticide using a hand held sprayer or backpack sprayer.

Thief ant colonies living in wall voids above or below cabinets can be treated by drilling a small hole into the void where the ants are living and injecting a small amount of dust insecticide.

Outdoor baiting such is the most effective.