Ants

Back to Pest Education

Ants invade your home through tiny cracks in search of food, leaving behind a long lasting and invisible scent trail for the rest of the colony to follow. Do-it-yourself sprays just kill the ants you see and if you don't find the nest and eliminate the queen they are soon back on the trail. The most common types of ants include:

Pavement Ant

Tetramorium Caespitum

Appearance
- Light brown to black,
- About 1/10 inch long
- Antennae of 12 segments.
- Appendages lighter than rest of the body
- Parallel lines on head and thorax
Diet
- Omnivore; prefers grains, greasy, and sweet foods
Habits
- Invade homes looking for food throughout the year
- Their nests are outdoors under stones along curbing or in cracks of pavement
- They can also nest indoors in walls and under floors
Reproduction
- Queens can produce five to 20 eggs per day
- Brood develops in about 40 days
- Young go through 3 larval stages
Other Information
- Moves very slowly
- A nuisance around homes with slab-on-grade construction

Pharoah Ant

Monomorium Pharaonis

Appearance
- Very small
- Light yellow to red with black markings on abdomen
- About 1/16 inch long
Diet

Omnivore; prefers sweets but also eats other insects.
Habits
- Depends on artificial heat from houses to survive
- Infestations commonly occur in food service areas
- Will nest in any well-protected and hidden areas throughout a structure
- Can also nest outdoors in lawns or gardens.
Reproduction
- Grows from egg to adult in about 45 days
- Females live as long as 39 weeks and can lay about 400 eggs
- Workers only live up to 10 weeks.
Other Information
- The most persistent and difficult of all household ants to control
- Very large colonies, with up to several million workers and thousands of queens.