Are Tiny Ants Your Problem? This Is Your Solution
Ant Control | Insect IQ offers ant control in the Tampa Bay Area.
A number of tiny ants can pose indoor problems in The Tampa Bay Area. Don’t confuse the pharaoh ant with the ghost ant, the big-headed ant, the crazy ant, or the fire ant. Each ant has a distinctly different appearance and life history. And all of these can be found in your neighborhood!
Pharaoh ant , commonly known as the sugar ant or grease ant, is a minute, honey colored ant about 2mm. long. You may have seen these ants trailing from a socket or crack in your wall to a cookie crumb or to a box of candies.
White-Footed Ant, does not bite or sting, nor have they been reported to cause any type of structural damage. They are, however, attracted to sweet foods. Thus, it is common to find them foraging indoors and outside on hedges infested with honeydew producing insects such as aphids and scale.
Problems associated with the white-footed ant:
- Huge size of ant colonies (400,000 to 1 million.)
- Tremendous reproduction capabilities.
- Variety of food preferences.
- Tiny black body (resembling the crazy ant) enables entry to most structures, natural and man-made
- Not all foods are shared from foraging workers to larvae (making baits ineffective.)
- Sterile workers lay unfertilized eggs; this is food for non-foraging members of the ant colony. (University of Florida Cooperative Extension service: doc. ENY-635)
Sometimes more than one type of ant will infest your residence. The key to controlling your ants is to first identify them properly. Pruning limbs off of the home can considerably reduce their presence inside. Sealing up pipes entering the home, and caulking door plates and windowsills helps keep these ants outside where they belong.
Insect IQ has always been willing to identify local ants free of charge. If you are stuck in the 90s, simply scotch tape them to a notecard and mail them to 5002 W. Linebaugh Ave. Ste F Tampa FL 33624.
For the rest of you, take a picture and email it to
CustomerService@Insectiq.com.
For more information Contact us , 855-930-2847, today and ask about our pest management services. Mention our post–get a free evaluation and 25% off your first service.
Ghost ant, is the same size, but transparent on the rear half and gray/black on the upper half. Ghost ants walk nervously when compared to pharaoh ants, which are slower, and in straighter rows. Ghost ants originate in mulches and soils placed around the periphery of the structure. They can migrate up trees and plants touching the side or roof of your home and transfer into the attic and down into the kitchen and bathrooms.
Crazy ants , sometimes referred to as black pavement ants, are solid flat black and a little larger than pharaoh ants. They can nest outside and within your home. They exist in almost every yard in town.
Big-headed ants, are becoming more of a problem in the Tampa Bay Area as they spread slowly eastward from the gulf. They are in between the size of pharaoh ants and fire ants and look similar to both of these ants, except one in a hundred has a large head. They nest in small snake-like mounds outside and can mud-tube the dirt to an entrance or windowsill where they enter the home.
We’re all familiar with fire ants. Use of granular bait to control them during non-rainy periods is advised and direct mound treatment during rainy periods works the best.
