Ant Identification & Prevention

What are ants?

Ants are foraging insects that live in social colonies. By nature, ants are adept at working together for a common purpose, such as feeding or defending their colony. This is evident in their uniform scavenging lines to and from a food source and their ability to team lift and carry objects several hundred times their body weight.

Here in our area of California, you can find three major types of ants invading homes and businesses:

• Acrobat ants - These ants grow to be about 1/8 of an inch long and typically range in color from light yellowish-brown to black, though some are multi-colored.
• Argentine ants - These ants range from 1/16 to 1/4 of an inch in length and have shiny, dark brown, or black bodies.
• Carpenter ants - These large ants typically grow to be about 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch in length and range in color from black, red, or even yellow!

Are ants dangerous?

Argentine ants, acrobat ants, and carpenter ants pose no significant threats to humans or animals. While acrobat ants can bite, they will only do so when threatened. These bites can cause minor discomfort and lead to itchiness and swelling but won't result in serious health complications. Of the three ant species listed above, carpenter ants are the biggest threat, but not in the traditional sense. As their name suggests, carpenter ants build their homes in wood. Given enough time, a large number of carpenter ants can lead to extensive structural damages throughout the wood of your home with their destructive tunneling behaviors.

Why do I have an ant problem?

Ants are drawn to homes by two major attractants, food and moisture. For ants, food usually consists of anything with high sugar content. However, their food can consist of proteins and fats for certain species, meaning they search for anything from fruits, meats, eggs, oils, sugary beverages, and more to feed themselves and their colonies.

If you're dealing with an ant infestation in your home, the chances are that a scouting ant found a food or water source nearby and relayed the location back to its colony. Once an ant colony has been alerted to the presence of a food source, they won't stop scavenging until that food source is completely gone.

Where are ants commonly found?

Argentine ants build their nests in damp environments located near a food source. These colonies are commonly found outdoors under boards or stones, in moist soil or mulch, beneath plant growth, or along sidewalks; these ants are also commonly found around the foundations of buildings.

Acrobat ants nest in damp, dark areas like under rocks, mulch, fallen trees, or woodpiles. They are known to build their nests inside existing structural damages caused by wood-destroying pests such as termites or carpenter ants; inside, these ants typically nest in high-moisture areas like basements, laundry rooms, and bathrooms.

Carpenter ants prefer to build their nests inside damp and water-damaged wood. In nature, this could be a rotting tree stump or a fallen tree. In homes, they will target any area of wood that has been softened by high moisture levels or affected by a steady plumbing leak to establish their colonies.