October 29, 2012

A Stinky Beast — The Odorous House Ant

The odorous house ant is native to the United States and continues to be a persistent pest report NJ pest control professionals.Â  Odorous house ants can be found both indoors and outdoors.Â  Many times when a nest is located indoors, it is a satellite nest that is connected to the outdoor nest.Â  These ants have earned their name due to the fact that when you squish them they emit a horrible rotting coconut stench.

An odorous house ant colony can consist of as few as 100 ants or as many as 10,000 ants.Â  They feed on any type of substance outdoorsâ€¦honeydew, seeds, insects, secretions from plants, but their preferred diet is sweets.Â  Outdoors, their nest can be found in shallow soil, often hidden beneath bricks, stone work, or wood pathways.Â  Females in the colony will lay one egg each day with each egg taking approximately 24 days to reach maturity.

Odorous house ants tend to invade homes once their food supply diminishes, often during rainy weather or during the fall season.Â  In a home, the odorous house ant typically will build their colony in a wall void or behind cabinets.

It is not recommended that you use store bought sprays on odorous house ants as this will cause the colony to separate into different areas of the home.Â  A NJ pest control expert will be able to determine how to properly treat these invasive ants that work both day and night.Â  Call Heritage Pest Control for fast ant eradication services.