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Small Ants and Their Control

ALLGone Services provides control of all small ant species common to the Dallas / Fort Worth area (and to all of Texas). The ones listed are only a few examples.

Acrobat Ants

Acrobat AntAcrobat ants are small (about 1/8 inch) ants who usually are yellowish to dark brown in color, although some are nearly black. They get their name from their habit of lifting their hind ends into a raised position.

In nature, acrobat ants usually live in rotting trees or logs, woodpiles, leaf mulch, and sometimes under rocks. Occasionally, they invade homes and buildings, where they usually live in wood that has been moisture damaged or in structural voids.

Odorous House Ants

Odorous House AntOdorous house ants are common ant pests throughout Texas. Their name comes from the disagreeable odor (similar to the smell of rotten coconuts) that worker ants give off when they're crushed.

Odorous house ants are small and dark in color. They commonly nest outdoors in the soil under stones, logs, mulch, debris and other items on the ground. They'll also nest indoors in wall and floor voids, particularly in warm, moist areas such as kitchens and bathrooms. They forage regularly along well-traveled trails, and feed on dead insects, sweets and meats. One of their favorite foods is the sweet honeydew produced by sap-feeding insects such as aphids and mealybugs.

Determining where a colony of odorous house ants is nesting is important to effective control. If only a few workers (wingless ants) are observed in the house, then it's usually an indication that the nest is outdoors, and the workers are entering the house foraging for food. But if winged swarmers are found indoors, or if workers are consistently seen in great numbers, it's likely that the ants are nesting inside the house.

Pharaoh Ants

Pharaoh AntPharaoh ants are very tiny ants (usually about 1/16 of an inch). They can be from yellow to red in color, but most often are amber. They are among the most difficult of all insects to control due to their small size, their large colonies and their ability to select a new queen if a group of workers get separated from the main colony.

This last characteristic, known as budding, can result in "fracturing" a colony when insecticide such as dusts or sprays are used, making pharaoh ants very difficult to control.

Pavement Ants

Pavement Ants FightingPavement ants are dark brown to black in color and are about 1/8" in length. They are omnivorous and will eat insects, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, meats, nuts, ice cream and cheese. Although they are frequently seen on sidewalks and paved areas, the pavement ant is actually named for the longitudinal grooves on its head and thorax, which resemble pavement markings.

Pavement ants are aggressive within their own specie. In the early spring, pavement ant colonies attempt to conquer new areas and often attack nearby enemy colonies. These campaigns between rival ant colonies result in epic sidewalk battles, often leaving thousands of dead ants in their wake.

Because of their aggressive nature, pavement ants often invade and colonize seemingly impenetrable areas, such as the gap between concrete or other paving material and its soil substrate. In summer time, the ants dig out the sand in the pavement cracks and joints to ventilate their nests, resulting in little piles of sand being scattered about the sidewalk.

Pavement ants are usually controlled using baits and non-repellent insecticides.

Argentine Ants

Argentine Ants in the Corner of a RoomArgentine ants are dark in color, and the workers are about 1/8 inch in length. They are omnivorous, but they prefer sweets and protein-rich foods. (One of their favorite foods is the yolk of a hard-boiled egg.) They live in huge colonies with multiple queens, and ants from neighboring colonies freely mix and cooperate with each other.

Argentine ants are among the most invasive of all animal species. Originally native to South America, Argentine ants have spread throughout the entire world, and often cause threats to native wildlife and agriculture. They are extraordinarily aggressive, and nearby colonies of Argentine ants will "team up" with each other to form huge armies. These ant armies then attack other ant colonies (including much larger ant species), termite colonies, bees' and wasps' nests, birds' nests (they scare away the mother birds and kill the young), and even some lizards.

Argentine ants also protect plant pests such as aphids from predators in order to harvest the honeydew that they produce.

Extermination of Argentine ants in and around structures usually is accomplished using carefully placed, slow-acting baits. because of the size and range of the colonies, the multiple queens, and the cooperation between nests, it may take anywhere from a few days to more than a week to eliminate an Argentine ant colony.

For information about small ant control or any of our other high-quality services, please contact us.

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