Ants have three distinct body parts, two antennae, and six legs. The workers are wingless and can crawl around on surfaces in large numbers. The kings and queens begin with wings, but they shed them during the mating process. Winged ants, called alates, are about twice the size of worker ants. In an odorous house ant colony, the workers measure about 2.4 to 3.3 millimeters in length. Odorous house ants are not the only ants that are this size. Here are a few other visual characteristics that may help you tell them apart from other ants:
Along with these visual characteristics, you may identify odorous house ants by the odor they create. The smell of crushed odorous house ants is often described as rotten coconut or blue cheese.
Odorous house ants are an incredible nuisance, and they survive quite well inside man-made structures. Fortunately, the risk of having these ants inside your home is minimal, particularly if you take action to get rid of them.
The primary concern with an odorous house ant infestation is that they get into stored foods and crawl around on kitchen surfaces, plates, silverware, and other sensitive items. When odorous house ants climb into trash and onto decaying food, they can pick up disease-causing microorganisms. They may then spread these invisible organisms as they explore your kitchen, pantry, and other areas of your home. The result of exposure to the germs spread by ants is stomach illness. To answer the above question, odorous house ants are mostly a nuisance. The risk of disease transmission is low, particularly when you deal quickly with an infestation by getting professional pest control.
Some people refer to these ants as sugar ants. The reason is obvious: they love sweet foods. They look for sweet things outside your home first, feeding on honeydew, nectar, and hummingbird feeder liquid. When they find their way indoors, they’ll eat sweet foods in your kitchen and pantry such as jelly, honey, syrup, cookies, candy, and more. But they aren’t limited to sweets. Odorous house ants also like greasy foods, crumbs, lunch meat, pet food, dead insects, and more.
Along with food, moist conditions can attract these ants. They like to live near faulty plumbing, water-damaged wood, and puddles. Addressing moisture issues can help to deter odorous house ant problems.
While these conditions can attract odorous house ants, removing them will not ensure an ant-free home. Ants can get into your home just because it is the next location to explore. To keep them out, apply pest proofing and exterior pest management, or hire a professional to tackle this challenging task for you.
These ants prefer to nest in moist environments. Outdoors, they nest under mulch, wood chips, stones, wood debris, loose bark, and landscaping materials. Indoors, they hide in wall voids, attics, areas near plumbing, underneath sinks, and in damp insulation.
Odorous house ants are particularly troublesome pests because they often form large colonies with multiple queens and interconnected nests. This makes them frustrating pests to eliminate. If you’re having trouble with these ants, we recommend professional ant control.
Sealing entry points is an important step if you want to keep odorous house ants out of your home. Unfortunately, this is rarely sufficient on its own. Odorous house ants are tiny pests with many workers that continually search for gaps in your defenses. As they grow their colonies and their numbers, they will apply more and more pressure on your exterior. Eventually, they will find a route indoors. While sealing cracks and gaps around windows, doors, and foundations helps reduce access points, additional measures are needed.
There are a few steps you can take to deter odorous house ants and block them from accessing your home:
If infestations persist despite these steps, professional pest control may be needed to address hidden colonies and provide long-term relief. Contact Harbor Pest Control about a year-round pest control service plan. We address current infestations and provide exterior protection to prevent trouble with ants all year long.
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