Scientists have estimated that there are about 22,000 species of ants on the planet. Despite this huge number, only a few of them are actual threats in your home. Here are the most common types of ants you can find in houses.
1. Acrobat ants
Acrobat ants are characterized by their heart-shaped abdomens. But don’t ever think they are sweet little insects.
They are aggressive types of ants. When threatened, they raise their distinctive abdomens. They almost look like acrobats that are standing on their hands. They also sting.
Acrobat ants are arboreal, meaning that they usually settle in and around trees. But acrobat ants are also seen to invade homes. They are usually found around electrical wires, insulation structures, and walls.
2. Argentine ants
Argentine ants are medium-sized ants that have colors ranging from light to dark brown. They are actually not native to the United States, but they have been introduced to the country through transportation.
Argentine ants have poor digging abilities, so their nests are usually not that deep into surfaces. In nature, they can be found in dead plant materials that have fallen to the ground and underneath stones.
In houses, they can be found in the cracks in the walls and other voids. They can also settle to your belongings. As said earlier, they are not good diggers, so they will nest wherever they can.
3. Carpenter ants
There is a huge variety of carpenter ants out there, so it is hard to give a physical description that encompasses all varieties. But just to give you an idea – carpenter ants can be black, brown, or a combination of two colors such as black and orange.
Carpenter ants are not only among the most common types of ants you can find in houses. They are also among the most damaging ones.
Carpenter ants are known to cause structural damage to houses, especially on wooden structures. No, they are not termites. They don’t eat wood. But they excavate it to form their nests.
In the wild, these ants can be seen in the hollows of tree trunks or their branches. In houses, they can be seen in the hollows of wooden structures such as ceilings, doors, walls, and even boxes.
4. Crazy ants
Crazy ants get their name from their fast running speed. When disturbed, these ants will run around swiftly in irregular patterns.
Their colors range from black to dark brown. They also usually have distinctively long legs and antennae.
Their main food source is honeydew, so they are most likely to invade houses when there are limited amounts of honeydew in the wild, like during autumn.
These little pests like to nest underneath things. Outside of houses, they can be found nestled in the soil under objects in the yard or in potted plants. Inside of houses, they can be found under carpets or floors.
5. Odorous house ants
Odorous house ants are some of the most common types of ants you can find in houses. Their colors range from black to dark brown. They are easily attracted to sweets.
Odorous house ants get their name from the odor they release when they are crushed. This odor is often described as blue cheese or rotten coconut.
These ants are particularly problematic for house owners because of how they set up their colonies. They usually have multiple queens and a lot of temporary nests. For these reasons, it’s not that unusual to see a huge number of these ants around the infested property.
They usually form their nests below floors or inside wall cracks and other voids.
6. Pavement ants
Pavement ants are black to dark brown in color. These ants get their name from the fact that they like settling on the pavement. Outside houses, they can be found in driveways, sidewalks, and under rocks. Inside houses, they can be found in cracks in concrete structures and other voids.
Like odorous house ants, pavement ants are also attracted to sweets and they have a multiple queen system in their nesting habits. These traits can turn them into big nuisances for house owners.
The only good thing about pavement ants is that they usually don’t sting. They will only sting if you are in direct contact with an infested area.
7. Red imported fire ants
Red imported fire ants are dark red and brown in color. But no, their color is not the reason why they have such a name. These ants get their name from the fact that their stings can cause a burning sensation to their victims.
To make things worse, red imported fire ants are also very aggressive, especially when their nests are disturbed or threatened.
Due to these facts alone, you don’t want these ants in and around your house. But sadly, they are among the most common types of ants you can find in houses.
The good news here is that red imported fire ants almost always settle outside houses. They like nesting on the exterior structures of houses. But they can also enter houses when they are in search of food and water.
8. Rover ants
Rover ants are small but can be described as quite stocky. Their colors range from medium to dark brown.
Like odorous house ants and pavement ants, rover ants are attracted to sweets, particularly liquids. So, the next time you see a bunch of ants raiding your peanut butter jar, you can assume that they are likely rover ants trying to get by.
Rover ant colonies can be quite huge, so this can pose a bigger problem compared to other types of ants. But at least rover ants don’t sting and look innocent compared to other types of ants, like the red imported fire ants.
These are the common types of ants you can find in houses
Ants are social animals. They don’t invade houses alone. They invade houses in colonies.
Ants can be aggressive or mellow. They can thrive on multiple locations or very specific places. The characteristics of ants will depend on their species.
Now that you know the most common types of ants you can find in houses, you can readily prepare for them and keep your property free of these pests.