How many homes are on your property? If your answer is only one, then you would be wrong. The homes of ants are all around you. Some inside your walls, others out in your yard. Today we will be talking about a pest that loves building intricate homes deep underground. Of course, we are referring to ants. We will also talk about different methods of ant control.
The Greater Orlando area is the home of various species of ants. But only a few species commonly enter your home. Food, moisture, and shelter are the main sources of attraction for any species of ants.
Knowing how to identify the various kinds of ants is important to identify them when infesting your home. Here are nine common kinds of ants found in Orlando:
Fire Ants
There is a possibility of the presence of fire ants if parts of your yard have mounds of red ants. The greatest risk posed by fire ants is the discomfort they inflict. Fire ants can cause a great deal of discomfort because they both have stingers and mandibles that they use to bite or sting any form of threat. Some symptoms of walking over a fire ant nest barefoot include violent shaking of legs and feet, hopping, tiny needle pricks of pain, and many uses of the words ouch, ow, or ah.
Ghost Ants
Ghost ants are challenging to find due to their size and color being so light that they become easily hidden from our eyes. There are thousands of workers and functional queens scattered out in a given colony across different nesting sites. Therefore, the challenge becomes killing them completely. On the positive side, however, is the fact that ghost ants are regarded as nuisance pests but not hazardous to human living places when within or surrounding them.
Argentine Ants
Argentine ants are famously known for being bullying ants. In a word, they are the species that take over the space of native ant species. Due to their extremely high reproduction speed, a colony’s population can easily grow into hundreds of thousands. Some colonies become so large that they can occupy an entire city block.
White-footed Ants
As their name would suggest, white-footed ants have white feet. These ants do not pool their food. Sterile workers will lay eggs to feed their larvae and the non-foraging adults of the colony to combat the lack of food being brought back to the colony.
Little Black Ants
Little black ants are also among the common species of ant found here in Central Florida. Greasy foods, oil, meats, fruits and vegetables, and sweets are the favorite foods for these ants. Tiny cracks around windows and under doors are the main areas of their entry to any home. They are always around food in your kitchen. Also, they are lovers of honeydew, insects, and plant secretions. Little black ants can be found nesting in your yard under:
- Rocks
- Pavers
- Potted plants
- Falling logs
- lumber piles
Odorous House Ants
Commercially known as sugar ant, stink ant, coconut ant, etc. Odorous house ants are possibly the most formidable species hard to control- they are identified by the sour smell they put out when injured, and they collect with other related ants, resulting in the rapid conquering of vast areas inland. They are referred to colloquially as sugar ants, though they prefer outdoors with easy access to the honeydew liquid produced by aphids and mealybugs which taste sweet to them. These ants tend to enter homes during rain or when honeydew is scarce.
Odorous House Ants
Odorous house ants contaminate food because of their foraging activities. The workers and scouts give invisible pheromone trails from the food source to their nest, making way for more ants to enter. An exterminator should be called if you suspect an infestation by odorous house ants.
Acrobat Ants
Fun fact, acrobat ants can lift their abdomen above their thorax. We have no idea what that does, but it’s a cool trick to watch. Beyond that cool stunt, acrobat ants are light brown to black and pose no real problems for homes.
Pharaoh Ants
Most ants are pests. But not the case for pharaoh ants. Generally, they have a yellowish appearance, but what most people would note about the pharaoh ant is its capability of carrying serious diseases. Pharaoh ants?are particularly dangerous in hospitals, because they can carry and transmit many diseases, such as salmonella, staphylococcus, and clostridium, which may cause botulism.
Carpenter Ants
Over 90 percent of the houses built in the United States are built using wood. Knowing this, you can now perhaps make a fairly good guess where carpenter ants would tend to create nests. If your guess was inside our homes, you were right. This ant can destroy your home if not eradicated.
Ant Infestation Prevention Tips
There are key steps you can take on your own to prevent ants from invading your home. These steps can help avoid having to call a professional pest control service provider for ant removal Here are key recommendations from our experts:
- Correct any moisture issues you note indoors.
- Seal all cracks and crevices found on the exterior of your home.
- Replace or mend any torn or damaged window and door screens.
- Equip all your outward opening doors with door sweeps.
- Store leftovers of food and beverages in closed containers.
Maintain a clean-living environment
If you don’t have the time to kill ants and deal with ant infestations call Critter Control of Greater Orlando and ask about our professional ant extermination service. and schedule a treatment for your Orlando home or property.
