What type of ants do I have?

Ants ants

What type of ants do I have?

What Type of Ants Do I Have?

If you find you are asking yourself “what type of ants do I have?” You have come to the right place! Not only can we answer that question, but we can also clear up the problem for you!

What ants are normally found in Fredericksburg and the surrounding areas?

There are several different species of ants that call our area home. Even though most of the ant species are considered nuisance ants, there are species that can actually cause structural damage to your home.

 
Below, we will cover the 3 types of ant that you are most likely to find bugging you at home!

Odorous House Ants

Have you ever crushed an ant and noticed that it smelled like coconut or had a “solvent-like” odor? If so, then you have probably had your first encounter with an odorous house ant.

Odorous House ants are small, about 2.4 to 3.3 mm in length, dark brown or black in color that are often confused with Pavement Ants. They can be found invading homes in very large numbers and will forage for food day or night.

They can nest just about anywhere and those nests can be very large in size, which can make them difficult to control. Like Pavement ants, Odorous House ants also like sweets (especially plant nectar and honeydew, which comes from aphids) and are harmless.

Signs of odorous ants:

Odorous house ants are recognized as being one of the most commonly encountered ants inside homes. Odorous House Ants can be found trailing through kitchens in homes all across North America. Odorous ants are most often found to enter homes after a heavy rainstorm; attempting to escape flooding of its nest. 

Pavement Ant

Pavement ants are similar to Odorous House ants in size and color and can be found to invade homes. These ants are small, dark brown or black ants that typically live under rocks or pavement, but have no distinguishable odor when crushed. Pavement ants often leave debris from their nests in sand-like piles near cracks or the edges of concrete slabs. They can nest indoors in walls or under floors

As far as diet goes, Pavement ants prefer sweets but they will eat just about any food they can find. They will eat greasy foods, many foods consumed by humans as well as live or dead insects. Pavement ants workers can become a nuisance when large groups of workers forage for food inside your home.

How serious are pavement ants? Should I be worried?

Pavement ants have a stinger, but they rarely sting people. If you get stung, it is usually too weak to penetrate the skin. A bite from a pavement ant can cause skin irritation or a rash. These ants are not venomous, and their bites are not medically important.

Carpenter Ant

Carpenter ants pose a much greater risk to your home than any nuisance ant ever could. Carpenter ants are a wood-destroying insect that attacks the wood that makes up the structure of your home.

Carpenter Ants are among the largest ants in the United States measuring 3.4 to 13 mm in length. They are typically black in color but some species may be red, orange or a combination of these colors.

How serious are carpenter ants? Should I be worried?

Carpenter ants, like termites, can go undetected for long periods of time. By the time you know you have them you have an infestation that is not easily corrected. The damage caused by carpenter ants is often confused with termite damage. Remember, termites eat and digest the cellulose found in the wood, carpenter ants simply hollow out galleries to use as nests in wood.

Even though Carpenter Ants are a wood-destroying insect, they don’t actually eat the wood. Instead they spit the wood out as they tunnel through it to create their nest. Their diet consists of food that people eat, including sweets and meats. They also prey on other insects and small organisms such as caterpillars, crickets, earthworms, etc.

Carpenter Ants play an important role in the environment by acting as major decomposers of dead or fallen trees within the forest, however, since they are very efficient destroyers of wood, they can become a very serious economic pest when they enter man made structures.

How do I treat ant infestation?

It is very difficult to eliminate an ant problem on your own. A successful ant control program requires that the entire colony be eliminated, including the queen(s). This often requires professional assistance.

There are somethings you can do to prevent ants from entering your home or business:

  • Sealing cracks in foundations and gaps around windows and doors.
  • Don’t leave food out on your counter or dirty dishes in your sink. 
  • Signing up for year round home pest control services can also help you protect your home and prevent ants and other pests from taking over.
Treatment

Ants are active year-round, that means you need protection year-round. Sigma’s Quarterly Pest Control Service (QPCS) covers ants, spiders, roaches, wasps, fleas, centipedes, crickets, mice, rats, and much more.

Once we solve any issues on the inside of your home, we will focus our efforts on the outside to keep your home pest free. Exterior services will occur once every three months, and will include a foundation treatment, removal of wasp nests and spider webs using a telescopic tool that reaches up to 30 feet, a perimeter band around the home. And crack and crevice service. However, if the bugs don’t listen, we will come back and take care of it at no additional charge to you.

Platinum

$ 99 Monthly*
  • Quarterly Service
  • Mosquito & Tick
  • Termite Control
  • $899 Initial Payment​
Best Value

Gold

$ 60 Monthly*
  • Quarterly Service
  • Mosquito & Tick
  • Termite Control
  • $899 Initial Payment​
Favorite

Silver

$ 85 Monthly*
  • Quarterly Service
  • Mosquito & Tick
  • Termite Control
  • $249 Initial Payment​

Bronze

$ 40 Monthly*
  • Quarterly Service
  • Mosquito & Tick
  • Termite Control
  • $249 Initial Payment​
* monthly billing does not reflect service frequency
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