Ants classified as pests include the pavement ant, yellow crazy ant, sugar ants, the Pharaoh ant, carpenter ants, Argentine ant, odorous house ants, red imported fire ant and European fire ant.
Ant populations are controlled using insecticide baits. The bait is taken by the ants as food and brought back to the nest where the poison is inadvertently spread to the entire colony.
Argentine ants range from light to dark brown and measure about 2.2 to 2.8 mm long. Their antennae have 12 segments.
Argentine ants could become a large threat, as the colony size can become monumental, sometimes covering entire habitats. Unlike other ant species, the Argentine ant queen also forages for food. A musty odour characterizes the ant when crushed. These ants can grow up to one sixteenth of an inch long, where as the queen can grow up to one quarter of an inch long.
These unique ants get their name from scurrying around erratically when searching for food.
This ant species got their name from excavating wood in structures in order to build nests, resulting in smooth tunnels running inside the wooden structure. Worker ants grow up to one quarter on an inch in size, while the queens grow up to three quarters of an inch.
This obvious name comes from the strong odour that the ants excrete when crushed. The smell is similar to rotting coconut. Their sizes range from one sixteenth of an inch to one eighth of an inch long.
Pavement ants get their name from nesting underneath pavements or in cracks in pavement. They can also inhabit structures.
These ants make their nests in soil while building mound nests. They are commonly found in garages.
Ghost Ants look like tiny, white apparitions who suddenly appear and seem to disappear just as quickly. They are found both inside and outside. They may be found in kitchens and bathrooms as they are seeking moisture. The Ghost Ant is similar to the Odorous House Ant, but the Odorous House Ant is totally brown or black in color.