The Asian needle ant is a small, black ant that pops up on lawns and gardens. It gets its name from the sharp point of its abdomen that it uses as a sting. This ant has become more common in the last twenty years, spreading from Texas to the southeastern United States. You can take steps to keep both ants under control in your yard or home. Ants belong to the family of insects called Hymenoptera. They are social, living in nests and organized colonies with one queen. Ants are typically seen in the summer, mostly around barbecue and picnic tables, in lawns, and under rocks. There are actually carpenter ants (who make their habitat out of wood) to honeydew-secreting ants found near plants. While some ants are beneficial to humans, there are other types which can cause serious damage inside residential homes. The type that is causing problems in North Carolina is Asian needle ant—or Pheidole megacephala.

Nc Ants

Introduction

“Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago, and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 out of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and a distinctive node-like structure that forms a slender waist.”

When are ants a problem?

When ants become a problem

• Ants may be a problem if they are inside your home. They can get into the house through cracks in walls, doors and windows.
• If you have food on your countertops or floors, ants might find it and take the food back to their nest. This is especially true if you leave pet food out overnight or unattended for long periods of time. The same goes for sugar spills or sweet foods like donuts, cookies or cakes.
• Ants are also known to eat dead insects that fall into their nests as well as other types of dead animals such as mice and small birds that may come into contact with them while they’re outside looking for food sources near homes (like bird feeders).

How do ants get in the house?

Ants can enter your home by finding cracks, gaps and entry points on the outside of your house. Ants also like to nest in cracks and crevices of walls; under stucco siding; around utility pipes, doors and windows; or inside wall voids. The ants will be attracted to food sources inside your home such as pet food, soda spills or crumbs from kitchen counters.

Ant nests may be located in areas where moisture is present such as near leaky pipes or plumbing fixtures (toilet), sinks, showers and dishwashers. Fire ants are attracted to moisture while carpenter ants may be attracted to damp wood that’s been damaged by water leaks in roofs or walls.

What kind of ants can be found in NC?

• There are many kinds of ants in North Carolina, including the carpenter ants and fire ants.
• Other kinds of common North Carolina ants include odorous house ants, acrobat ants, pavement ants, thief ants and pharaoh ants.

Fire Ants

Fire ants are named for their painful stings. They are aggressive and will sting people and pets that disturb their nests. Fire ants have reddish-brown bodies and are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. They nest in soil and build mounds up to 12 inches tall around the opening of the nest, which can extend underground as far as 10 feet.

Acrobat Ants

Acrobat ants are small, black or bicolored ants with a heart-shaped head and rounded gasrter. The thorax is wider than the abdomen, but not as round as in other ant species. The forelegs of acrobats are long and slender while the hind legs are broader.

Acrobats have a distinctive way of holding their abdomen over their thorax and head that gives them an upside down appearance when viewed from above (this is referred to as “acrocephalic”).

Odorous House Ants

Odorous House Ants, also known as sugar ants, are common household pests. Odorous House Ants are tiny, brown and black ants that are attracted to sweet foods. Their colonies can grow to the hundreds of thousands making these ants a real nuisance in your home.

Odorous house ants prefer sweets such as honeydew or nectar but will feed on grease or other fatty substances when they cannot find food containing sugars. These ants may be seen as scouts throughout the home searching for food and water sources while others remain in their nests located in openings or void spaces such as wall voids or attics. Odorous house ant colonies contain both winged males called alates and wingless workers who take care of nest duties including gathering food and caring for larvae (baby).

Pavement Ants

Pavement Ants are small, light brown ants that can be found in pavement, sidewalks and under objects around your home. They can also be found inside walls and may even enter homes in search of food and water. These ants typically nest in soil under pavements, along sidewalks and in walls or moist areas such as tree stumps or logs. Their nests are made up of multiple chambers filled with eggs. The queen ant lays her eggs in the top chamber, which contains a white pulp-like substance created from plant materials such as seeds and stems.

The workers collect nectar from flowers or other sources to feed the larvae (younger ants) living in lower chambers underground where they develop into adults after several weeks to months depending on weather conditions such as temperature changes during springtime months when temperatures rise above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius).

Thief Ants

One of the most common types of ants found in North America, thief ants are the smallest species in North America with a length of 1.5 to 2 mm. They are black and yellow, but their color can vary depending on where they live: their bodies become orange or red when living in warmer climates. Their colonies consist of numerous queens, workers and males.

Thief ants are very fast, which makes them hard to catch because they can quickly escape from anything that threatens them or their colony. They are attracted to greasy and fatty foods because they need these nutrients to survive.

Pharaoh Ants

Pharaoh ants are a very small (about 1/16” long) yellowish-brown species of ant that is commonly found throughout the world. These ants have been introduced to North Carolina and are causing problems in hospitals and other commercial buildings. Pharaoh ants prefer to nest in wall voids, behind baseboards, or in furniture such as desks, chairs, etc. They frequently infest machinery rooms of hospitals where they nest underneath machinery such as air conditioning compressors and electrical boxes. Pharaoh ants can also be found nesting inside of wire bundles because these areas often contain moisture which attracts these insects.

Because these insects are tropical in origin, you will rarely find them outdoors except for during their mating season which occurs late spring through early summer when swarms of winged males begin flying around your house looking for queens to mate with before dying off shortly thereafter!

Rover Ants

Rover ants are small and brown. They may form large colonies, but they are not harmful to humans or other animals.

Carpenter Ants – Carpenter ants create nests in wood and can cause significant structural damage.

Carpenter ants are the most common ant in North Carolina. These ants prefer soft, moist, decaying wood for their nests. They can cause significant structural damage to your home by burrowing through exterior walls, cedar shake siding and wooden decks or porches. The best way to prevent this type of damage is to treat the area where they are entering with insecticide before they establish a colony inside your house. The key is early detection!

If you have carpenter ants in your home:

• Seal all cracks and crevices around windows and doors with silicone caulk or other suitable sealant;
• Repair leaky plumbing fixtures;
• Keep firewood away from the house as much as possible;
• Avoid keeping stacks of lumber near the house or under porches or overhangs (this includes pallets).

Conclusion

This post was originally published on the Grow and Behold blog, and is republished with permission.