Odorous House Ants

odorous_house_ant_tapinoma_sessile_800Did you ever wonder what the proper name was for those tiny black or brown ants that invade your home constantly? If ants are invading your kitchen then most likely you have an Odorous Ant Infestation. Odorous?…well that's an odd name for an ant and it's because they stink, literally!

Every morning for at least a week I heard my wife say as she approached the kitchen counter for her morning coffee, “The ants are back”.

You quickly learn that killing the ants you see on the counter has little or no affect on the odorous house ant nest and as long as there is a nest, the ants will continue to designate some of the ants to be foragers and the foragers will follow the pheromone trail laid down by the ants that came before them and so on and so on.

You know you are dealing with odorous house ants when an ant crushed between your fingers smells like rotting coconut and this is important because when dealing with ants, knowing which type of ant you have gives you clues as to how many ants there are, how many nests are involved, where the nests might be, and what they like to eat.

 Some ant facts include:

  • Your home could contain hundreds to thousands of ants.
  • The bigger the population the more nests are possible, 4 or 5 nests at one house would not be unusual.
  • Ants nest in wall voids under window sills, around and inside appliances, under rocks and splash blocks, they have even been found in a mailbox.
  • Ants can move the nest often and sometimes return to a nest site.
  • Ants prefer sweets but will eat almost anything even dead insects.

 

 

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