Ants are no stranger to most homeowners. They are most likely to invade kitchens, seeking out little crumbs leftover from a previous meal made. But with their nasty little stings, most people prefer to avoid ants at any cost. There are many ants throughout the globe, but to the locals of Kentucky, one of the most common ants is the odorous ants. With that in mind, we at A-Tex Pest Management would like to take the opportunity to talk about odorous ants.
Why are Odorous House Ants Named That?
Odorous ants, or formally known as Tapinoma Sessile is a native species found across the United States. Because of the foul stench it omits when it is crushed, rotten coconut smell, they so earn their nickname “Odorous Ants”. These ants are often mistaken for pavement ants, but only feature just one node. With their appearance varying in brown to black in color, the workers average up to 1/8 inches long and have 12-segmented antennae. With females in the nest laying a single a day, it will take approximately 24 days for the young to reach adulthood. Odorous ant colonies contain anywhere from 100 to 10,000 ants and have other ant species that will invade and drive them away.
Where Do Odorous House Ants Come From?
Odorous ants forage all day and night and will nest in a variety of situations. Inside, Odorous especially prefer to be around hot water pipes and heaters, in crevices, sinks, cupboards, and wall voids where they build their nests. When found outside odorous ants are often in exposed soil, usually shallow, that is frequently beneath a board, brick, stone walk, and other such objects. When their honeydew supply or sweet supply of food is nearly depleted by natural occurrences such as rainy weather or autumn leaf fall, they are most likely to enter buildings.
What Do Odorous House Ants Eat?
Odorous ants will feed on nearly anything; from a variety of insects. To seeds, honeydew, and plant secretions, but they particularly favor sweets. Because they are so extremely fond of the honeydew, these ants will often protect the honeydew-excreting insects such as aphids, mealy bugs, and other scale insects.
Can Odorous House Ants Be Eliminated?
Like most ants, odorous ants will lay down a chemical trail of pheromones between their nests and potential food sources. Because of this trait, you can use it to your advantage in setting bait traps by simply finding their trail and place the bait traps in their path. Where the odorous ants can be a challenge to remove, it is possible.
Ant Pest Inspections, Treatment, Control, Removal & More in Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville & Cedar Park Texas
With A-Tex Pest Management performing your odorous ant control on your Texas home or business, you can rest assured these ants are fully evicted from your building. Our products are effective and our technicians are well trained, skilled and experienced. Investing in professional treatment can ensure that these little ants are not contaminating your food supply or the surfaces they traverse. If believe your home or business is being overran with odorous ants, call A-Tex Pest Management and let our experts do the rest and completely remove the odorous ant infestation from the premises.