Ants are found all too frequently in kitchens, bathrooms, and other parts of a house. The first step in any pest management plan is to identify the pest. With ants this can be quite difficult because of their small size. A microscope with greater than 30x magnification is often needed to identify them. Most folks won’t have access to a microscope, so you can take the specimen to your local county Extension office for identification.
Some states, like Tennessee, have a distance diagnostics system which allows county agents to take digital images through a microscope and upload them to a website where trained personnel identify the specimen. Identifying the ant is important because ants have different food preferences and different behaviors that will directly affect how well an ant pest control program works.
For instance, some ants do not feed on oils, so baits with an oil carrier, but no protein and no sugar, are not a source of food for them. This is the case with the small, 1/8 inch long, dark Argentine ant and odorous house ant (see photos) – two ant species often encountered in and around homes.
There are over two dozen pest ant species in the U.S., but the species considered pests will vary from region to region. For example, the odorous house ant is found throughout much of the U.S., but the Argentine ant occurs mostly in the southern and west coast states. For this reason, you should contact your local county Extension office for information specific to ants in your area.
An ant management program will include reducing ant access to food and water sources and pest-proofing to keep pests out of a structure. Inspection will help find areas of ant activity and possibly nest sites. Sometimes placing index cards with honey at food and water sources throughout the house will help identifiy areas of ant activity. Once all areas of foraging activity are located, they can be baited.
Prior to placing bait stations, offer several different baits and see which is most attractive to the pest ant. If the nests can be located, they can be treated directly. When ants invade from the outdoors, pest-proofing is a more permanent solution to prevent outdoor-nesting ants from entering the home. Pest-proofing can be supplemented with a chemical barrier if the physical exclusion methods are not as effective as needed. If an ant infestation persists after continued managment effort, a pest managment professional should be contacted. A professional is often needed to manage ordorous house ants and Argentine ants. Contact your local Cooperative Extension Office for specific pesticide recommendations.
Related
- Managing Structure-Invading Ants (PB1629)
- Updated pesticide recommendations for Tennessee
- California: How to Manage Pests series, Ants
- Texas: Managing Household Ant Pests
- Mississippi: Control of Argentine Ants and Odorous Ants in the Home
- Odorous House Ant - UC IPM Online
- Kentucky: Odorous House Ants (Ant Control for Homeowners)
- PCT Field Guide for the Management of Structure-infesting Ants, S. Hedges. 1998, 2nd Edition. Franzak and Foster, Cleveland, OH 304 pp
- Managing Pests Around the Home (PB 1303)
- How to Pest-proof Your Home (EF 641)
Find more information about fire ants in eXtension's Imported Fire Ant Resource Area.
