Ant Control Hamilton

Carpenter Ants, Pavement Ants, Odorous Ants and Argentine Ants are the most common pest species of ants we usually come across.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter Ant control services. Carpenter ants are among the most notorious ant species invading human habitat. They build their nests in damp wood and are well known for establishing their colonies in the interiors of homes, causing significant damage.

The worker ants belonging to the various species of carpenter ants in North America measure around 6 millimeters in length while their queen ants can measure up to 19 millimeters. Their colors range from red to even black, and a single colony can have any number of ants upward of 2000.

Since carpenter ants prefer to build their colonies by burrowing into damp wood, they are often found in the wet areas of a home. The tunnels they make to accommodate their colony can weaken the structure of a house and therefore, a carpenter ant infestation should be taken very seriously.

Carpenter ants are not only a nuisance but are known to cause damage resembling the damage caused by termites. Contrary to termites they do not eat wood. They just dig, excavate tunnels and galleries in wood. In late spring, and early summer, winged adults are produced by mature Carpenter ant colonies.

While carpenter ants nest mostly in wood, they might also nest in fiberglass, polystyrene insulation and other insulating materials that have not been treated to resist an ant attack. Carpenter ant nests may cause serious damage to wood over a period of years. They generally restrict the size of the colony to the section of the moist wood, but satellite colonies may be built in the same arrangement and the damage will expand.

You can identify carpenter ant nests by the small particles of wood these ants leave behind from the excavations. They do not eat wood, so you can identify such an infestation by the particles left behind.

Pavement Ants

Pavement Ants measure around 3 millimeters in length and are dark brown or black in color. An average pavement ant colony houses around 3000 to 4000 ants and there are several queens within a single colony.

Pavements, driveways, sidewalks, the area beneath slabs and patios are all favorite colony locations for the Pavement Ant. The outdoor diet of these ants consists of insects, seeds, honeydew and honey while indoors, they feed on just about any food item they can forage, including nuts, cheese and meat.

Odorous House Ants

The Odorous House Ant owes its name to the rotten smell it emits when crushed. Their size ranges from 1.5 to 3 millimeters and they are brown or black in color. These ants too are omnivorous and feed on dead insects while foraging outdoors and prefer sugary foods while hunting for food indoors.

Outdoors, these ants build their nests under debris, stones, logs or even the soil and indoors, they prefer to inhabit cracks in the floor or even in the walls. This species of ants is highly social and if given the chance, their numbers can swell up to 100,000 in a single colony.

Fire Ants

Red Imported Fire Ants are notorious for their stings and people often avoid their nests to avoid being attacked. These ants are usually dark red or brownish in color and measure between 3 and 9 millimeters in size.

Most red imported fire ant colonies are found outdoors, although these ants also venture indoors for foraging. Their stings are very painful and at times, could even result in allergic reactions. These stings often result in nasty welts that eventually transform into white blisters.

These, as well as most other pest species of ants are not known to transmit or carry any serious diseases. However, they can be a nuisance due to their presence, their nesting habits and their ability to impart stings.