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Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Below are some of the more common ants that you are most likely to encounter in the Pacific Northwest. Please feel free to scroll down for more information to help identify your pest.
- Polymorphic species (several sizes of workers in colony)
- Typically red and black, sometimes brown or black
- Constructs mounds from small sticks and leaves
- Can be found outdoors or inside structural wall voids
- Fierce predators
- Can bite hard, usually spray area with a form of acid
- Can be confused with the Carpenter Ant
- Make sure they are a threat before treating because they can be very beneficial to the environment.
Treatment: If outside, mound can be treated, usually within one application but sometimes taking more because the nests are usually very large. If inside, treatment can be made in wall voids as well as perimeter sprays.
Odorous House Ants (aka Sugar Ants)
- Varies from brown to black in color
- Monomorphic species (all the same size)
- Multiple queens (polygenic)
- Can produce a rotten coconut-
like odor - Live in a wide variety of habitats
- If disturbed, colony can divide making it more difficult to treat
Treatment: This ant can be difficult to eradicate yet control can be accomplished. Usually treatment involves baiting in conjunction with perimeter sprays and a quarterly service to prevent from reinfesting.
- Secondary wood destroying insect (the moisture is what brought them to location)
- Varies from yellow to dark brown in color
- Monomorphic species (all the same size)
- Colonies typically found in decayed logs or stumps
Treatment: Usually the remedy is to remove the decayed wood and replace with sound material as well as applying treatment.
Acrobat Ant (shown in heading picture above)
Aphaenogaster Ant
Argentine Ant
False Honey Ant
Ghost Ant
Harvester Ant
Little Black Ant
Little Fire Ant
Pavement Ant
Pharaoh Ant
Ponerine Ant
Rover Ant
Slave-
Thief Ant
Velvety Tree Ant
White Footed Ant
These are various ants that may come into play in Washington state but are not as common. Some of these varieties have multiple queens in colony and it would be a mistake to disturb them.
Treatment: Treatment will vary depending on species, however most ants are treated with baits in conjunction with special sprays that target the insect only without the insect even knowing it. Also important to note is the changing of the habitat if in wet or rotting wood within the structure.
- There are five different species of Carpenter Ants in Washington state; most common are the Modoc (all black) and the Vicinus (black and red).
- The Vicinus variety is commonly confused with the Western Thatching Ant
- Primary wood destroying insect -
can cause substantial damage if unattended - Polymorphic (more than one size worker within each colony)
- Modoc colonies contain one queen; Vicinus can have over 40 queens
- Carpenter ants do not eat wood, they mine it to live in
- Main colonies are generally outside of a structure while satellite colonies are inside structure trying to develop a new colony
- If you see Carpenter ants with wings within your structure the colony has become established with no less than 2000 ants.
- Carpenter ants prefer attics, crawl spaces, wall voids, and damp areas. Commonly found where there are moisture issues
- Can be fairly difficult to locate because they are most active at night, they often nest behind insulation, and some species are highly elusive.
Treatment: There are a number of excellent products to safely eliminate this insect from your home or business. It can take several treatments to fully eradicate depending on the infestation level. Usually the colony can be eradicated within a few services over a period of one week to three months but sometimes it can take up to a year depending on the time of year, the level of infestation, and how many are foraging. Each situation must be evaluated separately. It all depends on how many ants we are able to get in contact with the product. Some species are highly elusive.
Ants are very common social insects. It is thought there are over 14,000 species living in almost every environment on the earth. Ant colonies can range from several hundred to several million workers. Some colonies can live for over 20 years or more depending on the species.
All ants go through a growth cycle called Complex Metamorphosis (similar to that of wasps, bees, beetles, and fleas). In this particular growth cycle the insect goes from egg to larva to pupa to adult.
Ant colonies normally contain three distinct castes within the colony: males, queens, and workers. The workers in some species come in three different sizes within the colony (polymorphic) which include soldier, major, and minor. Some species also have several queens within each colony (polygenic).
Ant colonies reproduce themselves through swarming or budding. When swarming, the winged reproductive males and females leave the nest to mate. Soon after, the males die by starvation and the newly inseminated queens will usually lose their wings and begin new colonies. When budding, the separation process occurs on the ground, there is no flying involved
Ants generally enter the structure looking for food or shelter. They use scent
trails to direct each other. This is why they can re-
Is it an ant or a termite?
The way to tell the difference between an ant and a termite
- Ants have bent antennae,
- Ants have skinny waists in between segments
- Winged ants have two wings on each side that are different lengths, termites have two wings on each side that are similar length.
General Ant Biology
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