Ant Identification

Ants are pests that plague homeowners across the country. They move into our homes and yards and make themselves comfortable without caring about the problems they cause us. Ants that live in our area of Texas and often find their way onto our properties are fire ants, carpenter ants, acrobat ants, and odorous house ants.

While ants vary in appearance and behaviors, you can easily identify them by their common physical features and social nature. If you see one ant, many others are close by. Ants have three defined body segments (head, thorax, and abdomen), short bent antennae, and six legs.

Some ants are dangerous, either to people or our property. The carpenter ant is an example of an ant that is a danger to the structure of our Cedar Hill homes and businesses. These ants nest inside wood, preferring water-damaged wood. If they are nesting in your home, you have not only an ant problem but more than likely a moisture problem within your walls.

Fire ants are another dangerous ant species. These ants cause harm mainly to people and sometimes to our homes. They are known for getting into and damaging electrical and farm equipment, but the biggest problem with these ants is the painful bites and stings they deliver when they feel threatened. The venom that fire ants inject triggers an allergic response, and those very sensitive to their venom or, in the case of large attacks, their bites can be life-threatening.

Ants live together in large colonies, with most species have many queens per nest whose sole job is to create more and more ants each day, making them extremely difficult to control. Ants are also problematic around our homes because our properties offer them many places to forage for food. Once they discover a reliable food source, they will alert the other colony members and keep returning, bringing more and more ants with them each day.

The following places are where ants forage for food in Texas yards:

• Trash cans
• Recycling bins
• Gardens
• Pet food dishes
• Gardens
• Fruit trees
• Compost piles
• Flowerbeds

You have the potential to run into ants almost anywhere you go; your yard, the local park, wooded areas, the beach, and city sidewalks. Ants will thrive anywhere there is food, water, and shelter.

Ants typically make their main nesting mounds outside; workers leave the nest each day to forage for food, often ending up around our homes. It is common to see ants trailing through gardens across walkways, on porches and decks, and around doorways.

When you see ants in your house, they are more than likely going to be walking across floors, counters, and in pantries, and around sinks. Often they will continue to move in and out of your home each day, but sometimes they will decide to stay.

In our homes, ants like to nest near moist areas and are often behind wall voids or under floors near water pipes, sinks, tubs, windows, and doors.

Ants have grown accustomed to living with people, which makes keeping them out of our homes difficult. Their tiny size allows them to move inside through the smallest of openings. The best way to protect your property from ants is to partner with a professional and put into place the services needed to eliminate your current ant infestation and prevent future unwanted ants.

At Proactive Pest Services, our friendly professionals are committed to providing you with peace of mind knowing that ants will not overrun your house. Our long-term solutions are what you need to maintain a home that is free of common household pests. We are committed to always going above and beyond to provide the most thorough and comprehensive pest services possible.

“Protecting What's Important” is our daily mission! To learn more about our residential pest control offerings, give us a call today!

Take action to prevent problems with ants by partnering with the professionals at Proactive Pest Services and implementing our helpful prevention tips.

• Thoroughly inspect the exterior of your house and seal up any cracks or openings you find.
• Cut back trees and shrubs back away from your home to take away natural “bridges” that will give them easy access to your home.
• Remove access to potential food sources by keeping lids on trash cans, recycling bins, and compost containers.
• Pick up pet food each evening and wash dirty dishes each day.
• Keep outdoor eating areas free of leftover food.
• Regularly vacuum your home, including under furniture and behind large appliances, to remove crumbs from your home that ants can use to feed their colony.