Pharaoh Ants

Pharaoh ants are extremely small. They are around 2 mm in length, making them very hard to spot. But you can easily recognize them from their appearance. They feature a tiny abdomen with black marks on it. The other parts of their bodies are somewhat light yellow. Let’s learn more about them so we can protect our houses from a pharaoh ant infestation.

Diet, Habits and Behavior

In winter, just like other species of ants, surviving is really hard for pharaoh ants as well. So, they make it to buildings and houses with artificial heating for survival until summer approaches. Usually, areas that get infested by these ants are the ones that have abundance of food. As a safety measure, they nest in hidden, well-protected areas, but can also establish their “houses” outdoors in gardens and lawns. As far as their eating habits are concerned, they live on almost all types of food, but sweets are their most favorite food items list. They can also feed on other insects.

Reproduction

Pharaoh ants lay a lot of eggs, and each ant takes around 38 days to grow into an adult one. The lifespan of female ants is relatively longer than worker ants. Male or worker ants last around 10 weeks, while female ants live up to 12 months. So, female ants have a good deal of time to cause problems for you.

Signs of Pharaoh Ants Infestation

While females live inside their nests, male workers get out in search of food. So, if you see them run around your house, your house is infested and you need to find a way to get rid of them before the problem gets out of hand.

Prevention and treatment methods

Pharaoh ants are tiny, yellow creatures and can be found in several parts of the world. Since these ants survive well indoors, they fall under the category of major pests. That is the reason they can be found in homes as well as hospitals. They post much more health risk in hospital as their presence in there can contaminate rooms and sterile equipment, putting patients’ life at serious risk.

Often, these ants build their nests in cabinet voids, walls, baseboards, folds of clothes, paper and sheets, hollows in rods of curtains and refrigerator insulation, just to name a few. So, you should inspect these areas if you suspect pharaoh ants infestation in your house. While you can deal with the problem on your own with a few DIY tips, it is highly recommended that you go with a pest control professional. They use tried and true methods for pest control causing no problems. Before you hire one, make sure you get your house inspected by them so that they can get an idea of the gravity of the situation.

Once the pest control professional rids your house of the infestation, make sure you inspect your house at the start of each winter season to ensure your house is not at risk once again. Prevention is much better than taking all the hassle after the problem becomes difficult to resolve.

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Image: April Nobile / © AntWeb.org / CC-BY-SA-3.0