ODOROUS HOUSE ANTS
(AKA sugar ants, sidewalk ants, little black ants or Tapinoma sessile)
Odorous house ants get their name from the smell produced when defending themselves or when crushed between your fingers.
They are native to the Pacific Northwest and have adapted extremely well to living with people in residential neighborhoods.
These ants thrive in the northwest and have become the #1 nuisance insect in our area.
They are very persistent, showing up in thousands of homes all around the northwest. Odorous house ants have multiple queens, and they form large colonies that include many nests.
These traits allow them to survive and thrive in urban areas. When threatened, they instinctively split the nest and relocate multiple smaller nests.
They then quickly work to increase their numbers. They can live almost anywhere from small piles of pine needles, under a large rock, in the sand under your walkway, and even in the foam pads
under your new hardwood floors. This makes it very difficult to get rid of them.
Some things to note:
- Odorous house ants feed on honeydew in the wild, but our homes offer a nearly unlimited supply of sugar-based foods.
The carbohydrates found in sugar help ants fight against parasites.
- Doing that big landscaping project often triggers their instinct to relocate and move into your home
- They don't sleep much. Studies found that the average worker takes hundreds of 1 minute long naps each day.
- They tend to be most active in warm weather and will move their nests more frequently
- They are tough! Crushed females have been known to still lay eggs and survive for as long as two months without food or water. Injured workers have been known to continue living and working, even while missing body parts.
- Active from April to October outdoors, but they are active year round in heated buildings.
- Foraging trails between nests can range from 10 to 50 feet. A large colony can cover an entire city block.
4 D.I.Y. methods to get rid of ants
Cleanliness is the best defense against these ants mainly because it removes the foods they are seeking out.
Trimming back shrubs, bushes and trees that are touching your home will limit their access to get inside.
Sometimes however, it's just not always enough.
Try these home remedies as well.
- Dissolve borax and sugar (or honey) in boiling water, when the mixture cools, set out small cap fulls of the mixture wherever you're seeing the ants.
They will pick it up and bring it back to feed the entire colony.
Borax has a very low toxicity to mammals, but it interferes with an ants digestive system and eventually kills them.
- A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water will kill an ant quickly. It also washes away their scent trails and repels them for several days.
- A light dusting of diatomaceous earth around the foundation of the home. The particles in diatomaceous earth have sharp edges like bits of broken glass
when examined under a microscope. The powder sticks to insect feet and exoskeletons. Once the powder is absorbed by the insect's body moisture,
the insect dehydrates and dies. Be sure to apply as a very light dusting. If you make piles of diatomaceous earth, the ants will just walk around it.
- Essential oils make for effective insect repellents and can be implemented in many ways. Just mix a teaspoon of peppermint, cinnamon, or
citrus oil with water in a spray bottle.
You can also get a pro!
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