The amount of pests that you may have in your home may surprise you. The biggest problem is that within one specific type of pest there can be many species. This is true when talking about bees such as honey bees and carpenter bees. It is also true with cockroaches like the American or Oriental. Another type of pest that has many species that can affect you and your house are ants. They are hard to deal with for many reasons one being the amount of ants that exist within a single colony. There are some species that can be in the thousands and just thinking about that many of a pest getting in your house can be overwhelming. You want to make sure that you deal with the ants accordingly and it is a great idea to understand what type of ant you are dealing with.A Five Star Termite & Pest Control outlines what you need to know about fire ants and carpenter ants.
Color of Fire & Carpenter Ants
The first aspect of how to tell the difference between these two types of ants is that they have a specific color pattern. The fire ant actually has several species but the most common is the red fire ant. That means that the ant is red of course. There are some species that can be darker such as brown or even black. The carpenter ant has a specific type of colors that they are best known for. They are usually dark on their back half or the abdomen while their head is brownish red. They are sometimes mistaken for a termite. The color is a great way to tell what type of ant might be getting in your house.
Carpenter & Fire Ant Behavior
The next way you can tell which type of ant you are dealing with between a fire ant and are carpenter ant is the way they live. They are very different in where they live and what they do. The fire ant will be found in the yard of your house. They build up a hill that they will use as a way to enter their nest. They hill can often be quite large and will be housing thousands of fire ants. The carpenter ant chooses to live in a very different way. They go their name for a good reason. They will be found in exposed wood around or even in your house. They will chew through the wood and make tunnels that they use a way to get around. They tunnels will damage the wood and cause it to become structurally unsound.
Fire & Carpenter Ant Bites
The bite is a something that you may end up coming across at some point. If you walk through an ant hill the fire ant will look at you as a threat and they will bite and attack. The problem with a fire ant is that the sting that they leave behind can be quite painful. You also will get more than one bite in many instances. This is what will set them apart from other ants including carpenter ants.
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A Five Star Termite & Pest Control can come out to your home and treat for ants in and around your home. Call us today!
