Topping the list of pests that are common to homes and businesses are ants. Everyone instantly recognizes these obnoxious insects as they pilfer food and deliver painfully pinch-like bites. As they march in a line, raiding the kitchen to forage what they can, people will instinctively grab a chemical and furiously drown the home invaders until there is no longer movement. Satisfied with your work, you remove the corpses and go about your day, only to find a new line of ants continuing the work. To ensure that ants are completely obliterated, professional ant control services are generally needed. Among the ants in Texas, Odorous Ants are plentiful and continually infesting homes and businesses and we at A Five Star Termite and Pest Control would like to briefly account for their fundamentals.
Odorous Ants or Pavement Ant Pests
A native species of the United States, thus found in a majority of the states, odorous ants, formally named Tapinoma Sessile, are referred to as such because when they are crushed, a foul stench of rotten coconuts emits from their bodies. Pavement ants and odorous ants are often confused with one another with their similar appearance, but odorous ants only have one node. Odorous ant workers average 1/8” long and 12-segmented antennae, additionally they range from brown to black in color.
Odorous Ant Infestations
It only takes 24 days for an ant to reach adulthood once they are hatched. Their colonies can have anywhere from 100 to 10,000 members in it at any given time. Odorous ant number s fluctuates as they are driven out of their nest from being frequently invaded by other ant species.
Interesting Facts About Odorous Ants
Odorous ants work 24/7, foraging for food both day and night. These ants will nest in a variety of locations. Outdoors, odorous ants will frequently construct their nests in shallow soil, in safe barriers under bricks, stone walk, boards, and other such sturdy objects. Inside homes they are attracted to the hot water pipes and heaters, but they will also nestle in sinks, cupboards, crevices, and wall voids. In the event they infiltrate buildings it is typically because their food sources have depleted, or extreme weather. Their food preference includes honeydew or sweet offerings, and they hunt for sugary food replacement. But like many ants, they will eat a variety of things such as plant secretions, seeds, and different insects, but they do favor the sweeter selections. Because of their fondness of sweets, aphids, mealy bugs, and other scale insects that excrete honeydew are often protected by odorous ants so much so that they will even tuck them away in their nests for extra protection.
Ant Inspections, Control, Removal & More in Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Bulverde, Timberwood Park, Leon Valley, Alamo Heights, New Braunfels, Selma, Live Oak, Converse, Universal City, Cibolo, Seguin, New Berlin, St Hedwig, Adkins, La Vernia, Elmendorf, Losoya, Von Ormy, Macdona & San Antonio, Texas
Odorous ants will leave behind a chemical trail of pheromones, like most ant species, their nests and potential food source, for the workers to get back and forth simply. This habit is the professional’s advantage and even though odorous ants are one of the more challenging ants to remove from a building, the specialists of A Five Star Termite and Pest Control can get it done quickly and efficiently. If you have odorous ants, or any ants infesting your home or business, call A Five Star Termite and Pest Control today and let our technicians do the rest.
