What are odorous house ants?
Odorous house ants are a small species of ant that range in color from dark brown to black. They are common household-invading ants and are most often identified not by how they look, but by how they smell. As their name suggests, these ants have an unpleasant odor associated with them. Odorous house ants emit a foul odor, likened to rotten coconuts, when they are crushed. These ants live in medium to large-sized colonies with thousands of workers and many queens.
Are odorous house ants dangerous?
Odorous house ants are considered nuisance ants and are not dangerous. They pose no real health risks to people, nor do they cause significant damage to property. However, like other unwanted pests, odorous house ants should not be allowed to live inside your home. They have the potential to contaminate your family’s food sources and the surfaces of your home with bacteria.
Why do I have an odorous house ant problem?
Odorous house ants feed on a wide variety of food sources but have a particular love for sugary, sweet substances. Odorous house ants are highly attracted to properties that offer easy access to food. Outside, they will forage for food in garbage cans, pet food bowls, compost piles, and around outdoor eating areas. They are also attracted to properties that offer plentiful water and shelter sources. Once on your property, they eventually find their way into your home through cracks and crevices in its foundation and exterior walls while foraging for food.
Where will I find odorous house ants?
Odorous house ants usually create their nests outside underneath rocks, landscaping ties, fallen trees, or inside wood piles. After odorous house ants find their way into your home, they may stay and create a satellite nest inside. Indoors, these ants like to create their nests in hard-to-reach areas near sources of moisture and warmth. Common indoor nesting spots include behind wall voids or underneath floors near pipes and heaters.
How do I get rid of odorous house ants?
To eliminate invasive and smelly odorous house ants from your home or business, partner with a professional pest control company. At Proven Pest Management, we offer customizable and flexible pest management services that will completely solve your odorous house ant problem. Our highly trained professionals offer property owners personable and personalized ant control services at an affordable price. To learn more about the odorous house ant control services we provide throughout Tennessee and Mississippi, call Proven Pest Management!
How can I prevent odorous house ants in the future?
Doing the following things in and around your home can help to prevent problems with invasive odorous house ants:
- Install door sweeps.
- Seal cracks in exterior walls and your home’s foundation.
- Place weather stripping around windows and doors.
- Seal spaces found around vents, pipes and other utilities leading inside through exterior walls.
- Trim tree branches, shrubs, and bushes away from the outside of your home.
- Reduce access to water by repairing leaky pipes and fixtures found inside and outside your home.
- Remove trash from your home daily, placing it in outdoor trash cans with locking lids.
- If you have garden areas on your property make sure to quickly pick up fruits and vegetables that have fallen to the ground.
- Routinely sweep and mop in kitchen and pantry areas.
- Wash dirty dishes on a daily basis.
