What Troubles Can Odorous House Ants Cause For You?

What Troubles Can Odorous House Ants Cause For You?

While it is true that odorous house ants are typically considered to be a nuisance pest, that does not mean that they will not cause issues for you. It simply means that they do not bite and transmit serious diseases to humans the way dangerous pests like mice, cockroaches, and mosquitoes do. And while these ants do not transmit dangerous diseases to people, that is not to say that they don’t contaminate food sources, because they certainly can.

Whenever odorous house ants enter homes they are searching to meet their three basic needs of food, water, and shelter. While they roam through your home looking for an area high in moisture to nest in such as behind the walls of the bathroom or under the floorboards beneath the leaking kitchen sink, they will also take note of any food sources. Once they are settled, they will go into your kitchen pantry, into cupboards, across counter tops, or under stoves and refrigerators to feast. As they walk through food stores and across food preparation areas, they can contaminate these with germs and chemicals that they produce and emit. These resourceful little creatures will lay down ‘trails’ to help guide other ants to sources of food such as sweets, meats, grease, dairy products, pastries, vegetables, or fruit. Thus contaminating any food they come in contact with.

The odorous house ant is tiny, about 2 – 3 ½ mm in length. They are dark brown to black and emit a disgusting odor when they are crushed that resembles the smell of rotten coconut. These ants live in large colonies sometimes numbering in the thousands. These nests are typically located in shallow soil under large rocks, logs, mulch, and other debris. Once established inside a home or other building they will nest behind walls near hot water pipes, under heaters and sinks, behind cabinets, and under floors.

Once odorous house ants have discovered your home, the only way to completely eradicate them is with professional help. DIY treatments may kill some of the ants that happen to come in contact with the materials you laid down, but they are incapable of penetrating deep into the hidden recesses of your home where the majority of these ants are nesting. You may even notice a reduction in ant traffic for a short time, but their numbers will swell again and the headache will continue.

If you live here in Tennessee, your best choice when odorous house ants invade is to contact the ant specialists here at Russell’s Pest Control. Our specialists are armed with the latest products, protocols, and technologies that are effective in eliminating odorous house ants quickly and safely.

To learn more about our ant control solutions or to learn about or effective year-round services that will keep ants and other pests from accessing your home all year long, simply give us a call today.

Ants Invading Kitchens

Ants Invading Kitchens

There is a well-known idiom in The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms listed as “have ants in your pants.” This idiom is a convenient way of describing someone who is very excited or worked up about something and not able to keep still; someone who is excessively fidgety. That same reaction and effect could easily describe the homeowner who discovers ants in the kitchen.

Ants come in all sizes and colors and are a nuisance to homeowners and business owners. While there are certainly more dangerous and more destructive pests, you do not want ants crawling around in the kitchen helping themselves to your food. Remember, ants are marching across your kitchen floor and up the side of your cupboards or across your kitchen counters with a distinct purpose; they are foraging for food and water.

Odorous house ants are black or dark brown and are of a very small size, ranging from 1/16th to 1/8th inch in length. Their oval, segmented body is much the same of most other ant species. However, there is one very distinguishing characteristic of the odorous ant and that is the offensive smell that is emitted when they are crushed. It is much like a rotten coconut smell. The odorous ants normally build their nest outdoors but, under certain conditions, may move inside homes. Regardless of the location of the nest, these tiny ants will invade your home in search of food. They are known to move in the home in large numbers and contaminate your kitchen and food.

Unlike carpenter ants, the odorous ant is not a threat to the property or structure of the home. Neither are they a major threat for biting and stinging people. The nuisance brought about by odorous ants is their ability to invade in large numbers and work their way inside food containers, eating and contaminating contents. The trick to total eradication is that the entire nest or colony must be destroyed and not just the ants that you see.

Russell’s Pest Control has more than 40 years of experience and our employees are driven to control your ant problem. With their knowledge of pests, Russell’s technicians will know how the ants are getting in the house and from where they are coming. Our technicians will also implement a program for you that will quickly, safely, and effectively resolve your “ants in the kitchen” problem. When you contact Russell’s Pest Control about your ant issues, we will also assist you with several ant prevention tips, identify points of entry, and put exclusion measures in place to ensure that there are no more ants in your kitchen.