How to Identify Ants
Though ants are familiar insects, in the home, they are sometimes confused with termites. If you look closely enough, you can tell an ant by its slim middle and curved antennae. Termites have thick middles and upright antennae.
The body of an ant is divided into three sections: head, thorax, and abdomen. An ant’s middle may have one or two segments, or “nodes.” This feature divides ants into the aptly named groups of one-node and two-node ants.
As with bees, ants’ colonies are largely female. Wingless adult ants are the colony’s workers, who are in charge of gathering food, feeding larvae, sustaining the nest, and protecting the colony. The colony queen’s only job is to lay eggs. Male ants have wings and mate with the queen.
Common House Ant Species
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are large, ranging from ¼-inch to ⅝-inch long. They are dark brown or black, but some species may have red or yellow coloring.
When carpenter ants build their nests, usually in damp or decaying wood, they dig out tunnels which weakens the wood from the inside. You’ll know you have these pests by the appearance of small holes on the surface of wood and by the debris they produce from tunneling.
Odorous House Ants
Odorous house ants are only about ⅛-inch long and have beehive-shaped abdomens. They are dark brown or black.
When threatened or crushed, odorous house ants give off a smell of rotten coconut, hence their name. While these ants do not pose a public health risk, they can contaminate food.
Little Black Ants
Little black ants are 1/16-inch long with two-segmented abdomens. They can be dark brown to black, but usually very dark black. These ants are shiny.
While little black ants don’t pose a threat to our health, they can be a nuisance and contaminate food.
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Ants
I use powdered sugar and boric acid. Mix two teaspoons each with hot water in a small container and place in their path. Change when you have a large amount of dead ants. Wipes out entire colonies in a short period of time. Use more water than powder and they will sink to the bottom.
Good thing that.........
It's a wondrous thing to watch ants. AND that they are tiny! Have you ever had one bite you? I have and it's the most surprisingly big OUCH. It's a GREAT thing that God didn't make these little guys (oops, did I just transgender the whole colony, soooo sorry Ant-kind ;),
bigger than they are. Amazing the punch they pack if they happen to bite you. And I am talking the little tiny black ants in your kitchen. Great article but I try not to even kill ants. And I do water outside alongside the windows and walk below so they have water, but that's me ;) God bless everybody! Love the Farmer's Almanac and use the "days that are good for" all the time!