Are The Odorous House Ants In Connecticut Dangerous?
In our Connecticut service area, odorous house ants are common pests. These tiny dark-colored insects can get into a home in large numbers, infest stored food, and create an unpleasant smell. If these ants are getting into your Connecticut home, should you be concerned? Do they present a danger to you? We have good news. You don't have to worry too much about these ants. It won't kill you to have them in your home. Literally. But they might make you feel ill. Here's what you should know about odorous house ants in Connecticut.
Habits
Have you ever found these ants in your trash? It wouldn't be surprising. Odorous house ants can find many food options in a bag or trash. Have you ever found these ants in your recycling bins? If your recycling has an odor, it can cause these ants to investigate. When ants get into trash or climb around in recycling, they can pick up microorganisms. If the same ants get into your stored foods before they have a chance to groom themselves, these microorganisms can be transferred to your food and lead to food poisoning.
Habitation
As a nuisance ant pest, how do odorous house ants stand up against other ants? Well, one thing to consider is whether or not a species of ants will choose to infest your home or continue to remain outside. An ant species that lives in the ground and prefers to stay outside will not be as much of a nuisance because it will have to travel farther when food sources are discovered by scout ants. Odorous house ants can live in your yard, hiding under wood, stones, sticks, leaves, and other organic debris, but they are able to establish themselves in wall voids as well, particularly in areas of your home where there is high humidity. If they do this, they can be a pain to deal with. When you leave a food source exposed, they can mobilize in a matter of seconds.
Identification
Odorous house ants are dark brown to black in coloration. They have monomorphic workers that are about ⅛ of an inch long. If you're able to examine one under magnification, you may see that it has one node between the thorax and abdomen. You might consider this to be the waist of the ant. This node is hidden under the abdomen when you look at the ant from the top. Visual identification isn't the best way to tell whether or not you have an odorous house ant problem because there are other dark brown or entirely black ants that can get into your home, such as little black ants, pavement ants, and carpenter ants. If you're wondering if you have an odorous house ant infestation, you could crush a few. The odor generated by odorous house ants will leave little doubt which ant pest you're dealing with.
Odorous House Ant Control
It can be difficult to eliminate odorous house ant colonies because a colony can have multiple queens. If you spray worker ants that enter your home, you could cause the colony to split into two or more colonies. This can add to your frustration. The smart choice is to contact a licensed professional to properly identify the ants, track down where they're living, and apply treatments to eliminate the colony. The products we use are taken by worker ants and brought back to the colony. When they are shared with other ants in the colony, the ants slowly begin to die. By the time the queens realize something is wrong, it is too late.
Natural Odorous House Ant Prevention
There are a few things you can do to manage odorous house ants. These can help to prevent an infestation.
- Keep your exterior trash receptacles clean and free of odors.
- Remove wood, leaves, sticks, grass clippings, stacked stones, and other debris from your foundation perimeter.
- Seal cracks in your foundation walls.
- Seal gaps around plumbing and wire conduits.
- Repair gaps in weatherstripping and door sweeps around exterior doors.
- Repair holes created by wood-destroying pests.
- Repair leaky faucets and other plumbing issues inside your home.
- Keep your interior free of crumbs and other food sources that attract ants.
- Store your food in sealed plastic containers.
If ants become a problem in your Connecticut property, remember that Big Blue Bug Solutions is always available to help you get control of them. We use advanced products and strategies to ensure successful elimination and control. Reach out to us for assistance today.
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Their man, Elijah was a gentleman and very knowledgeable professional. He took the time to carefully listen to me when I explained where the ant infestation was found. He explained clearly what he was going to do to address the issue.
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