Effective Removal Strategies to Banish Odorous House Ants
Ants are among the most common household pests in New England, but not all ants are the same. Like their name implies, odorous house ants aren’t just a nuisance — they literally stink.
Let’s explore what makes these insects a unique problem, including the danger they pose, their common behaviors, and how to get rid of odorous ants for good.
What Are Odorous House Ants?
Although they are often mistaken for pavement ants, odorous house ants are smaller, usually growing from 1/16 to 1/8 inch in size. Their bodies are uniform in color, typically in shades of brown or black. They have an uneven thorax and antenna with 12 segments.
Perhaps their most notable identifier is the source of their name. If you crush them or they feel threatened, these ants emit a scent that is similar to rotten coconuts. However, that’s not the worst part about having an infestation of these ants.
Why They Are a Problem
Odorous house ants are small but can pose a big problem. Beyond their funky smell, these pests can also contaminate food in your pantry, silverware in drawers, and dishes on your counter. Additionally, this ant species is known for building large, extensive colonies, which makes them challenging to eliminate on your own.
Common Behaviors and Habitats of Odorous House Ants
Odorous ants are drawn to sweet, greasy foods. Outdoors, they are attracted to plant nectar and “honeydew,” or the excrement from aphids. Indoors, they are likely to be found closer to food sources. Understanding the habits and habitats of these common household pests can help you prevent and control them more successfully.
Typical Habitats
Odorous ants love nesting in warm, moist areas. You can often find them indoors in areas near leaky pipes, faucets, heaters, and damp wood. What draws them inside is the allure of food, including sweets and meats. Outdoors, they feed on insects and other materials and can be found in mulched landscaping beds, under wood piles, and beneath piles of clutter. They are known for building vast networks of interconnected nests.
Foraging Patterns
These ants are renowned for establishing trails to follow when foraging and sticking to them. Outside, they often stick to the edges of window and door frames, siding, and decking. Indoors, active workers quickly march in single file in kitchens and pantries.
Nesting Behavior
Odorous ants usually build large colonies, often with multiple queens and thousands of workers. They may build their nests near sources of moisture, voids, and termite-damaged wood, often coming indoors during warmer months, the fall, and rainy seasons.
DIY Solutions for Controlling Odorous House Ants
Getting rid of odorous ants on your own can be challenging, particularly given these pests’ inclination for building large nests. However, several DIY solutions may be worth a try.
Identifying Entry Points
Because of their small size, these tiny pests can slip in through miniscule openings. By tracking their movements and watching them travel along their established trails, you may be able to identify the areas where they enter the building. If so, you should be able to track their activity to find where these tiny black ants are getting in your house. By sealing up entry points and eliminating outdoor nests, you can effectively regain control of your home and property.
Using Natural Repellents
Although DIY remedies are rarely completely effective, when used in combination with identifying how and where these ants are entering, they can be helpful. Eliminate ants’ pheromone trails with a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar or try other natural repellents, such as:
- Water, tea tree oil, and a few drops of dish soap
- Chalk to disrupt odorous ants’ scent trails
- Cinnamon or cinnamon oil and water in areas ants frequent
Creating Homemade Ant Baits
Although you might be tempted to buy baits that are designed for sugar-loving ants, you can also try making your own. A few examples include:
- A mix of equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar sprinkled on windowsills, kitchen counters, and flooring
- Borax mixed with syrup or jelly and placed in high-traffic areas
- A mix of corn syrup and borax on wax paper
- Neem oil and cayenne pepper
Keeping a Clean Home
Sanitation can help prevent many pests, including odorous ants. For example, eliminate clutter and trim all vegetation far enough away from the exterior of the building to eliminate ants’ easy access to your home. Inside, regularly vacuum and mop floors, wipe down kitchen counters, wash dishes, and keep all foods stored in airtight containers.
Preventing Future Infestations
When it comes to odorous ants — and most other pests, for that matter — prevention is the best line of defense. Check out the following tips to help minimize your risk of future invasions from these smelly nuisances.
Sealing Entry Points
Odorous ants are tiny. Sealing gaps, cracks, and crevices in your foundation, around utility lines and pipes, and other openings can keep them outside.
Reducing Food Sources
Regularly cleaning your home and maintaining a tidy yard can eliminate the sweet, starchy, and greasy food these pests crave. This will keep them moving in search of a food source, which they will be forced to find elsewhere.
Regular Inspections
The sooner you recognize the problem, the better you will be equipped to prevent it from becoming widespread. These ants are known for building large, widespread colonies that can be very challenging to eliminate.
Professional Solutions for Controlling Odorous House Ants
Like cockroaches and rodents, these pests often crawl across undesirable surfaces, like dumpsters and sewers. When they enter your home, they could be tracking all kinds of pathogens along with them. Professionals can get to the root of the problem for complete elimination. While it can be difficult to eradicate an entire colony on your own, professionals have the education and equipment necessary for the job.
Contact Catseye Pest Control
Don’t wait until an ant infestation grows larger. Lean on the professional expertise of Catseye’s highly trained technicians. We can properly identify the ants and how they are getting inside and create a customized treatment plan to ensure successful, lasting control.
Schedule a free inspection today to get started.
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