Everybody gets ants now and then. These little insects are such a common pest that many of us hardly hesitate to squash them. But before you kill that ant on your kitchen table, you might want to plug your nose. Odorous house ants can really make a stink on your property, and if you’re not careful, you could be dealing with them for a long time. If you’ve got odorous house ants in Salt Lake City, here’s everything you need to know to prevent infestations.
About Odorous House Ants
Most animals take their name from how they look — gray squirrels, yellowjackets, and so on. But odorous house ants are one of those unique critters that are renowned not for how they look but for how they smell. Odorous house ants do indeed have a particular odor. It’s a foul, funky scent that’s usually compared to rotten coconut and bleu cheese. It’s definitely not the kind of smell you want in your home or business.
Odorous house ants are on the small side, measuring between just 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch long. They are fairly unremarkable in terms of appearance, with solid dark brown or black coloration. It might not be until you take a whiff of one of these pests that you can properly identify it.
Odorous house ant colonies can have many thousands of members and may be built either indoors or outdoors. Colonies can have multiple queens and may also have several satellite colonies surrounding the main nest. This strategy of splitting into smaller colonies allows odorous house ants to control a large area of territory.
These ants are highly attracted to sweets. In the wild, they love to feed on the honeydew produced by aphids. However, if aphid populations decline, they may be more likely to satisfy their sweet tooth by infesting homes and businesses. Odorous house ants feed on a variety of food sources, from vegetables to meat, but sweets are always most vulnerable to attack.
How Dangerous Are Odorous House Ants?
Odorous house ants aren’t known to sting and won’t bite unless seriously provoked. They aren’t especially dangerous as far as household pests go but present the same problem that all property-infesting ants do: contamination.
As they search for their meal, odorous house ants may contaminate food and indoor surfaces. They can spread bacteria like E. coli and may also leave behind body parts or dead ants in pantry foods they infest. And of course, there’s the smell. Crushing one of these pests causes that putrid odor to be released, making controlling the ants more difficult.
How To Prevent Odorous House Ants
It’s not easy to get rid of an odorous house ant infestation once it starts. Since these ants often have multiple queens and colonies working together, killing off one colony might not be enough to stop the problem.
There are some simple odorous house ant prevention methods you can use on your Salt Lake City property:
- Changing containers – Keep your perishable pantry foods stored in sturdy containers with locking lids. Glass and metal are best, but heavy plastic is also good.
- Preventing entry – Seal any cracks or crevices around doors, windows, pipes, and the foundation using silicone caulk. Replace any faulty door sweeps or weather stripping.
- Taking out the trash – Don’t let trash pile up indoors. Dispose of garbage regularly and keep trash cans at least 20 feet from the property.
- Reducing moisture – Empty any containers of standing water like pet dishes and flowerpots: seal leaky pipes and faucets and clear drains of blockages.
If you’re having trouble with odorous house ants on your Salt Lake City property, get in touch with the experts at Pest Pro Pest Control today to get started on our effective home pest control services.