What You Need To Know About Ants In The House

We usually don’t look at ants inside our homes as a good thing. If you have ants in your Houston home, what does it mean? Knowing which type of ant you are dealing with makes all the difference. Some ants are just a nuisance, while others can be very destructive.

The most destructive of the ant species is the carpenter ant. The most common carpenter ants in the Houston area, are a dull black color, with reddish legs and golden hairs covering the abdomen. Outside, they are often found in firewood, wood fence parts, and stumps or dead trees. Inside, they can be found in the voids of your walls, where they will hollow out the wooden structures of your home. They hollow out the walls to make cavities to live in while they search your home for food. Damage from carpenter ants can be comparable in severity to the damage from termites.

Raspberry crazy ants are not as destructive as carpenter ants, but they can cause your electrical equipment to malfunction if a nest is built inside it. You can identify crazy ants by their reddish brown appearance and erratic foraging patterns. They live in large nests outside, along the coast, from Texas to Florida. They will come inside your home and then build large nests inside walls and electrical equipment. Even outside, they can overtake your yard and will push out any other types of ants that are there. Unfortunately, crazy ants are even harder to get rid of than most other species.

Fire ants are the most threatening ants in the Houston area when it comes to human lives. They are very aggressive and can be dangerous to people and animals. They attack as a group and each ant can sting multiple times. This makes them a real threat to small animals and people, especially if they accidentally have a run in with their nest. Fire ant nests are often found outside where the soil is moist. They can also be under rocks and other debris where the soil is cool and moist. These pests are highly adaptable to their surroundings, and are extremely difficult to eliminate.

While pavement ants cause no real threat to animals or humans, they are a nuisance to have in your home. They brown or black, sometimes in the kitchen looking for any type of food scraps that are lying around. They also will eat other deceased insects and plant saps when they are outside.

Having ants in your home or nesting on your property can be harmful to the structure of your home and your family. Having a year round pest control plan is necessary to keep your home and property ant free. Holder’s Pest Solutions offer the Total Home Protection Program for Houston homeowners that are ready to say “so long” to these common household pests.