Eco-Friendly Ant Prevention Guide For Jacksonville Properties

When running away from a wasp, have you looked at the angry, flying creature and thought, "That wasp looks like an ant with wings"? Probably not. But, if you think about it, ants and wasps are similar in appearance — minus the stinger. Ants and wasps are related and are both part of the insect class in the animal kingdom. 

All ants have two antennae, a body with three segments (head, thorax, and abdomen), compound eyes, and six jointed legs. Don't all insects have wings? Not necessarily. Of course, wasps and bees have wings like other insects, but whether or not an ant has wings attached to its body depends on the ant and its role in the colony. Most ants in a nest are wingless, sterile worker ants responsible for feeding the queens, protecting eggs, and supplying nutrition to developing larvae and pupa. During the late winter months, the queens produce reproducing winged ants. When the temperatures warm, the fertilized flying ants exit the nest to find locations to create satellite colonies.

Now that you have some general information about ants, here is a list of the ant species that invade Jacksonville properties necessitating the need for ant pest control: 

• Fire ants
• Bigheaded ants
• Pharaoh ants
• Odorous house ants
• Argentine ants
• Acrobat ants
• Pavement ants
• Carpenter ants
• Little black ants
• Ghost ants

Just like a pouch of nuts, bolts, and screws that come with a new furniture piece, this list may seem overwhelming, so let's break it down in our handy prevention guide. Let's start with ants that live outdoors and are not frequent invaders inside a house. 

Fire ants prefer to live in the soil near structures. As their name suggests, these ants have a dark reddish body ranging from 1/8 to 3/8 inches long. These ants create two to four-foot, irregular flat mounds against trees, foundations, landscaping timbers, etc. Although they rarely enter into homes, if they do, it is usually through HVAC systems and AC units. 

Bigheaded ants are an arch-enemy of fire ants; they displace them when they want to create nests in the same territory. These ants are so-named because of the big heads of worker ants compared to the rest of their body. Like the fire ant, bigheaded ants have a reddish body and create colonies in the soil but are only 1/16 to 1/8 inch in length. 

Pharaoh ants have a bad reputation because they were assumed to be a part of the biblical plagues in Egypt. These ants stand out because they have a pale, yellowish-to-reddish ants 1/16-inch body. Although they occasionally enter homes, they are more of a nuisance in hospitals and commercial food-handling establishments. 

Now let's focus on ants that are attracted to high-moisture areas. These ants prefer to cluster around leaky water pipes, drains, sinks, water heaters, damp wood, and potted plants. Odorous house ants are brown or black and have a 1/16 to 1/8 inch body. They are so-called "odorous" because their last dying action is to produce a rotten-coconut smell when crushed. 

Argentine ants are similar in color and size to odorous house ants, although they can be as large as 1/4 inch. These ants deposit pheromones to create a trail to the food source. Because they make a chemtrail to food sources, you will often see them traveling in long lines along baseboards and up walls. 

Acrobat ants are the entertainers in the ant world. These 1/8-inch long, multicolored ants appear to stand on their head when disturbed. Like Argentine ants, they travel in long trails, but as their name suggests, they are acrobats who walk along pipes, wires, and utility lines entering homes.

Pavement ants are 1/8 inch long dark brown to black ants that prefer to live in pavement cracks and under stones outside. These ants often enter Jacksonville homes where they live underneath insulation, inside of walls, and under floors.

Carpenter ants are destructive ants. These ants have a red or black 5/8-inch body. Carpenter ants live in damp wood in crawl spaces, basements, decks, or underneath porches.

Now, we will look at ants that tend to live in drier areas of the house. Little black ants are tiny (1/16 inch) and have jet-black shiny bodies. These ants live in woodwork, wall voids, behind facades, and masonry. Don't let them scare you, but Ghost ants prefer to live in similar locations. These 1/16-inch long ants are so-called because they have a yellowish abdomen and legs, but their head and thorax are dark brown. 

B&T Pest Control provides the best pest control for ants in Jacksonville. No matter which ant species infests your property, we can handle the problem.