Identification & Types > Ants
With over 20 years of experience, ArmaXX has been helping customers manage and eradicate pests from their property. We pride ourselves on total customer satisfaction, solving pest control problems where other companies have failed. Our ultimate goal is to keep pests out of your life, while not becoming pests ourselves.
Ants are among the most amazing and intriguing insects in the world, including the toughest of all pest to control. There are about 20,000 different species of ant in the world and they live in a wide variety of environments. Approximately 570 species occur in the United States and of these; fewer than 30 species may visit the inside of homes. In Tennessee, ants have been deemed by pest control companies as the number one structural pest. 
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. They live in colonies which may host thousands or even millions of individuals. The colony supports three types of adults: females ("workers/soldiers"), fertile males ("drones"), and fertile females ("queens"). The workers primary role is to forage for food, leaving a chemical trail behind alerting other ants to the source.
Dangers/Threats
Ants can be harmful to human health. For example, the Pharaoh Ant carries more than a dozen dangerous bacteria, including staphylococcus and salmonella. The Fire Ant found in Tennessee, have attacked humans and reported to have killed livestock. Some species of the big-head ant are intermediate hosts of various poultry tapeworms.
Lifecycle
Ants grow up in just a few days. Each ant goes through four distinctive growing stages: egg, larva, pupa, and the adult. Ants live a very busy, but short life compared to humans. The average life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days. However, they reproduce so quickly that the overall colony just gets larger with time.
Ant Facts
- With their combined weight greater than the combined weight of all humans, ants are the most numerous type of animal - 15 to 25% of the total terrestrial animal biomass.
- Many ants produce a toxin “formic acid “ which is secreted by glands in the head which is deposited in the bite.
- Strong in relation to their size, ants can carry 10 to 20 times their body weight.
- The queen ant lays all the eggs in the anthill.
- The queen ant lives up to ten or twenty years.
- Ants have two stomachs one for them and one to feed others.
- Some ants sleep seven hours a day.
- The queen licks the eggs to make them hatch.
- The queen feeds her eggs her own saliva.
- Some ants can have up to three queens.
Acrobatic Ants
Description
Ranges from 1/8-inch to more than 1/4-inch in length. The most commonly encountered species are found at the smaller end of this size scale.
Their color ranges from black to dark brown to red and black. The smaller
species are typically uniformly dark in color.
Acrobat ants are identifiable by the heart shape of their abdomen when viewed from above. They will sting and bite, and occasionally invades homes for food.
Habitat
These ants prefer to nest in moist or rotted wood. Colonies are most often found in dead trees, stumps, and logs. Rotting areas in fences, decks, and railings may also be nesting locations. If moist or rotted wood exists insideyour home due to water leaks, this ant will readily nest indoors. Such interior nests are typically found around the perimeter -- in soffits, door frames, and skylights.
Control Strategies
Replace damaged or decayed wood and eliminate moisture.
Carpenter Ant
Description
The carpenter ant can be black to brown in color. The thorax and petiole sometimes light to dark brown; workers ¼” to ½ “ long; thorax evenly rounded; long, grayish or yellowish hairs on upper surface of body.
Habitat
These ants prefer to group in columns and may make conspicuous trails on 
lawn or soil. During warm months may forage indoors, frequently in moist areas and at night.
Rotting wood in trees and stumps and moist wood are favorite areas for carpernter ants. In homes, these ant can sometimes be found in bathrooms, wall voids and under roofs.
Control Strategies
Replace damaged or decayed wood and eliminate moisture - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Crazy Ants
Description
The crazy ants are is usually 3/8" inch and known for their characteristic rapid and erratic movement. The worker ants have extremely long legs, ma
king them relatively easy to identify.
The crazy ant's diet will vary from grease, sweets and even other insects. Once a colony locates a food source, hundreds of workers will be seen crawling all over the food.
Habitat
Crazy ants are highly adaptable and will nest in a variety of locations, from very dry to moist. They will nest under objects, in rotten wood or trash, in tree cavities, as well as in debris left standing in buildings for long periods of time.
Control Strategies
These ants feed on a variety of foods including grease, sweets, and other insects. While crazy ants need moisture, elimination of water by itself will not get rid of these ants since they can survive under a wide range of conditions. Elimination of food sources and nest sites are equally important in the management of this ant.
Fire Ant
Description
Imported Fire Ants look very much like ordinary ants. They are between a 1/10" inch and a 1/4" of an inch in size with an array of many sizes within this range and reddish brown to black in color. Imported Fire Ants are 
very aggressive when disturbed and cause a painful sting that produces a small white pustule about 8-24 hours following the sting.
Habitat
Fire ant colonies build mounds that may be 10 inches or more in height, 15 inches or more in diameter, and 3 feet or more in depth. Sometimes these mounds can be wrapped around shrubs and other vegetation, even dead trees and/or stumps.
In slab foundations, fire ants can nest indoors in wall voids by entering the structure from below and following plumbing lines in. Bath traps, shower stalls, and hot water heater walls are well suited areas for fire ants.
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Control Strategies
The key to fire ant control is to locate all mounds and treat them - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Odorous House Ants
Description
Odorous house ants get their name from the distinct odor, smelling like rotten coconuts, when crushed. These ants are typically 1/8" inch and brownin color. Odorous house ants love sweet foods containing sugar and
or honey.
Habitat
They commonly build shallow nests in soil under items such as stones, logs, patio blocks, and debris. Inside they will commonly nest in wall voids, particularly around hot water heaters and hot water pipes. Outside perimeter treatments are especially helpful.
Control Strategies
Check for and treat outdoor nests under stones, firewood, bricks, or treat entry/perimeter - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Little Black Ants
Description
The Little Black Ant gets its name from its jet-black color and its small size. Worker ants are tiny, only about 1/16th of an inch long! The workers forage in scent marked trails along the edges of structures such as foundation walls and along sidewalks. They feed on aphids as a source of honeydew, plant secretions, and are predaceous on other insects. In the home th
e little black ant will feed on almost any food items it can find such as grease, oil, meats, sweets, fruits, and vegetable materials such as corn meal.
Habitat
The Little Black ant is versatile, nesting both indoors and outdoors. The ants prefer decayed woods but will build nests in any woodwork voids or cracks in cement. Outdoor colonies are found under stones/rocks, in rotting logs, in lawns, or in open areas. Nests can be located by the small craters of fine soil, which are deposited at their entrances.
Control Strategies
To avoid further infestations indoors, all cracks and gaps in exterior walls should be sealed. To limit the nesting of ants surrounding the dwelling, all debris should be removed and firewood stored off the ground - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Pavement Ants
Description
Pavement Ants are small pests - ranging from 1/10 to 1/16 inches in length - that can be found in many parts of the United States Each individual colony contains thousands of workers, multiple queens and is usually located at one particular site. The small ants feed on a variety of foods, inclu
ding grease, sweets, seeds and dead insects. Pet foods or any food dropped on the floor will quickly covered with pavement ants. They also feed on the honeydew produced by aphids and are an occasional pest of vegetable gardens.
Habitat
The pavement ant earns its name well, building nests beneath and along the sides of pavement: patios, driveways, sidewalks, foundations of homes. These pests can also be found inside of homes (and other structures) in wall voids, beneath toilets and water heaters. They also will readily nest in and beneath insulation in walls and attics. Outdoors, you will see pavement ants nesting beneath mulch, landscaping, stones and logs, and also along curbs.
Control Strategies
To avoid further infestations indoors, all cracks and gaps in exterior walls should be sealed. To limit the nesting of ants surrounding the dwelling, all debris should be removed and firewood stored off the ground - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Pharaoh Ant
Description
Pharaoh ants are small, yellow to reddish brown ants which are about 1/16-inch long. They have two nodes and the workers are all one size. It is often confused with the thief ant which is also a small, yellow ant with two nodes. The Pharaoh ant's antenna has 12 segments and ends in a three-segmented club.
Their colonies have multiple queens and can split into small groups, spreading very rapidly. In sub-tropical areas pharaoh ants readily nest outside in leaf debris found on or near structures. Re-invasion of the structure can occur throughout warm parts of the year. 
Habitat
Pharaoh ants do not build mounds or carve out galleries in wood. The nest in any dark void in a structure. Nest locations include wall voids, cabinet voids, behind baseboards and window moldings, behind insulation of appliances, inside hollow curtain and shower rods, boxes and expansion joints in slabs. They may even be found in areas such as folded paper sacks and newspapers. Outside, these ants can be found in leaf litter, flower pots and in the debris of rain gutters.
Control Strategies
To avoid further infestations indoors, all cracks and gaps in exterior walls should be sealed. To limit the nesting of ants surrounding the dwelling, all debris should be removed and firewood stored off the ground - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Thief Ants
Description
Thief ants, also called grease ants, are yellow to light brown; workers measure about 1/20 inch long. Thief ants are so named because of their habit of nesting near the nests of larger ants and stealing their larvae. T
hey often have well defined trails.
Habitat
Thief ants commonly nest in soil and rotting wood. They can nest indoors in small spaces, such as under countertops, in wall voids, cabinet voids, behind baseboards. Nests are often difficult to find.
Control Strategies
To avoid further infestations indoors, all cracks and gaps in exterior walls should be sealed. To limit the nesting of ants surrounding the dwelling, all debris should be removed and firewood stored off the ground - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!