Odorous house ants are one of the most common types of house ants to plague a home in North America. As the weather continues to warm, all Rock Island residents should be well informed on the matter of odorous house ants. Each year, these pests frustrate homeowners and renters alike.
Odorous house ants get their name from the rotten coconut scent they emit when crushed. They are brown or black in color and fairly small. While they do not sting or bite people, the large quantity in which they move can cause quite the nuisance. A single odorous house ant colony can contain 100,000 ants!
Do Odorous House Ants In My Home Mean It's Dirty?
While it is true that both clutter and food left out in the open can attract pests like odorous house ants, the cleanliness of your home is not a large driving force when it comes to an odorous house ant infestation. These pests are drawn to moisture and sugar.
In particular, odorous house ants love honeydew, a sugary waste product secreted by aphids when they feed on plant sap. Rotting fruit, sugar, sweet syrups, juice and alcohol spills, and crumbs will light a beacon for odorous house ants to invade your home. Other than their sweet tooth, odorous house ants are enticed into your Rock Island home by moisture and leaks. Leaky pipes and standing water in the home may be an open invitation to an odorous house ant.
Will Odorous House Ants Go Away On Their Own?
As long as odorous house ants have shelter and access to food, they will not go away on their own. Odorous house ants will continue to reproduce and colonize your entire home, if given the chance. An odorous house ant nest can have more than one queen at a time. Each queen is capable of laying up to 30 eggs per day! There are typically thousands of worker ants in each nest. Worker ants and queen ants can live for several years. During the summer months, winged reproductive ants appear and mate, starting the cycle all over again in your home.
How To Prevent Re-infestation In Your Home
If you have been fighting odorous house ants in your Rock Island home, you may see a resurgence in their numbers if you are not careful. Keep these tips in mind to prevent a re-infestation of your home:
Keep tree branches and shrubs trimmed back away from your house. Odorous house ants can use these limbs as a ladder to access your home.
Take care of any leaks and clean up any standing water. After showers and baths be sure to dry up the bathroom floor as soon as possible. Don’t forget to check appliances like washer machines for any internal leaks that can go undetected.
Avoid stacking your firewood against the house. Firewood is a popular nesting site for odorous house ants.
Check your home for cracks and entry points. Gaps beneath doors, in windowsills, around electrical sockets, around piping, and in your foundation are all common areas that odorous house ants can get in through.
Keep a tidy kitchen. Keep your food in airtight containers and clean spills and crumbs quickly to avoid attracting more odorous house ants in.
How Can I Get Rid Of House Ants Permanently?
The best way to guarantee that odorous house ants are permanently eradicated from your property is to contact a pest control expert, like Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators. Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators delivers results that last. With almost 100 years of knowledge and experience, we are more than qualified to rid your Rock Island home of pests. Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators is fast, effective, and offers free inspections. So call the professionals, call Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators today!