The odorous house ant doesn’t get nearly the same amount of press as some other ant species, including the very destructive carpenter ant, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t cause problems inside homes and other buildings. The odorous house ant looks like your run-of-the-mill ant; they are typically dark brown or black in color and grow to a small size of about 1/8th of an inch in length. What distinguishes them from other species of ants is their smell. As their name indicates, the odorous house ant emits a very unpleasant odor; when these ants are crushed they give off a foul smell that many people liken to rotten coconut. In addition to identifying odorous house ants by their smell, they can be identified by the extremely large size of their colony. A single colony could be composed of hundreds of queens and thousands of workers.
While odorous house ants do not smell like a bouquet of roses, they aren’t considered to be a dangerous pest, but rather a simple nuisance. They don’t bite or sting and they aren’t known to transmit any diseases to people. Nevertheless having odorous house ants living on your property or in your home is not anything that any homeowner wants the annoyance or stress of having to deal with. Problems that odorous house ants can cause inside of homes include contaminating food, utensils, and food prep areas with the bacteria that are found on their legs and body. It is also important to understand that odorous house ants are very difficult to eliminate from homes once they find their way inside because they utilize their scent to communicate. Their scent trails provide an easy way for other ants to find their way from the nest to the food source. These trails are helpful for their ant friends, but they make controlling odorous house ants very difficult for people.
To help prevent odorous house ants from being attracted to your property and finding their way inside, the professionals at Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators would like to provide you with the following helpful tips.
Fix areas around your home that may allow invaders inside. Seal cracks found in the exterior walls and foundation; caulk gaps found around windows and doors, install door sweeps underneath all exterior doors, and seal gaps found around vents, pipes and other utilities entering into your home.
To limit food sources make sure to remove trash from your home daily, placing it in outdoor trashcans with locking lids until trash pick-up day. If you have garden areas on your property make sure to quickly pick-up fruits and vegetables that have fallen to the ground. Routinely sweep and mop kitchen and pantry floors. Wash dirty dishes on a daily basis.
Trim back trees, bushes, and other landscaping from the exterior of your home. Odorous house ants will use their branches to gain easy access to your home.
Reduce their access to water by fixing leaky pipes and fixtures found both inside and outside of your home.
If you are experiencing problems in your Bettendorf, IL home with odorous house ants or any other species of ant, contact the ant control experts at Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators. Our residential pest control services in Bettendorf and the Quad Cities can provide the year-round relief you need to eliminate any size ant infestation and to prevent an infestation from re-occurring. Contact us today to learn more about the odorous house ant and how we can work together to keep them off of your property, out of your home, and away from your food!