Pharaoh ants are known for being one of the smaller species of ants, as they only grow to be about ⅛ of an inch. They are most often a pale yellow color and their colonies tend to be extremely large, with worker ant numbers reaching the thousands. When nests or colonies are disturbed, members will branch out to form new colonies in a process called budding. Due to the large size of their colonies, controlling pharaoh ants can be extremely difficult.
Pharaoh Ant Habitat
Pharaoh ants are not known to be picky when it comes to finding a spot to nest in. They do prefer being indoors, especially in commercial buildings with artificial heating. For this reason they are commonly found in establishments with food, such as hotels, grocery stores, and hospitals. They can often be found in wall voids, behind baseboards, and under floorboards. If they are outdoors, they are typically found in shaded areas.
Pharaoh Ant Behavior
Pharaoh ant colonies can grow rapidly, especially when they go unnoticed. One of the biggest threats of pharaoh ants is the fact that they are able to spread disease and contaminate anything they touch, which makes their presence especially troubling in hospitals and food service industries. Two of the disease pathogens they’ve been known to carry are salmonella and Streptococcus pyogenes. For this reason and more, it’s imperative to prevent these ants from infesting buildings.
What You Can Do About Ants
Can you get rid of ants yourself? Most do-it-yourself ant control products only kill the ants you see, not the colonies themselves. Also, home remedies don’t account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments. The best you can do is to eliminate any potential food sources by keeping your home or business clean. However, if you’re still having issues, you’ll need to contact a pest control specialist like The Hitmen to seek out and destroy nests to help prevent these pests from returning.
Ant Control Solutions
For residential pest control, we offer our year-round pest control program, which covers common pests to ensure your property and home are protected throughout the entire year. Commercial pest control customers can also benefit from our extensive industry experience.
When you schedule ant control service with The Hitmen, your technician will:
- Determine the type of ant
- Conduct a full property inspection that includes your yard, attached & detached structures, driveway and home
- Directly treat all nests and trails on the outside
- Install ant stations to monitor activity
- Discreetly apply ant baits for interior nests
- Seal small common entry points if they are contributing to the infestation
- Create a full report describing the treatment and how you can protect your home from further infestations
Don’t wait until your home is overrun by ants. Contact The Hitmen Termite & Pest Control today!
