Ants Are Everywhere - How Do You Deal with Them in Your Home and Yard?

Tiny Besiegers

By Walter S, published May 22, 2007
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Ant season is here. Look out at your yard the day after a rain. See all the new ant hills decorating your landscape? Other than being an eyesore in a well tended yard, ants can also be an invasive problem, carrying disease with them into buildings they infest. There are sixty species of ants in North America. Of those, only a few are actually deemed pests; even fewer are deemed a health risk. Here we'll discuss the most common pests, and various means of treatment should you find yourself under siege from these beasties.

Ants are a member of the order Hymenoptera ("membrane wing" in Latin), as are bees and wasps. Common types of ants in North America are Carpenter ants, Pharaoh ants, Fire ants, Pavement ants, Velvet ants (actually a wingless wasp), Odorous House ants, and Argentine ants. Different types of ants will respond differently to attempts to stamp them out. It's important to try to determine what sort of ant you have before blasting them with poison.

Common Types of Ants in the Yard, Buildings, and Homes

To determine the best method of treatment for an ant problem, first determine which type of ants are currently plaguing you. Below you'll find a list of common ants, and a description of each.

 
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Ants Are Everywhere - How Do You Deal with Them in Your Home and Yard?
Ants Are Everywhere - How Do You Deal with Them in Your Home and Yard?
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Argentine ants eating honeydew from tended scale insects and aphids.

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Takeaways
  • How to determine what type of ants are plaguing you
  • What to do if you find ants in your home
Did You Know?
Ant colonies can contain millions of individuals, and hundreds of queens.
Comments
Showing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
 
 
Oh Yes, Lauren is probably not stupid, but just intimidated by having to read and interpret large volumes of information. Research and understanding can be challenging to a simple mind. What was she doing here, anyway? Maybe ants aren't her greatest problem.

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Posted on 06/23/2008 at 4:06:03 PM

 
This web site and article proved very informative for me. However, I came to find the nuclear strike weapon to eliminate my problem. I guess, I will have to study their little societies, before I can drop the bomb. When I lived in the city, I had to darn near research a thesis to resolve my roach problem. I guess ants are smarter and more sophysticated. I will get into their little heads and launch a full scale war armed with knowing now, my enemy, the darn odorous invasive species. Wish nme luck!

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Posted on 06/23/2008 at 3:06:58 PM

 
Rather than feeling prepared to study the entire kingdom of ants, and all their habits, I'd come here preferring a quick way to recognize what I have in my yard or house first. A search within this article - or somewhere, which can start by region, and then a visual id would be very useful! I've seen : large blk. or brown ones some (one?) had wings, trying to get into an opening beneath a panel of wood around my front door, which sits on concrete. I squashed them, sprayed the area, and haven't seen any since. I just found 2 or 3 of the 3/4 " shiny black ones in the house, which I squashed, and have since not seen any. I've seen the tiny ones that were all over my dogs dish, which had bits of food which drew them, and once I found the same type ,I think, all over a cake, which had a sweet thin moist frosting on top. They had gotten inside the clear plastic container.I put out ant cups, and then didn't see them until a few yrs. later, entering from beneath loose tiles around the bat

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Posted on 05/10/2008 at 11:05:42 AM

 
I'm stupid for Lauren. I remain stunned that K never seems to come to trial for his crimes. Could Lauren have known this? Could the ants have planned it this way? Is there a moustached Manchurian waiting in the wings to drill holes in Lauren's theory? Inquiring minds want to know

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Posted on 08/19/2007 at 4:08:00 AM

 
Very informative, Lauren is stupid

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Posted on 08/12/2007 at 7:08:00 AM

 
THE MOST BORING WEBSITE EVER!!!!!!!!!

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Posted on 08/04/2007 at 4:08:00 PM

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