Common types of ants that can be found throughout BC including all of Vancouver Island are sugar ants, pavement ants, pharaoh ants and carpenter ants. During spring and summer, ants are busy, looking for food, mating, and growing their colonies. It’s important to know what type of ant you’re dealing with so you can use the most effective prevention and extermination techniques to keep your space ant-free.
SUGAR ANTS:
Sugar ants are those teeny, tiny ants that you see marching one-by-one in a line along the floor in your kitchen, or at your windowsill. Also often called “odorous ants,” they emit an unpleasant smell when crushed. At 2mm or 3mm, sugar ants are very common on Vancouver Island. They are black or brown in colour, and they can rapidly grow their colonies.
Some things to know about sugar ants: they establish satellite colonies near their main nest, making it difficult to completely get rid of them. They are especially attracted to kitchens where they forage for crumbs. If given the opportunity, they will infest and spoil stored foods. They build their nests behind walls or floorboards of your home, and outside they can be found in soil, beneath rocks, and under tree bark outdoors.
PAVEMENT ANTS:
Pavement ants look similar to sugar ants, as they also measure just 2mm to 3mm in size and are black or brown. They run rampant all through Vancouver Island. Pavement ants live up to their name: they build their nests around pavement and thrive in urban areas. Their favourite nesting spots include right next to homes and garages, near concrete foundations, and underneath sidewalks and driveways.
Some things to know about pavement ants: they don’t typically establish nests inside homes, but they do occasionally enter through tiny cracks in the foundation, either foraging for food or seeking warmth during the winter months. During the spring, you might observe pavement ants in air! This is their mating season, and in their frenzy, they temporarily become flying ants.
PHARAOH ANTS:
Pharaoh ants are also small, between 2mm and 4mm long, but these ants differ in colour. They are light brown to yellow. Pharaoh ants are actually native to the tropics, and it would be hard for them to survive the harsh Canadian outdoors during the winter. However, they have managed to spread across the country, including BC and Vancouver Island – seeking shelter in climate-controlled buildings.
Some things to know about pharaoh ants: pharaoh ants have a very unique nesting behaviour. Instead of traditional nesting spots, they seek out interestingly odd locations, making their homes between layers of paper or linens, in trash, and even inside appliances and electrical outlets. Because of this, it can be difficult to eliminate these ants from your home or business! Because they are so good at hiding, pest control professionals often rely on bait to rid them of your space.
CARPENTER ANTS:
Carpenter ants are a very serious type of ant invader, because they can cause structural damage to your home. Carpenter ants exist all throughout Canada but thrive in moist regions and along coasts. There are two carpenter ant species on Vancouver Island: Camponotus Modoc (these are black) and Camponotus Vicinus (these are black and red). In the wild they help in the decomposition process of dead trees, but they are also attracted to damp or decaying wood in your home.
Some things to know about carpenter ants: both types of carpenter ants are large ants ranging from 6mm to 25mm in long. They are often confused with termites due to their size however, it is easy to tell the difference as carpenter ants have a very slim waist and bent antennae (termites have thick waists and straight antennae).
Both male and female carpenter ants can grow wings during mating periods so if you see them flying around the house, this could mean that the nest is established and they have been there for some time. Interested in learning more? Check out our blog post all about carpenter ants!
WHY AM I DEALING WITH AN ANT INFESTATION?
Ants generally will enter your house or business looking for food. Ants have a keen sense of smell and can detect even the tiniest food particles from a distance. Once they locate a reliable food source, they leave a chemical trail (pheromones) for other ants to follow, creating a steady stream of foragers into your home.
HOW DO I PREVENT ANTS?
Store Food Properly: Ants have an incredible sense of smell and can detect even the tiniest bit of food. Store food in airtight containers to prevent them from smelling and getting into it.
Remember Your Pet’s Food: If you have pets, this counts as food! Store this food in airtight containers as well, and if you know you are prone to ant problems, try to not leave your pet’s food out in their bowl for too long.
Check for Moisture: Ants are naturally drawn to damp areas. By doing regular inspections of your home or office for any sources of moisture, like leaky pipes or dripping faucets, you can help reduce the chance of an ant invasion.
Tidy Up Your Yard: Do your best to keep your yard well-maintained, trim bushes and leaves so they don’t touch your house structure, and clear leaf piles, mounds of wood, or other areas of debris that could be a good place for ants to establish their colonies. If you prevent outdoor nests, you are helping prevent those ants from finding their way indoors.
HOW DO I GET RID OF ANTS?
Locate the Entry Points: First, you want to identify points of entry – this is called exclusion, and you can read all about different exclusion techniques in our blog post here. Inspect your walls, windows, doors, and other areas where there could be gaps or cracks through which ants could enter. Professional pest control services such as Sentry Pest Control will help you locate these entryways and seal them off to prevent ants from gaining easy access to your home.
Maintain a Clean Home: Any type of food will attract ants, so wipe down countertops, sweep up, and clean up dirty dishes. You can also keep ripe fruits in the refrigerator, because the sweet scent can be an ant magnet.
Ant Treatment: Professional pest management technicians will know which treatments are the most effective ways to eliminate entire ant colonies. Treatment is best left to certified pest control professionals because if you use the wrong bait, spray, or other substance - or implement them incorrectly - you can actually end up creating multiple small colonies and further complicate the problem, or even creating other adverse effects for your heath and home.
Consult the Professionals: Sentry Pest Control, as a professional pest management service, will know the most effective and safest ways to combat your ant infestation, and also the best ways to prevent one from happening. We will educate you on identification, eradication and exclusion techniques, and what you can do between services to keep those little invaders out of your space.
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