Research Information — Ants
Many species of ants live in Colorado and in most cases are beneficial to aeration in yards and cleaning up what other critters leave behind. They usually only become a nuisance when they get into structures or invade our outdoor activities. The most important key to the elimination of these insects is to determine the type of ant you are having problems with. By understanding their specific habits, both feeding and living, a prescribed treatment can be developed and performed with little to no chemical introduction into your environment. We call this oureco-$mart (Green) service approach.
Quick Facts
(click on an image to view its quick facts)
Acrobat ants
Argentine Ants
Carpenter Ants
Crazy Ants
Odorous House ants
Pavement Ants
Fire Ants
Pharaoh Ants
Thief Ants
Yellow Cornfield Ants
Acrobat ants
Color: light brownish-yellow, and are recognized by a heart-shaped abdomen
Size: Workers are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long
Feeding Habits: sweet juices such as honeydew of aphids, nectar, plant sap, etc.
Argentine ants
Color: dull brown
Size: Workers are all the same size, small, 1/8-inch long
Feeding Habits: sweets, fresh fruit, and buds of some plants
Carpenter ants (wood destroying insects)
Color: Workers have some brown on them while queens are black
Size: Wingless queens measure 5/8 inch, winged queens 3/4 inch to the tips of their folded brownish wings, small
minor workers 1/4 inch and large major workers 1/2 inch.
Feeding Habits: do not eat wood but excavate wood galleries to rear their young ants and carry aphids to plants.
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| Carpenter Queen |
Carpenter Worker |
Crazy ants
Color: light dark brown to black in color
Size: Workers are about 1/10 inch long, with slender long legs
Feeding Habits: sweets and kitchen scraps, but prefer to feed on animal matter and insects such as fly larvae and adults
Odorous House Ants
Color: light brown to dark-brown in color
Size: about 1/10 inch long
Feeding Habits: occasionally forage indoors for sweets and other foods. They give off an unpleasant odor when crushed(rotten
coconuts)
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| Ordor House Ant |
Odorous House Ant |
Pavement ants (most common)
Color: light to dark brown or blackish and hairy
Size: Workers are sluggish, between 1/12 to 1/4 inch long
Feeding Habits: grease, meat, live and dead insects, honeydew, roots of plants and planted seeds
Pharaoh ants
(very difficult to control, DO NOT WARNING-DO NOT USE RETAIL OVER THE COUNTER PRODUCTS AS THIS WILL CAUSE SUB-NESTING IN OTHER PARTS OF A STRUCTURE)
Color: reddish light yellow to reddish brown
Size: workers are very small about 1/16-inch long
Feeding Habits: jellies, honey, shortening, peanut butter, corn syrup, fruit juices, baked goods, soft drinks, greases, dead insects
and even shoe polish
Additional Information: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2064.html
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| Pharaoh Thief Ant |
Pharaoh Ant |
Thief ants
(very difficult to control, DO NOT WARNING-DO NOT USE RETAIL OVER THE COUNTER PRODUCTS AS THIS WILL CAUSE SUB-NESTING IN OTHER PARTS OF A STRUCTURE)
Color: smooth, shiny, yellowish to bronze
Size: Workers are very small ants, about 1/32 to 1/20 inch long
Feeding Habits: found around kitchen sinks feeding on grease, oils, cheese, meat, dead insects
Yellow Cornfield Ants
Color: light to dark brown
Size: Workers are about 1/10 to 1/4 inch long
Feeding Habits: live on nectar of flowers, live and dead insects and are very fond of honeydew
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