Infestation Of Tiny Ants

I have a client that has tiny little ants in their bathroom and hallway, and now starting to go into the living room. You can barely see these ants. What kind of ants are these and how can we eliminate them? Thank you for any and all advice.

By janice from IL

Answers:

Infestation Of Tiny Ants

If they are tiny black ants, they are locally called "sugar ants", but the correct name is pavement ants. They are after anything starchy that can be used for food, and even hang around sinks. There are several tips on this site, and can be found by searching on Google or another search engine. (05/05/2009)

By Frances Adams

Infestation Of Tiny Ants

The type you describe is probably "Argentine", they are a big pain where I live in California. They came from South America, but were accidentally introduced to the USA (plus many other areas) where they've thrived. The colony/nest often spans entire city blocks underground, and out here they're also all related so there's no inter-colony warfare to reduce numbers like elsewhere.

They usually start sending "scouts" into houses in search of food (or water, if it's a dry climate) from late spring through fall, and invade (often with a double-size queen) if they find anything attractive. They're not poisonous as far as I recall, rarely bite, taste extremely hot to most animals, and (weirdly) are the cobweb/daddy-long leg spider's favorite food.

As far as getting rid of them is concerned, I've tried every darn trick I read about, because I don't dare use anything that might trigger my (severe) asthma or hurt my cats. As far as I know, almost nothing works, they're super-hardy little buggers. I finally found a brand with safe ingredients called "Poison-Free Ant Killer" that works really well. I spray any trails I find back to their entry points, they die instantly and those spots seem to stay ant-free for another year or two. Their website seems to be Saferbrand.com There's a useful FAQ about what's in there, if the person you know is curious. Hope this was useful. (05/06/2009)

By xyzzyZork

Infestation Of Tiny Ants

When you say so tiny they are hard to see, that rules out both Argentine and pavement ants. Argentine will travel in thick lines usually and pavement ants hardly ever come inside. Sugar ants however are a different story. Most people call all kinds of ants sugar ants. Pharaoh and Thief ants are the two ant species that are super small. They both can be very difficult to get rid of without help. I know this site is for home remedies, but you may need a bug guy. For more info check out pestcemetery.com (08/12/2009)

By Jerry