Color: Brown and/or Black
Shape: Segmented and oval
Size: Very small, 1/16 inch to 1/8 inch long
Found: Throughout the U.S., common across Long Island

Odorous ants create colonies with many queens and many homes. These homes are often temporary and will be found under pieces of wood or debris in landscaping. Since the odorous house ant produces multiple queens, and creates temporary nesting sites, they are difficult to control and best left to professionals for treatment.

Inside homes and other structures, these odorous house ants feed on many different items, but they prefer to feed on foods high in sugars. Indoors, odorous house ants nest near moisture sources, such as in wall voids near hot water pipes, in radiators and baseboard heating, beneath leaky fixtures, and inside wood damaged by termites.

Outside, the odorous house ant primarily eats honeydew excreted by aphids and on nectar from flowers and buds. They are known to move their outside nests every three months or so in response to rain.

Odorous house ants do not cause structural damage, are not a public health threat, and are not known to bite or sting. However, they are often a concern to homeowners because they are often found inside homes in large numbers, and they can contaminate food.

If you notice odorous ants in your home or business, give us a call at 516-362-2005.

• Indoors, clean up spills and crumbs on counter tops and kitchen floors ASAP!
• Eliminate standing water everywhere you see it, in and around your home.
• Trim tree branches and bushes that come in close contact to the home to eliminate bridges for ants to get inside.
• Use caulk to seal open grout lines, cracks and crevices in the home, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.
• Use caulk to seal openings around exterior doors, windows, plumbing and electrical lines that enter the home.
• Keep firewood and other building materials stored as far from the home as possible to eliminate nesting sites.

Color: Brown and/or Black
Shape: Segmented and oval
Size: Large, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch long
Found: Throughout the U.S., common across Long Island

Carpenter Ants typically nest outdoors in rotting trees, tree stumps, rotting fence posts, and old firewood. Carpenter ants are of additional concern than other species of ants because carpenter ants can cause physical damage to homes. They excavate smooth tunnels inside wood holding homes together and can cause costly damage over time if not properly managed.

Carpenter ants typically enter homes through cracks and gaps around exterior doors, windows, or through plumbing and electrical penetrations into the home. They can also use overhead wires, shrubs, or tree limbs outdoors that touch the home as bridges to gain access inside.

Outdoors, carpenter ants feed primarily on honeydew, plant and fruit juices, insects and other arthropods. Inside homes, they will feed on sweets, eggs, meats, cakes and grease.

Although some carpenter ant workers are active during the day, most activity occurs in the evening, from shortly before dusk until dawn. Outside, colonies of carpenter ants hibernate during the winter and are inactive.

However, they will remain active in the colder months if a nest is in a well-heated portion of a home or building

Development from carpenter ant egg to worker requires a minimum of about sixty days. The workers of the first generation are smaller than later generations because they can only be nourished from food reserves that are stored in the sole queen’s body. Once these workers become adults, the queen’s only function for the rest of her life is to lay eggs.

The adult workers forage for food, enlarge the nest, and feed/care for the queen and her new offspring. The workers eat dead insects and other small invertebrates, as well as the honeydew secreted by aphids and scale insects. They regurgitate this food into a liquid form to feed the larvae and the queen. Workers of future generations are larger because they eat a lot more than the sole queen could provide in the beginning.

The workers eat dead insects and other small invertebrates, as well as the honeydew secreted by aphids and scale insects. They regurgitate this food into a liquid form to feed the larvae and the queen. Workers of future generations are larger because they eat a lot more than the sole queen could provide in the beginning.

Unlike termites who eat wood, carpenter ants only chew through wood to create nests or galleries. Carpenter ants infesting your home often leave behind small piles of sawdust from chewed out wood and what may look like insect body parts. These leftovers are clues as to their nesting location.

Carpenter ant galleries are smooth and very different from those made by termites. Termites build and travel within earthy looking tunnels/tubes about the diameter of a pencil along the surface of wood and/or inside the hollowed-out areas of infested wood. Termites also don’t leave sawdust because they eat the wood, while carpenter ants spit it out.

Carpenter ants are of particular concern due to their large size and capacity to damage homes and buildings. Carpenter ants do not spread diseases or infections, but they can cause serious structural damage if not properly treated. If you notice carpenter ants in or around your home or business, give us a call at 516-362-2005.

The most important tip we can give you to prevent carpenter ants (and all insect pests) from infesting inside your home is to eliminate moisture. More often than not, carpenter ants are found in areas of the home where there is, or was, a leak. Quickly repair all interior water leaks (no matter how small), make sure outdoor water hoses/spouts and window air-conditioners are not leaking/dripping, and repair/adjust sprinklers that are leaving puddles/standing water around the house.