Do I Have Sugar Ants?

Having ants invade your home can be an extremely unpleasant experience. The first and most important step in removing these pests from your property is determining what type of ant is in your home. If you live in the U.S., chances are you might be experiencing a sugar ant infestation.

Sugar ants are one of the most common, aggravating ant species, and they can easily infiltrate your home if you’re not careful. Here are a few tips to help you decide if you have sugar ants, and advice for ridding your home of these insects.

Sugar Ant Appearance

If you’re trying to figure out if the ants in your home are sugar ants, you need to know what these ants look like. First, sugar ants are very small, and can be anywhere between 2 and 15 millimeters. Second, sugar ants differ in appearance depending on whether they are male or female. If you see a winged ant that is all black, then it is a royal male. A sugar ant that is colored orange is a female worker ant.

Should you see any ants that match these descriptions, then you’ll know you have a sugar ant problem.

Where Sugar Ants Live

Another important part of deciding if you’re experiencing a sugar ant infestation is learning where these ants live and what type of diet they eat. This will help you identify sugar ants and let you know if your home is at risk.

Sugar ants will generally live in suburban areas where food is plentiful. However, sugar ants can also live in the wild and are frequently found in woodlands. As you might expect from their name, sugar ants prefer very sweet foods, but they will also eat plants and smaller insects, particularly caterpillars. Once sugar ants have identified an easy food source, they will not leave unless forced.

Sugar Ants in Your Home

When sugar ants infiltrate your home, it can be extremely aggravating, as these ants will swarm in large numbers and can be difficult to completely remove. If you want to keep these pests out of your home, you need to learn why infestations occur and how they can be prevented.

Sugar ants are attracted to your home because of food spills. Keep your counters clean and make sure the foods in your pantry and cabinets are sealed tightly. This will make it less likely that sugar ants will view your home as a food source. If you suspect you have sugar ants in your home, look for them in the evening hours. Sugar ants will typically forage after dusk and then return to their nest just before sunrise.

Prevent Sugar Ants

Even if you’re vigilant, it’s still possible your home will experience a sugar ant infestation. When this unfortunate incident occurs, you need to take care of it immediately by contacting a local pest removal service.

Pest removal companies understand a wide variety of insect infestations, including those caused by sugar ants. Your pest control company can help you find out where the sugar ants are entering your home and can help you eliminate them.