Why Do I Have Pharaoh Ants?

If you’ve ever had an ant infestation in your home, then you know how annoying these tiny pests can be. However, there is one type of infestation that is more frustrating than most: a pharaoh ant infestation. Pharaoh ants are tiny yellow ants that love to get inside people’s homes, and when they do, they can be extremely difficult to remove.

Any homeowner that wants to protect themselves from a pharaoh ant infestation needs to learn about these ants and why it’s so hard to get them out of your home.

Behavior

Pharaoh ants can infest almost every area of your home, but they are particularly fond of the kitchen. This is because pharaoh ants find sugary and fatty foods almost irresistible. If foods are left out in your home, it can easily attract pharaoh ants, which will establish a colony once they have identified a plentiful food source.

Other areas of your home that are subject to pharaoh ant infestations include voids in your walls or cabinets, behind your baseboards, and in your refrigerator insulation. It’s also extremely common for pharaoh ants to establish nests just outside of buildings, giving them easy access to food and water.

Expanding Nests

Most homeowners dread experiencing a pharaoh ant infestation because they are incredibly hard to eliminate. Unlike other types of ants, which generally have only one colony, pharaoh ants can have multiple nests. A pharaoh queen will often establish multiple colonies in a shorter period of time. For instance, the typical pharaoh queen can lay up to 12 eggs in a batch, and these eggs only need 45 days to become fully mature.

Once one pharaoh ant nest is established in your home, it’s likely that more will follow. If you suspect an infestation, it’s important that you take care of it as soon as possible to limit the number of nests that can be created.

Avoid Pesticides

When a pharaoh ant infestation occurs, it’s common for homeowners to run to the store for pesticide. However, using pesticides on pharaoh ants does much more harm than good. When a pharaoh ant nest is attacked with pesticide, ants will simply scatter and form new nests, increasing the severity of the infestation.

Instead of pesticides, it’s best to use ant bait traps. These traps will include a type of food that will attract the pharaoh ant and an insecticide. When an ant takes food from the trap and back to its nest, it will infect other ants, eventually leading to the destruction of all the nests in your home. Choosing the right tools will make it much easier for you to eliminate pharaoh ants from your home.

Get Help With Pharaoh Ants

As a homeowner, there is almost nothing more frustrating than an ant infestation you can’t shake. Pharaoh ant infestations are extremely hard to get rid of, which is why you should be sure to contact a pest professional when you notice this type of ant in your home.

In addition to giving you advice for eliminating pharaoh ants in your house, a pest professional can examine your home and help you construct a plan for preventing future infestations.