Who would have thought that you’d ever run into something as annoying as a ghost ant? That’s right, you heard me, the ghost ant. If you can’t tell by my tone, this is something I’ve had to deal with myself. And let me tell you, it’s pretty annoying. So today, obviously, our topic of discussion is the Florida Ghost Ants.
Florida Ghost Ant: Overview
To start with, obviously, we’ll go with what exactly they are and what they look like. The ghost ant gets its name from its size and the pale color of its legs and abdomen. Both of these things together make this pest insect quite difficult to see. They have dark heads and thoraxes, and the workers are about one and a half millimeters long. They’re related to the wonderfully named odorous house ants. And, like their stinky cousins, they give off a coconut-like smell when they are crushed.
These ants, due to their small size, can get into your house through openings too small for you to notice before you’re infested. Not only that but the rubber under your doors and around your windows, as well as cracks in your foundation, can all be highways into your home for these horrible pests. You can even bring inside a whole colony on accident if you aren’t careful with outside infested plants. And once they get into your home, they start to wreak their havoc. They feed on sweets like sugar, cereal, and syrup. Ghost ants often appear on kitchen floors, or bathroom counters and sinks. They build nests in and outside of your home, or even in your wall voids; sometimes even in the space between your kitchen cabinets! Basically, if you have a gap in your home ANYWHERE, these things can make a nest in it.
A serious pest?
Yes. In all seriousness, they are very serious. Ghost ants usually have multiple nesting sites, as their new queens leave the original nests and create their own nests.
The pests build nests in various places, even frequently disturbed areas like potted plants or the spaces between books on a shelf. Ghost ants are serious pests in greenhouses, so always inspect any plants you purchase to ensure they are not infested with ghost ants – and be sure to look carefully since their tiny size enables them to hide and not easily noticed.
Finding and removing ghost ant colonies is tough because there can be so many different nests in odd places. Any type of food crumbs or spills attract the pests, and they contaminate whatever food products they invade. Ghost ants do not sting and rarely bite, but their presence and abundance inside will create a serious nuisance and potential property damage issue.
One thing to do is make sure to maintain constant inspections of your home.
Inspecting for Florida Ghost Ants
Start outdoors searching in your yard. Inspect flower beds and yard debris. Look closely underneath logs, rocks, bricks, woodpiles, leaf litter, and general clutter and outdoor objects. Indoors search in cracks and crevices, in wall voids, near bathrooms, and kitchens, especially close to moisture and wherever there is dampness.
You’re looking for Ghost Ants and their foraging trails. Search in the areas mentioned above for any signs of Ghost Ant activity. If you find any trails use a magnifying glass to discern their characteristics. Once you have located the general areas where Ghost Ants are found, these will be the places where you will need treatment. Florida Ghost ants are highly adaptable in their nesting habits, which seem to be similar to those of pharaoh ants. Colonies of ghost ants are moderate to large in size and can contain thousands of workers and numerous functional queens distributed across multiple nesting sites.
A thorough inspection is the first step in preventing Florida ghost ants problems.
- Around the outside of the house, look for places that might attract ghost ants.
- Move firewood piles away from the house.
- Pull mulch away from the foundation to create a “dry zone” that the ants (and other insects) will avoid.
- Make sure exterior doors close snugly.
- Replace weather-stripping where it is missing.
- People who live in brick houses often place small squares of plastic screen into weep holes to keep ants from using them as entrances.
And when push comes to shove, don’t be afraid to get the help of a pro. Preferably one that uses natural methods of pest control, as chemical pesticides have proven to be unsafe time and time again.
Behavior and Habits
These are tropical ants that have been in Florida for many years. They’re easily transported in boxes, crates, plants, and household goods that are being shipped. In northern states, these ants have been known to survive only in heated buildings and greenhouses. These ants eat honeydew that they collect from plant-feeding insects. They often tend aphids to collect the honeydew. The workers also gather insects to feed the colony. When they are indoors, ghost ants usually prefer sweets.
Outdoors, ghost ants make their nest in the ground. Florida Ghost Ants often nest beside stones, logs and firewood piles. They enter buildings on trails that they make along the ground. They also enter houses by trailing on utility lines or by following limbs of trees and shrubs that touch the house.
When ghost ants make nests indoors, it is usually in flowerpots, behind baseboards and inside wall voids. The colony may split into several nests. It is normal to find ghost ants trailing between multiple nesting sites.
Ghost ants (Tapinoma melanocephalum) do not sting and usually do not bite unless their nest is threatened. Most incidents of ghost ant bites result in a little discomfort and little or no evidence of a reaction to the bite. The ghost ant can become a serious household pest because it will build nests both inside and outside homes. This ant is a sweets eater, but also feeds on greasy foods and insects. Since this ant is often closely associated with the homeowner’s kitchen and bathroom, their most important impact may be the transfer of disease organisms.