Last Updated: June 2016
Ants are social insects that is why they like to live in large colonies. Ants are insects that come from the same family along as bees and wasps. Ants have a narrow waist between the abdomen and the thorax and have very strong jaws that allow them to export and import foods easily. Ants are very smart and strong insects, they are capable of picking up things that is three times their own weight! Ants are usually lead by a “queen or queens”. The function of the queens are to reproduce and lay hundreds of eggs to keep their generation going. Since ants lay thousands of eggs you will have to do an ant removal before they take over your entire house. Other female ants are to follow the “queen” and find food. Whereas the male ant’s job is to only mate with the queens and after they have mated they die. The three most common ants you will find in your home are Carpenter Ants, Pavement Ants and Pharaoh Ants. Ants love to come in our home because of the warmth, food, water and, shelter. You will usually see them close to your kitchen or around your pet’s bowls. You will have to do an ant removal as soon as you spot them in your home.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are usually 0.76 to 2.54 cm and are a brown reddish colour, or a black colour. They usually have lot’s of worker in their colony, however they only have one queen. Carpenter ants are able to live in both outdoor and indoor environments as long as the environment, or wood is moist. However they make there way in our house for shelter, food, warmth, etc. Carpenter ants make hollow tunnels in the wood to easily access to their nests, Carpenter ants will be extremely damaging to your home because they can ruin your wood, therefore you will need to get and ant removal done by a professional pest control.
Pharaoh Ants
Pharaoh ants are small 2 mm insects, they are yellow or light brown. These ants are known to be a major indoor pest insect, they come in for food, shelter, and warmth. Therefore you will have to do an ant removal once you spot them in your home. It’s highly recommended that you do an ant removal done by pest control technician because it’s quite hard to remove, and you will want them gone forever! Unlike carpenter ants, pharaoh ants have several queens, Pharaoh ants don’t show any aggression towards each other and always work as a team. It’s harder to destroy these types of ants because they will always have each others back, you will need to seek help from a pest control technician to do an ant removal for you. Pharaoh ants are capable of biting, their bite is not poisonous but will cause pain and transmit diseases.
Pavement Ants
Pavement ants are dark brown to blackish insects, they are usually 2.4 to 4 mm in size. the pavement ants colony consists of drones, queens, and workers. Pavement ants only have one queen in their colony. Pavement ant queens, and drones have wings and are twice as large as the worker ants. Queens will lay thousands of eggs especially during spring time, because of this you will have to do an ant removal as soon as you spot one of these ants in your home before they take over your home. The ants will make holes in the sands and cracks of the pavements to make nests, if these insects come inside your wall they will make nests in parts of your home. Pavement ants nest inside wall voids, insulation and slabs of concrete.
Fire Ants
The only thing you may have to worry about are fire ants. Fire Ants are not common in Toronto GTA but unfortunately they got introduced recently. Fire ants bite and their bite stings and gets very itchy. This could cause secondary skin injuries from scratching. Also some may have an allergic reaction to the bite of the ants which could be irritating. However Fire ants usually stay outdoors and not in your home, but if they do enter as a property owner, it is your responsibility to control insects and pests on your property. Check out Toronto city page about Fire Ants for more information.
Damages from Ants
Some types of ants such as carpenter ants could cause great damage and expenses to your home. There are lots of different types of ants, but the one that is well known for damaging your home is the carpenter ants. Carpenter ants nest in wood that is what’s so disastrous about them. Carpenter ants eat their way through the wood and damage your home. Most houses in Canada are built up of mostly wood; now imagine if these tiny little creatures are damaging your home.
*This post is informational. SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated does not provide Ant Control Services
