Although they can be small, no one wants to find ants in their home. When you find an infestation of ants in your home, they’re typically on the hunt for food and water. You’re most likely to see an ant in North Carolina during the warmest months, from mid-June to late September.
We have put together plenty of tips to keep these small but mighty pests outside of your North Carolina home. From how to identify ants common to the North Carolina area to prevention techniques, take the time to familiarize yourself with ways to keep ants out. Finally we offer solutions to ant control you can count on with Terminix experts.
Incredibly, there are over 700 different types of ants that live in the United States. If you’re able to narrow down which type of ants you’re dealing with in your home then it’s easier to determine the best tactics for eliminating them.
What do ants look like?
The body of an ant has three main parts: the head, thorax and gaster (abdomen). Ants’ bodies are different from other insects in that there are connecting segments called pedicils in between the thorax and gaster.
Do ants have stingers?
Luckily most ants do not sting or bite, but some, like the red imported fire ant, can sting. Unfortunately for residents of North Carolina, red imported fire ants do live in the state and can sting when angered. When you’re stung by a fire ant, you can see severe reactions, particularly if you have allergies.
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Types of Ants in North Carolina
If you see an ant in North Carolina in your home, it’s most likely going to be an odorous house ant, Argentine ant or a red imported fire ant.
Odorous House Ants
These ants get their stinky name from the odor they give off when crushed, which smells a little like rotten coconut. They can also be called sugar ants, stink ants or coconut ants. You’re most likely to find these pests living outside in mulch, tree bark, potted plants and inside lumber or firewood. You can identify them by their smell or their small one-eighth of an inch long blackish-brown bodies.
A colony of odorous house ants travels between more than one nest, frequently relocating, making it particularly difficult to snuff out a colony. Another reason you want to get professional help eliminating these ants is that they usually have multiple nest sites on the property. Using over-the-counter baits or other DIY methods typically only remove some of the ants but likely will not eliminate all the nests present.
Argentine Ants
Another ant species native to North Carolina that is resistant to DIY removal remedies is Argentine ants. These little pests are small and can be a golden brown to shiny dark brown in color.
Their colonies are extremely large, with up to hundreds of thousands of worker ants. They travel from food sources to nesting sites and are also known to give off an unpleasant smell when they are crushed. Fortunately, these ants don’t pose significant health risks to people, but their colonies are so large that you want to remove them from your home if you don’t want it crawling with ants.
Argentine ants like to make their nests outside in wet soil and other areas, and will come indoors if the outdoor weather is too rainy or too dry. If you think you’re dealing with Argentine ants, it’s best to look into extermination for ants and call a pest professional as soon as possible.
Red Imported Fire Ants
Red imported fire ants have been a problem in the U.S. since they were brought to Mobile, Alabama, from Brazil back in 1940. These are the ants that can really hurt if you get stung.
Easily identifiable by their reddish brown color, fire ants commonly build nests in outdoor mounds. An infestation can be detrimental to your property and even to you and your loved ones. In fact, every year billions of dollars are spent on fire ant control. At Terminix, we can perform a twice-a-season treatment to prevent and eliminate fire ants from your property to ensure your safety.
How to Prevent Ants in North Carolina
One of the easiest forms of pest control for ants is to take measures ahead of time to prevent ants from invading your home before you need to call an ant exterminator like a Terminix pest professional. Here are some suggestions to keep ants away.
- Keep your home clean by washing dishes, keeping your dining table and kitchen counters clear, wiping down surfaces with food, mopping and vacuuming regularly.
- Put wood piles as far from your home as possible.
- Trim away trees from your home to prevent ants from accessing high windows.
- Do not allow your sprinklers to spray onto the foundation of your home.
- Frequently inspect the perimeter of your home and seal any cracks you see.
- Keep food in airtight containers, including pet food.
How to Get Rid of Ants in North Carolina
In devising the best form of ant control in your home, it’s important to know which type of ant you are dealing with. This information will help you to find the nest and their food source more quickly.
One of the biggest issues when dealing with ants, however, is they frequently find their way back; ongoing extermination for ants is necessary to keep them gone for good. Terminix technicians are experts and are ready to determine the level of ant control you need in your home and put together a plan of attack.
Terminix Can Help With Ant Control
If you’ve done all you can to prevent ants in your home and still find yourself in need of an ant exterminator, do not hesitate to call a Terminix technician to eradicate ants from your home. Our expertise will allow us to identify the ants, find where they are getting into the home and easily take care of the problem while developing a long-term solution.