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Ants
These pests are most predominant in the southern U.S. with heavy concentrations in California. Nests can reach extreme proportions and can be found near a wood source that has an adequate water and food supply. Argentine ants can persist in a variety of climates. Females measure from one-twelfth of an inch to one-eighth inch. They are dark brown in color and live in a strictly defined caste system. The queen measures one-sixth of an inch to one-quarter inch and is brown in color. Argentine ants prefer sweet foods such as sugars, syrups, fruit and fruit juices.
Carpenter ants get their name from the damage they cause. They excavate large, smooth galleries in wood which creates a sandpaper-finished look, hence the name. These dark black-brown ants thrive on both coasts of the U.S. but are found throughout the country. They typically reside in or around the home and are most active in warmer seasons and climates. Workers vary in length from one-quarter inch to more than three-eighths inch in length. These ants also have large mandibles and are aggressive biters. On warm spring days, their presence is known when swarms of large-winged ants hover near windows or when wingless ants forage through food pantries.
Named appropriately for their red hue and painful sting, fire ants are difficult to control because of their large colony size and reproductive capabilities. The imported red fire ant is thriving in the southeastern U.S. from Virginia to Texas, while the southern fire ant inhabits the Gulf Cost region from California to South Carolina. The reddish color is predominant on their head, thorax and abdomen. Workers vary in size from one-sixteenth of an inch to one-quarter inch. Southern fire ant mounds are flat and irregular. Imported red fire ants build much bigger and more rounded mounds, which can measure over 18 inches high.
This ant gets its name from commonly locating itself and its nests in or under cracks in pavement. Their bodies are light brown to black with pale legs and antennae and they measure approximately one-eighth an inch. The antennae have 12 segments, a stinger is present and the thorax has a pair of small spines on the upper back. Colonies are moderately large and reproductives usually emerge in June and July. Pavement ants are known to nest in walls, in insulation, under floors, in masonry walls of a foundation, and near heat sources in the winter.