What Do Pavement Ants Look Like?
The pavement ant is a nuisance and is also known as the immigrant paver ant. Others have adopted the name sugar ant in parts of North America. Pavement Ants are small, uniform in size, with a stature around 3mm long. They have color variants from black to dark brown with a shiny body. This ant species contains twelve segmented antennae with a three-segmented club at the end of each antenna. Pavement ants earn the name because they live under sidewalks, logs, and locations below stone patios, etc. A telltale sign of pavement ants the soil and sand uprooting they cause, resulting in dirt mounds on top of pavement locations. Although paver ants are typically on the exterior of a home, they can also live inside homes, where they cause great inconvenience.
Are Pavement Ants Harmful?
Paver Ants do have stingers, but the good news is they rarely sting. The stinger is fairly small and, in most cases, is not capable of penetrating human skin. Small children or soft sensitive locations such as the forearm's underside can result in the skin becoming irritated with a rash is stung. The Pavement Ant can cause harm in other ways, such as contaminated food and the environment. When Paver Ants migrate indoors, they walk across surfaces, food preparation locations, counters, etc. During the process, they can easily transfer bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
How to Identify Pavement Ants Infestation
The easiest way to know that pavement ants have infested your home is when you see worker pavement ants around your home. Pavement ants typically nest under floors or inside wall cracks, and from there, they troop out to feed and contaminate the home. These pests attack in large colonies of up to 3,000 or 4,000 insects. If you notice soil locations around your home that have raised mounds, such as in this picture, that is a good indicator you have pavement ants nesting around your home. It is ubiquitous for Florida homes to have pavers; it is also prevalent to have settlement cracks in driveways. The soil in Florida is generally sandy and loose. Homes typically settle as the home ages, and Pavement Ants will utilize them as a nesting site.
How to Prevent Pavement Ants from Infesting your Home
Following these tips will help Pavement Ants from infesting your home. It is recommended to keep up with regular pest control intervals from a professional exterminator. The wrong insecticide applied by a homeowner can worsen infestations and cause more activity of the Paver Ants in more locations. Pest Control Professionals have access to designated insecticides intended for the quickest elimination of Pavement ants and other insects.
Always clean up spills and crumbs.
Avoid dropping debris of food and snacks around the home. Preserve leftovers in a zip lock bag, and store them in the refrigerator.
Seal up broken walls, house foundations, and cracks or open spaces on windows and doors through which ants can enter your home. Use silicone-based caulk to ensure adequate protection.
Always prune overgrowing branches of trees, flowers, and shrubs around your home.
Dispose of trash regularly, and always ensure that your outdoor garbage can is tightly covered.
Avoid keeping firewood around your home. Ants typically nest in moist or rotten woods.
Also, dispose of all kinds of stagnant water around your home, including pet dishes.
Why Do Paver Ants Come Inside?
Paver Ants seek food just as any other pest does. As they make their way into your home, they will seek to find a food and moisture source. Depending upon the season, they will adjust their diets. During warmer temperatures, ants like to utilize sweets and carbohydrates. During cooler months, they may seek out greases, fats, protein, and dead insects. Pet food that is left out is also like a magnet to Paver Ants. in my professional pest control experience as a Certified Entomologist, most cases of Indoor Pavement Ant infestations have resulted from pest food that has been left out. I find that Pavement Ants primarily prefer wet food over the dry kibbles of pet food. However, they will feed on both readily.
How Do I Get Rid OF Paver Ants
When you see pavement ants around your home, it may already be too late to control them yourself because they’re likely to have formed colonies already. They build their colonies under floors and inside cracked walls, and from there, they can cause a nuisance in your home, especially at night. The larger the colony, the more likely they can migrate to new locations.
The best way to eliminate these pests is to hire a pest control company. Pest control exterminators have the tools and products to eradicate ants quickly. It is usually a difficult task for a homeowner to win the battle with Paver Ants by themselves. Applying the wrong class of pesticides can damage the environment and possibly your home. A licensed pest control company is just that, licensed; they go through state-mandated requirements and follow the laws on labels of the pesticides used to ensure safety. This Pest Control Blog post on Paver Ants was written by certified entomologist Jonathan Stoddard who has expertise on Paver Ants.