The pavement ant is found in North America and native of Europe. Tetramorium immigrans is the scientific name for the sugar, pavement, or immigrant pavement ant. It gets its moniker because this ant forms colonies and nests beneath the pavement.
Where Did All These Ants Come From?
Pavement ants like to create the nests and colonies next to and under driveways, patios, and sidewalks. Due to residing near houses, and their love for sweets, dead insects, and proteins, they eventually work their way indoors. A point of entry is often cracks in walls, basement floors, and the foundation itself. These tiny openings in the slabs of concrete is what invites them indoors. However, what makes them want to stay is open food containers, food crumbs, and trash left in uncovered receptacles. In addition, if you have pets and leave their food bowls inside or outdoors, pavement ants love foraging the leftovers.
The Biology of the Pavement Ant
Pavement ants are light to dark brown, and sometimes black. Their legs are lighter colored than other body parts. The curved portion of this ant’s posterior is called the gaster, on a pavement ant it is typically shiny brown or black. An ant’s gaster normally starts with the number three segment. Sometimes the post petiole is cramped, making the gaster begin at the number four segment of the abdomen.
A pavement ant’s body consists of a head, thorax, and gaster. They are around 2.5 to 3 millimeters in length. The head and back of the thorax has striations, their antennae has 12 segments with a 3-segmented club ending. You are likely to see these ants as they forage actively along wall edges, door frames, and on the floor.
How Long do Pavement Ants Live?
Pavement ants when living in an urban environment typically will construct nests beneath sidewalks, or under patios and foundations. There is one queen in most cases; however, a larger colony might have more queens. Worker pavement ants can live for many years, with more than 10,000 workers in some larger colonies.
Do Pavement Ants Bite Humans?
Pavement ants do not have the ability to bite humans, however they can sting them! These tiny pests prefer to avert confrontation, they are non-threatening and timid by nature. However, if they feel threatened they will sting as a manner of defense. The stinger of a pavement ant is not strong enough to harm human skin.
What does a Pavement Ant’s Diet Consist of?
The pavement ant enjoys food sources that contain protein and are sweet, such as the juices from plants. They also hunt soil dwelling insects, as well as subterranean termites. These ants become pests when their nests are built near patios or in the crevices of bricks. You can use ant traps baited with peanut butter, as these ants are rather fond of the stuff.
What are Pavement Ants Attracted to?
If your home or yard has a lot of moisture, you have one of the attracting factors for pavement ants. They also seek areas with plenty of warmth, like kitchens and bathrooms. Coincidentally, kitchens also are where there are lots of food sources, so you will most likely notice them in there. In addition, you might also find them in the bathroom since this room typically has a lot of humidity and moisture. Pavement ants also seek areas where heat exists, like in walls and hot water lines with insulation.
When are Pavement Ants Most Active?
At night are when pavement ants predominately forage for food sources. However, they can also be seen during the daylight hours in the spring and summer months. As the ants are foraging, they will set out a trail of chemicals leading from the source of food to their nest. This is why when you notice and realized “ants are getting into my house” you will see the ant trail.
How Do You Control an Infestation of Pavement Ants?
As a homeowner there are a few do-it-yourself methods of dealing with an infestation of pavement ants. One is to mix some cayenne pepper and water together, pour into a spray bottle and spritz affected areas generously. This will usually keep the ants away long enough until you can get the help of the professionals. In addition, take some dry cayenne pepper and sprinkle it in areas you have noticed them.
After you have tried the do-it-yourself methods above on how to get rid of pavement ants in the house, you need to call a professional ant extermination team. A.N.T. Pest Control knows how to manage pavement ants and their colonies. Our inspector will first come to your home to inspect all structures on the property. We do this so we know what areas to target for setting traps and spraying pesticides.
Because pavement ants like to nest close to a building foundation, underneath landscaping and trees, we look there first. We don’t want to disturb the colony, so they don’t move before we have applied pesticides or set traps. Once the colonies are located, the exterminator will mark the areas so they are easily within view.
The best management and removal of pavement ants is to call the pest professional experts, A.N.T. Pest Control. Our technique of preference is using ant baits, simply because ants like foods that are made of proteins and sugars. In addition, using an insecticide spray isn’t always a dependable way of eliminating these small pests. Using sprays often causes the ants to split up, scattering about to form sub-colonies.
Identification of the Species of Ant
After the colonies and nests have been located, we must then identify the type of ant species we are dealing with. Knowing the species is imperative in order for us to know how best to handle the infestation. Once we have identified the species, verified it is pavement ants, we can begin treatment according to biology and behavior.
Treatment
Here at A.N.T. Pest Control we advise customers they will be pleased with our work, however, it may require more than one treatment. Mother Nature is a tenacious lady and doesn’t always permit it! Therefore, our ant extermination service will set up a follow-up appointment after performing initial treatments.
In addition, A.N.T. Pest Control doesn’t want to harm your children or fur babies, with the treatment. Thus, if you have pets or small children, ensure to make the technician aware of this so we can act accordingly!.
Contact A.N.T. Pest Control the Pavement Ant Experts
At the first sign of a pavement ant problem, call the experts with ant in their name–A.N.T. Pest Control. We promise you will be pleased with our services; yet we cannot guarantee one treatment will solve the problem.
When you need help eradicating a pavement ant infestation, call A.N.T. Pest Control. Call us at (815) 215-7211 and find out how we can make your ant problem disappear!
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