Sugar Ant Identification & Prevention

Sugar ants are an extremely small ant species that also go by the name of odorous house ants. They get the name sugar ant due to their penchant for sweet foods. Brown or black in color, these tiny pests are typically only 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch in length, so they can be easy to miss if only one or two are present. However, they rarely go out alone, so you’re likely to notice them when you start finding dozens at one time. Sugar ants have segmented bodies with three sections, six legs, and a pair of antennae.

Sugar ants are not a direct danger to humans or pets. They won’t bite you or damage your house. However, that doesn’t mean you want them around you or your home. These are a couple of reasons to want to keep sugar ants out of your house. 

First, these pests are called odorous house ants because of the foul odor they give off when squished or threatened. It is a scent that resembles the smell of rotten coconut. Second, although they aren’t a direct danger to your health, they have been known to contaminate food. This could cause you or your family members to become sick if you consume contaminated food. Third, they are simply a nuisance. It’s not enjoyable to have to constantly deal with sugar ants crawling around on your kitchen counters and in your cabinets.

Sugar ants nest in areas of high moisture. They also tend to move around every few months. If your house has a moisture problem, either due to high humidity in areas of your house, such as the bathroom, kitchen, or basement, leaking pipes, or water-logged wood, sugar ants may decide to make your house their new nesting area.

They may also come inside while foraging for food. Because sugar ants like sweet foods, if they find any crumbs on your counters, spills in your cupboards, or messes on your floor, they may decide to return on a regular basis to feed themselves and their colony.

Although they’re easy to spot as they forage for food in your kitchen, the more pressing question when it comes to sugar ants is where they are coming from. You can’t get to the root of the issue by simply eliminating the ants you see crawling around. Instead, you have to get to the source of the infestation.

If sugar ants are nesting inside your house, they will find an area that is high in moisture. This might be in wall voids beside hot water pipes, near leaking fixtures, or inside water-damaged wood. If they are nesting outside your house, they are also going to search out moist areas. They are likely to be under wood piles or in exposed soil.

Getting rid of sugar ants is not always as easy as you think it should be. Even if you get rid of the ants you see in your house, it’s highly likely that more will just keep showing up. That’s because ants leave a pheromone trail that allows other ants to follow their path. If they’ve found a food source in your house, all of the ants in the colony can follow the trail to the food.

Your best bet to get rid of sugar ants is to call the home pest control professionals at Uinta Pest Solutions. We know the best methods and products to use to target the specific ant species you’re dealing with. If sugar ants are a problem in your home, we know how to thoroughly rid your home of them and make sure they don’t return.

Preventing sugar ants from getting into your house is possible. The following tips will help.

• Remove areas of excess moisture from both the interior and exterior of your house. This includes fixing leaky pipes and fixtures, lowering the humidity in your house, eliminating areas of standing water, and replacing water-damaged wood.
• Eliminate entry points into your house. This includes cracks, crevices, gaps, holes, tears in screens, and more.
• Keep your kitchen as clean as possible. Wipe down counters, sweep floors, wash dishes, take out the trash, and make sure that any spills in your cupboards are quickly taken care of.
• Store food in the refrigerator or containers with tightly fitting lids.

By taking the appropriate measures, you can help prevent sugar ants from getting into your home