Alice:

Ants enter homes when seeking sweet or fatty substances in the kitchen or pantry areas. Each species of ants has their own means and methods of invading a house. For control/management of the ants it is important to ID the ant species involved. It is very possible that the ants’ nest is outside of the house. I have some questions that will help me ID the ant you are having problems with.

Questions:

• What color are the ants?
• What methods have you tried so far?
• Any odor especially when ants crushed?
• What part of the kitchen are the ants found in?
• Landscape outside of resident?
• Size of ant if possible.
• How long have you had the problem?

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Rich

* the ants are black

* squishing with out fingers

*there is an odor I would be hard put to describe.  For such little guys it is relatively strong.

*I find them on our island, cabinet with plastic storage of food.

*landscape is concrete and gravel

*size is approx. 1/8"

*we've had the problem about 4-6 weeks.

Alice:

I think the ants you have are either the Odorous House Ant, Tapinoma sessile or Pavement Ant, Tetramorium caespitum . Both are small (1/16 to 1/8 of an inch) dark in color, brown to black. Both can produce odors. Some control/management measures are listed below as well.

The Odorous House Ant prefers sweets but will feed on a wide variety of household foods such as raw and cooked meats, dairy products, and vegetables.

• Nest inside buildings when they discover food and water resources.
• Are omnivorous and will contaminate food they have access to.
• Search for resources and establish trails using pheromones produced in abdominal sternal glands.
• Tend and protect outdoor aphid, scale and mealybug populations from predators and parasites, sometimes causing indirect plant damage. Odorous house ants do not sting and are ineffective biters.
• The ants can smell like coconut, blue cheese, rancid butter, or pine cleaning solution.

The Pavement ant.

• Can sting, although they rarely do.
• Form large colonies excavating large amounts of soil from under roads, walkways and shallow building foundations, occasionally causing structural damage.
• Enter buildings and contaminate food they have access to.
• Form colonies inside structures.
• Damage vegetables in vegetable gardens.
• Can be an intermediate host of poultry tapeworms.
• Pavement ants are managed using the same tactics and tools as odorous house ants. See below.

Monitoring, prevention and control

Odorous house ants use natural or human-made edges and ridges as they move around landscapes or structures. Sticky monitoring traps rarely intercept trailing ants. People notice ant when the ants form trails or cover an edible item or moisture source. When you notice ants, immediately remove any food or water resources attracting them. Vacuuming ants and mopping floor areas with a mild cleaning solution will disrupt pheromone trails, but ants rebuild the trail if access to food and water is not denied. To resolve the problem, find interior nests or access points from outdoors. Follow ants traveling away from a food resource and seal any access points you discover. Odorous house ants forage at any time up to 150 feet from the nest, so ant appearances are intermittent and unpredictable. If you place index cards with a honey dollop where they have been reported, the ants will often trail to and from the honey within an hour. Trailing ants can then be followed to the nest location. If trails disappear under baseboards or into wall voids, inspect the outdoor area on the opposite side of the wall. If no ants are apparent, they may be nesting inside the wall or trailing a distance within the wall void. Once the nest is located, avoid disturbing the nest; that can prompt the colony to move. Ultimately, nesting sites may require remediation using pesticide bait products. External nests may be treated with nonrepellent products, which are sweet liquid, gel, or granular baits. Additionally, there are gel and ready-to-use ant bait stations labeled for indoor use which can be deployed close to trailing ants or interior nests.

Discourage ants indoors and in landscapes by:

• Repairing indoor plumbing leaks.
• Keeping food in airtight containers or refrigerated.
• Cleaning and degreasing food-preparation surfaces, microwave ovens, refrigerators, and kitchen appliances.
• Regularly emptying and cleaning trash cans and recycling bins.
• Cleaning mops, brushes, buckets, and dustpans and storing them in a way that facilitates rapid drying.
• Ensuring that windowsills and doorways close snugly.
• Eliminating standing water around structures.
• Trimming trees and shrubs away from buildings so there is at least a foot of perimeter space between plants and building walls or roof lines.
• Sealing cracks around the building foundation.
• Keeping wood piles and lumber away from buildings.
• Avoiding wood and organic mulch close to buildings.
• Avoiding planting nectar-producing plants close to buildings.

References Sources:

Identification and Habits of Key Ant Pest of Washington. EB0671

Integrated Pest Management for Ants in Schools. PNW 761

Identification and Habits of Key Ant Pest in the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Northwest Extension Publication PNW624

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Rich