Little Black Ant Infestations

The Little Black Ant is a common species of ant that is found throughout America. While they can be a year round problem, infestations are worse in the warmer months. Where they are a very small pest to try to manage, you may be pulling your hair out because as soon as you believe you’ve handled their invasion, they are back in a few days or weeks. Eagle Pest Services will share more about these tiny pests and why it is so hard to control or manage little black ants. Nonetheless, with the right management program you can remove these pests from your home.

Identification of Little Black Ants

The little black ant is, as their name implies, very small. The workers are 1/32 of an inch with queens only reaching up to 1/8 of an inch. Not only does their name comment on their size but their color as well. They are dark brown to jet black in color. A little black ant colony can have two or more queens at a time, making their reproduction rate seem ridiculously high, and that is why when it seems they are gone, in a short time they are back again. Additionally, the little black ant is an omnivore. They can feed on anything from honeydew from plants to grasses, oily food, meats, and of course, sweets. Their hives are normally found outside in cracks, dead tree trunks or branches where they will travel to a known food source leaving behind strong scent trails. The little black ant, being very small, often enters into homes through the tiniest of cracks, either through the foundation, windows, or doorways.

Little Black Ant Prevention

Given that fact they reproduce very quickly, eat almost everything they come in contact with and are very small, it can be a battle to prevent and control little black ants in your home. Your first and most important step is to keep food away from them. This means human as well as pet food should always be sealed in an air tight container. Little black ants can crawl through many so called sealed containers and that is why if you have an ant problem, you will want to make sure you use air tight containers and not just any container.

- A pest control company can place ant bait traps to the entrance points in your home. There are baits that the workers will bring back to the colony that is poisonous. There are other baits that lure them into a trap where they will die as well. Eventually the colonies number will be too few to repopulate.

- You can also remove ant scent trails with straight vinegar. You can spray the vinegar on the trail, but don’t wipe it away. Instead, allow it to dry. You can also use a water baking soda paste on their trails and scrub the entire area. Dry baking soda will work as well but it will need to sit for some time before removing. Baking soda can also help if the ant trail is in carpets. The baking soda draws the little black ants to the surface of the carpet where you can use a vacuum to suck them up. Reapply the baking soda and allow it to set for a few hours to help remove the ants scent trail. After using ant baits, traps and removing their scent trails, a pest control professional can use insecticides around the entry points of your home.

Ant Pest Control

Eagle Pest Services can help you with more professional methods of pest control. We know how hard of a battle little black ants and other pests can be when it comes to removing them from your home. If your home is under invasion by ants or any other pest, contact Eagle Pest Services today.