Are Odorous House Ants in Pleasanton Dangerous?

There are over 270 ant species in California alone. One of the most common ants you will find in Pleasanton is the odorous house ant. They’re brown or black and grow to be just a 1/8th of an inch in size.

Odorous house ants are a member of the group called sugar ants. That’s because they adore sweets. If they get inside your home, they will make a beeline for any of your meats and sweets. Ants are equipped with powerful odor receptors. They can smell even the tiniest droplet of fruit juice from this morning’s breakfast. Once they have used their odor receptors to track their next meal down, they return to their colony and invite them to come along too by using pheromones. Soon enough, a trail of odorous house ants will be following the path right into your home. That’s bad news for your pantry.

When odorous house ants aren’t eating sweets, they eat other bugs or honeydew. They’re attracted to moisture and standing water, but too much of it, and they’ll be trying to head indoors after heavy rainfall. Odorous house ants nest in tucked-away nooks and crannies inside your home, which can make their nests hard to find and eliminate. To make matters worse, odorous house ants lay new eggs daily.

Where are all of these ants coming from? Ants enter Pleasanton homes through the tiniest spaces. They tend to waltz right under your front door, or they enter through holes where utility pipes or wires enter.

While odorous house ants can bite, the bites are rare and not severe. Odorous house ants aren’t considered dangerous to your home, unlike carpenter ants or red imported fire ants. They are mostly just a nuisance.

Many of us know the annoying experience of pouring out honey or syrup to realize dead ants are swimming in it. You pour a glass of tea or lemonade--just to dump it out. Odorous house ants contaminate food while they are foraging for their next meal. Ants can ruin pantry staples like honey, syrup, crackers, or oats. But they are tenacious little creatures, so anything is fair game. Of course, when they’re crushed, odorous house ants emit a foul odor.

Want to prevent ants before they invade ? There are a few tried and true tips to start using today.

At the first sign of ants, contact Patriot Pest Management. Ants are notoriously hard to get rid of. If you’re at the end of your wits, call the professionals at Patriot Pest Management and pest-proof your home today!