Quick Pharaoh Ant ID Summary
Pharaoh ants are tiny, light yellow to light brown ants that almost always live inside buildings in Virginia. They often show up in kitchens, bathrooms, and anywhere warm and damp, moving in steady trails. A key reason they’re hard to eliminate is that disturbing them can cause the colony to split into multiple nests, so they’re mainly a nuisance indoor pest that usually needs a careful control plan.
- Body Size: 1/16 inch long
- Common Characteristics: Pale yellow or reddish body with a darker colored abdomen.
- Number of Legs: 6
- Wings: Yes, male and female reproductive pharaoh ants (called alates or swarmers) have wings for mating
- Habitat: Typically nest in buildings with hidden, warm, and humid areas with access to moisture/water sources. Find them in wall voids, baseboards, furniture, piles of trash, appliances, and under floors.
Introduction to the Pharaoh Ant
Pharaoh Ants are often confused with fire ants. Pharaoh Ants are small and their name comes more from their behaviors than appearance. The ants are easily distinguishable by being multi-colored, with a yellowish body and dark-colored abdomen. It’s believed the ants originated in Africa, and have spread throughout the world due to trade. They like warm climates but find safety indoors which is why they commonly nest inside heated buildings. They are an intelligent and invasive species that has even infested secured DNA laboratories. Be warned, Pharoah Ants are one of the most dangerous and invasive ant species in Virginia.
Pharaoh Ant Behavior And Habitat
Pharaoh Ants Prefer to nest indoors where buildings have heat and food sources. Thanks to their intelligence, the ants will use electrical wiring and telephone lines to sneak inside buildings. They are usually found in houses, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, hospitals, food production facilities, office buildings, and bakeries. Due to their small size, they easily get into and contaminate food containers. These ants create exceptionally large colonies with several million workers and thousands of queens. This allows them to wipe out other ant populations and splinter off into smaller colonies when disturbed, making their infestations hard to eliminate.
Pharaoh Ant Dangers And Damage
Pharaoh Ant infestations are dangerous for humans because they can spread infection rapidly. They are known to spread streptococcus and salmonella, among other infectious diseases. Because they like to infest places with moisture and food, houses, hotels, restaurants, and hospitals are very vulnerable. Most conventional pest control strategies do not work on Pharoah Ants, which means they can infest large buildings quickly and infest large numbers of people. If you feel there are Pharoah Ants on your property you should contact a local pest control professional immediately.
Think You Might Have Pharaoh Ants?
Contact Greenshield Home & Pest Solutions for a free, same-day pest inspection.