“Sugar ants” is a common term used in California to refer to many species of small ants. These ants include pharaoh ants, Argentine ants, thief ants, and odorous house ants, all common indoor pests in the Bay Area.
Sugar ants get their name from their preferred source of food, which is sweets. In nature, they feed on the nectar of plants, but in homes, they feed on food scraps and waste.
Read on for more on sugar ants’ appearance and habits, the possible health risks of sugar ants, and prevention tips.
Sugar Ants: Appearance And Habits
Sugar ants range from two to 15 millimeters in length. Female sugar ants are orangish-brown with black heads, while males are fully black with wings.
Sugar ants can be identified quickly by the sources of food they seek out. When searching for food, they tend to walk in a single-file line and are most commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms, nearby sources of food, and high-moisture areas.
Sugar pests are mostly seen as nuisance pests. Although they can transmit bacteria and pharaoh ants can spread disease, most sugar ant species are problematic to homeowners because of their presence and the traces they leave behind. On the hunt for food, sugar ants will contaminate food sources with their waste, and in the pursuit of finding food, they’ll even chew through plastic contains, paper products, and cardboard, causing damage. Their presence may also attract unwanted pests into your home, such as centipedes and spiders, who feed on sugar ants.
Possible Health Risks of Sugar Ants
Most sugar ant species aren’t dangerous, but the pharaoh ant, in particular, can carry and transmit a host of bacteria and pathogens. Although not all pharaoh ants carry disease-causing bacteria, they transmit illnesses such as salmonella and streptococcus. Pharaoh ants also pose a greater risk in hospitals and other healthcare settings—including home care—as they are known to contaminate the IVs and wounds of patients. In homes, they contaminate food, which is one of the ways they spread disease.
Tips For Preventing Sugar Ants
The most effective, quickest, and safest way to rid of a sugar ant infestation in your Bay Area home or property is with help from the professionals at Bay Pest. To prevent them from entering your home in the first place, consider the following tips:
- Keep sweet foods, such as cookies, candy, honey, jelly, and jam, stored inside an airtight container or in a refrigerator.
- Only eat in kitchen areas and clean surfaces immediately after all meals and snacks.
- Refrain from leaving dirty dishes laying out overnight, including in the sink.
- Clean your kitchen sink with vinegar.
- Seal all cracks in the foundation and on walls and roofs to prevent them from entering your home.
- Use natural solutions to deter these pests, such as cinnamon sticks and turmeric.
The Bay Pest Solutions for Sugar Ant Infestations
Bay Best Solution has a comprehensive three-step residential ant control process focused on locating and eradicating a sugar ant infestation at its source—and keeping them from returning.
- Inspection: First, we’ll carefully and thoroughly inspect your property to locate where the ants are entering and the precise species, which determines the plan for the next step.
- Treatment: Once we’ve pinpointed where the problem is occurring, we’ll treat your house's exterior perimeter with solutions specific to the sugar ant species that are invading your home while also looking for ant trails and nests to treat specific areas.
- Follow-up: To maintain a pest-free home, Bay Pest offers an ant control service that’s available on a quarterly plan, where every three months, we’ll return to re-treat your house.
For more advice and assistance, call the professionals at Bay Pest today.