Ants are the most common insect that homeowners will ever come into contact with. Peoria, Arizona provides a perfect environment for ants to thrive in and if your home is not properly protected by Bug Guardian Pest Prevention, ants will be able to easily gain access into your home and cause a great deal of problems. Ants have the ability to fit through the smallest crack or crevice they can find on the exterior of your home to get inside. Once an ant has successfully gained access into your home they will immediately begin searching for a reliable food and water source. This usually ends up being in your kitchen, bathroom or laundry room area. Arizona is home to a variety of ant species and it is important to become familiar with the ants that are trying to get into your home so you can combat them in the best possible way. Bug Guardian Pest Prevention is skilled and experienced in dealing with all species of ants in Arizona and will keep them away from your home.
There are five major classifications of ants in the Sonoran Desert and Phoenix area.
- Black ants are the most common ants found in homes and on patios. They can range from 1/16” to bigger than ½”, and most of their lives are spent caring for the colony: gathering food and, for the queen, laying eggs.
- Pharaoh ants are very small, but their colonies can number up to 30,000. They are a huge annoyance since their diet includes human foods along with vegetation.
- Fire ants come in two varieties: the southern fire ant and the imported red fire ant. They range from 1/16” to ¼” and are identifiable by their red heads and darker bodies. Fire ants have a stinger at the tail end of their bodies. They sting or bite and can be quite painful.
- Carpenter ant is a label often used interchangeably with termite, but they’re actually not the same. They eat and nest in wood, so they can cause a lot of structural damage (hence why they’re sometimes confused with termites). Carpenter ants bite and inject formic acid into the wound, causing a lot of pain.
- Harvester ants are another stinging type of ant. They grow as large as ½” and eat vegetation. They have been known to pose a huge threat to crops in agricultural areas.
Colossal Colonies
Probably one of the biggest challenges ants pose in Arizona is the size of their colonies. Although small individually, their colony numbers are large, and they eat things that are found in or around Arizona homes: wood, vegetation, and even human food. They tend to nest near food and water sources, so in the dry desert, a landscaped lawn makes an excellent home for these little pests. And since three of the five Arizona ant varieties sting or bite, there’s the added problem of pain in addition to the annoyance of having these little black or red insects on your property.
