In California, there are multiple types of ants to worry about including carpenter ants, odorous house ants, and fire ants (both indigenous and imported).

• The carpenter ant is the most common in California and spends its time carving tunnels in wood. This can lead to structural issues in homes or buildings and is one reason it’s important to exterminate these pests as soon as they are seen. Carpenter ants are usually red or black with one waist (or node) and a smoothly rounded back (or thorax).
• Odorous house ants are small, dark brown ants that will nest anywhere moist or warm, including behind baseboards and in cabinet voids.
• Indigenous fire ants (also known as red ants) generally keep away from humans and live in large mounds in the wild.
• The red imported fire ant has colonized the southeastern United States and is now making it’s way through California as well. These imported red ants will have a copper-colored head and a darker body. They also come in multiple sizes. The danger with the red imported fire ant is that they are much more aggressive and will attack anything that disturbs the mound, biting and injecting the intruder with a toxic venom that is dangerous to humans.

If you are seeing ants in or around your home and would like a professional’s help in removing or controlling them, give us a call and one of our professional and courteous technicians will come out and help. Learn more about the ant coverage included in our residential and commercial pest control services.