Here's How To Tell If Ants Around Your Hendersonville Property Are Dangerous

We have a lot of ants in Hendersonville. Have you noticed? They create ant hills in our lawns. They create ant hills along our driveways and walkways. They scale our exterior walls. They get into our exterior trash cans. Rarely a day goes by where we don’t see ants if we take a moment to think about it. But most of the time we don’t think about it. We pay no attention to them crawling around on window sills and exploring the threshold of the doorway into the garage. We barely give them a second of our attention when we go out onto the porch or the back deck. It is only when ants start to mobilize in large numbers that we take notice. Have you noticed ants in large numbers? Have you done something in your yard or around your home that has caused hundreds of ants to come up out of the ground in defense of their colony? If you have, it is likely that you have questions. What ants are they? Will they get into your home? Can they damage your property or make you sick? Here are a few tips to help you determine whether or not those ants are a threat.

Three Ant Threats

There are three ways ants in Hendersonville can be a threat, and there are three types of ants associated with these three threats. Carpenter ants are property damaging ants that tunnel through wood. Fire ants are stinging ants that can present a hazard for babies, the elderly, the infirm, and anyone who has an allergic reaction to their venom. Pharaoh ants are a disease threat because they commonly feed on the open woods of livestock, pets, and wildlife. If any of these ants are establishing colonies in your yard or near your home, it is important that you know how to identify them.

Carpenter Ants

These ants are the largest ants that get into Hendersonville properties. But all carpenter ants are not large enough to distinctly tell them apart from other ants. Workers range in size. A single colony can have workers that are ¼ of an inch to ⅝ of an inch long. Male and female swarmers can be ⅝ to as much as an inch long. While it is certainly easy to determine that a 1-inch black ant is a carpenter ant; it is a little more difficult when the workers are a mere ¼ of an inch long. Fortunately, carpenter ants do some things that will help you identify them.

• Carpenter ant workers will be found in areas where there is decaying wood and leaf litter.

• Carpenter ants don’t tend to make mounds. They create holes in the ground.

• Carpenter ants damage wood. If you’re seeing damage to the wood of your home, such as deck boards or the frames around doors and windows, the ants you’re seeing are probably carpenter ants.

Fire Ants

These ants have a red coloration. But they aren’t the only red ants that will come into your yard. If you see red ants with a dark abdomen that are about ⅛ to ⅜ of an inch long, they might be fire ants. Here are two tips to help with identification:

• If you’ve been stung by one, you don’t have to wonder.

• Fire ants create mounds throughout a yard.

Pharaoh Ants

These ants have pale bodies and dark abdomens that may look black. They’re only about 1/16 of an inch long, with monomorphic workers. If you see thousands of tiny ants that match this description, it is likely that you have a Pharaoh ant problem.

Do You Have An Ant Problem?

If you need assistance addressing an ant problem or you need help with identification, remember that the service team at All-American Pest Control is always available to help. We provide industry-leading ant control in the Hendersonville area. We have the experience and training to eliminate any kind of ants.