Ant Facts
Learn All About Ants
The more you know about ants, the better you can predict and control their behavior. Here are some quick facts to help you on your way.
Ant Facts & Information
Protect your home or business from ants by learning techniques for identification and control.
Family Formicidae
IDENTIFY
Types of Ants
What do ants look like?
Adult ants species come in a variety of shapes and sizes but each will be one of three different colony castes; queens, workers or males. Queens are fertile females that lay all the eggs in a colony. Workers are wingless females that gather food, feed larvae, maintain the nest, defend the colony, and do not reproduce. Male ants are winged and their only job is to mate with the queens during the swarming process.
Common Ants
Ants That Bite or Sting
Common Ants
Ants That Don’t Bite or Sting
Treatment
How do I get rid of ants?
What Orkin Does
Getting rid of ants and keeping them out of homes and buildings is an ongoing process, not a one-time treatment. Orkin Pros are trained to help manage different types of ants and ant infestation. Since every home or building is different, it’s important to understand ant facts and properly identify ants in order to help manage the situation.
By using Orkin’s exclusive A.I.M. solution, a continuing cycle of three critical steps — Assess, Implement and Monitor — your Orkin Pro will design a unique ant control and treatment program to help you repel ants inside your house or anywhere else they may be. With expert knowledge and the proper equipment, you can rely on our ant exterminators to successfully help you deal with ant- and other pest-related problems.
Find a branch closest to you for help from an Orkin Pro today.
Call us877-819-5061
Frequently Asked Questions
More Resources
Dig Deeper on Ants
Visit the Orkin Pest Library to learn how to identify and control other pests.
Information About Ants
Explore the reasons why an ant may sting or bite, along with the symptoms of an ant bite and what to do if stung or bitten.
While any species of ant can be difficult to prevent and manage, effective ant control depends on proper identification of the ant infestation inside your home, knowledge of nest locations and the ant’s preferred foods.
An ant mound is an indication that an ant colony is present – but what you see above ground represents only a small portion of what occurs with overall construction of the ant nest below.
While there are many ready-to-use boric acid bait ant control products available, DIY ant control products may be ineffective at treating an entire ant infestation.
Fertile females (queen ants), regardless of species, are often larger and have thicker bodies than other members of the ant colony, making them easily distinguishable.
Although a majority of ants are wingless, at certain times of the year, swarms of flying ants are common and typically mean that there's likely an established colony nearby.
Reproduction for ants is a complex phenomenon that involves finding, selecting and successfully fertilizing females to ensure that the eggs laid can survive and molt through the successive stages of the lifespan of an ant – larvae, pupae and adults.
Ants generally have a short life cycle, but some colony members can live from as little as a few days to as long as a few decades – it depends on a number of factors.
Explore the three major groups in which ant nests are generally divided and categorized into – ants that nest in soil, ones that nest in wood and ants that are opportunistic nesters.
Why Do Ants Come Inside the House During the Winter?
Ants often move indoors looking for better conditions, food, moisture, shelter, favorable temperatures and permanent residence.
Why Do Ants Go Inside the Walls
Ants become dwellers inside walls and other voids to find a more preferred site for food, moisture and protection than what is available to them outdoors. Learn more including how exterminators get rid of ants in walls.
Although hearing is very different in ants than animals that typically have ears, ants do possess the capability to hear.
Similar to other insects, ants perceive smells with their antennae.
Similar to mosquitoes and other insects, ants do carry and transmit bacterial and fungal organisms that are serious disease pathogens.
What's the Hierarchy of an Ant Colony?
Learn more about these extremely social insects by exploring their highly-structured colonies and the important role each caste plays in the overall hierarchy.
What Do I Do If I Have Ants In Sink And Walls?
Find out what you should do if you have ants in your sinks and walls.
How Can I Get Rid Of Little Ants In My Bathroom?
Is your bathroom crawling with ants? Find tips on what you should do to remove ants from the bathroom.
How Can I Get Rid Of Ants In My Car?
Find helpful tips on how to get rid of ants from your car and prevent ant infestations.
Learn about ant bait and how it works to remove and control ants.
Find out what steps you should take if you are considering moving an ant nest.
If you have ever been bit by an ant you already know that it isn't a pleasant experience, but do ants have venom?
The cordyceps fungi takes over ants' brains and muscles to turn them into zombies. Learn more about zombie ants here.
Although ants can thrive year-round, they're usually most active between March and October.
Largest Ant Colony in the World
Learn the history behind the Argentine ant supercolony.