Ants of Oregon You Should Know About

Wherever you go you can expect to find ants of some sort.  There are approximately 700 different species of ants in North America, but in Oregon the most common are the following eight ant species.

Carpenter Ants

These large ant species can be black, black and red, or yellowish in color, depending on the specific subspecies of carpenter ant.  Carpenter ants can grow to be about half an inch and the females or queens can be up to an inch in length.  Many carpenter ants have winged females.  These are distinguished from termites by their larger size.  Carpenter ants also have elbowed antennae whereas termites have straight antennae.  It is not uncommon to find carpenter ant and termite colonies in the same place. Carpenter ants prefer moist or rotting wood.  In fact, finding carpenter ants in your home may indicate you have a plumbing leak or leak from your roof or walls.  Carpenter ants do not present a health concern to humans. They can bite, but rarely do.  Their main threat is to wooden structures, these are wood destroying insects.  They burrow and tunnel through wood to create nests and colonies and left untreated they can cause serious structural damage to your home.

Tapinoma Sessile (odorous house ants)

These tiny ant species are usually brown to black in color.  They are commonly found in homes and when crushed they leave an odor that resembles rotten coconut.  They are not considered dangerous to humans because they do not have a venomous or painful bite and they do not carry diseases or transmit diseases to humans.  If there is a danger at all, it is because they can contaminate foods by tracking chemicals or bacteria across foods as they forage for food for their colonies.

Pavement ants

These tiny little ants are very prolific in their population.  Each colony typically has a queen and thousands of workers.  These little black ants are omnivores and they feed on dead material as well as living materials.  Though like most ants, they prefer sweet foods.  Because of their population size, pavement ants can be difficult to control.  Though they are not dangerous to humans, meaning they don’t bite or sting, they can contaminate foods just like their cousins, the odorous house ants.

Argentine ants

This small invasive species of ant found its way here via Argentinian coffee shipments over the years.  These ants are slightly larger than pavement ants at about 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch in size, the queen are about ¼ an inch in size.  These ants range from light brown to black in color. They can be distinguished from other ants by their mandibles which will have 5-8 teeth and their antenna which have 12 segments.  These little ants are even more prolific in their colony sizes than pavement ants.  An Argentinian ant colony is massive and can have hundreds of queens and millions or workers covering whole neighborhoods and fields, which is why their eradication is best left up do pest control professionals.

Pharaoh ants

These tiny little amber ants are an invasive species believed to be from Africa.  They are about 2 mm in length with red or black markings on their abdomens.  These ants cannot tolerate cold temperatures, and they are drawn to heated buildings.  The primary danger of these creatures is their ability to spread diseases such as salmonella, staphylococcus and streptococcus.  They are known to be able to transmit at least a dozen pathogens.  These ants are bold and get into everything.  They have even been known to get food and moisture from open wounds or even moisture from a sleeping infant’s open mouth and in-use IV bags.  They are highly invasive and are known vectors for disease transmission.

Thief ants

These ants look like the pharaoh ant but are slightly larger.  They get their name from their habit of building colonies near the colonies of larger ants where they carry off larvae and pupae from other ant species to use as a food source.  Like the pharaoh ants, their small size allows them to infiltrate very small areas and food packages. They feed on anything, including dead carcasses and spoiled food, making them dangerous vectors for disease transmission.

Crazy ant

This species of ant is easily identified by their strange, erratic, jerky behavior.  They are an invasive ant species from the tropics and have been known to be able to kill birds by climbing all over them and blocking their nasal passages.  These ants will bite a painful bite that hurts for about a minute, but they are also able to spray formic acid into the bite location.  They disrupt electrical circuits and have been known to attack the eyes of livestock.

Field ants

These ants are 4-8 mm in length and can be yellow, red, black or a combination of red and black.  They can make mounds up to 4 feet wide and 2 feet tall.  Field ants are not aggressive unless their nest is disturbed and then they will deliver a painful bite and can spray formic acid into the bite but, fortunately the pain only lasts about an hour.

If you find you have any of these ant infestations, we can help. Call All-Natural Pest Elimination to discuss your pest control needs at 1-877-662-8449.