Ants live throughout the entire United States, living and work together in large colonies. Ants are common household invaders and are very difficult to eliminate from homes and properties without professional help completely. Some of the most common ants in Virginia include Argentine ants, carpenter ants, odorous house ants, pavement ants, and red imported fire ants.
Argentine Ants
rgentine Ants are a small species and are usually either shiny dark brown or shiny black. Their segment body is oval-shaped. Their most identifying feature is the vast colonies that this species creates. A single colony can have thousands and thousands of workers and hundreds of queens living and working together.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are one of the largest species of household invading ants found living in the United States. Carpenter ants are most commonly black but can be a combination of black, red, and yellow. Carpenter ants typically create their main nest outside. Still, after entering into a home while foraging for food, they may decide to build satellite nests inside of structural wood - being particularly drawn to water-damaged or decaying wood.
Odorous House Ants
Odorous house ants are a very small species of ant that produces a very unpleasant odor. When crushed, odorous house ants emit a very foul smell similar to the smell of a rotting coconut. Odorous house ants are a very small species of ant, and they range in color from dark brown to black.
Pavement Ants
Pavement ants get their name because of their habit of creating their nests in the cracks of pavement or cement. You can find pavement ants invading Virginia homes. Adults are brown to black, and their heads, body, and thorax have grooved parallel lines. Another identifying feature is that their thorax has a small pair of spines extending from their hind end.
Red Imported Fire Ants
Red imported fire ants are most well-known for being extremely aggressive; they sting anything they encounter or view as a threat. This is a small species of ant, and they are darkish-red in color. This species of ant typically builds large nesting mounds in open sunny areas.