Ant Identification
Which Ant is Bugging Me?
White Footed Ant
Size: 2.5-3 mm long
Color: Black to brownish-black body with yellowish-white feet
About:
- No bite or sting
- Forages through kitchens and bathrooms
- Colony size ranges from 8,000 to 3 million
Tawny Crazy Ant
Size: <2.4 mm long
Color: reddish-brown body and feet
About:
- Named for their quick and erratic (crazy) movements
- They don’t form mounds in the landscape but do tunnel in sandy soil
- Notorious for huge colonies
Big Headed Ant
Size: Varies, usually about 2 to 3 mm long
Color: Yellowish to reddish-brown
About:
- Named for their abnormally large heads
- They are soil nesting ants and often leave piles of loose sandy soil
- Forage in kitchens, bathrooms, and around windows and doors
- Difficult to control due to large colonies with populations extending across property lines
Acrobat Ant
Size: 2.6 to 3.2 mm long
Color: Shiny bodies that vary in color from light red to brown or black
About:
- Most distinguishing characteristic is the heart-shaped tail end that is held up over the mid-section when disturbed.
Red Imported Fire Ant
Size: Ranges between 2.4 to 6 mm
Color: Red or brown body with black tail end
About:
- A stinger is present at the tip of the tail end
- Mounds built of soil and when disturbed, ants emerge aggressively to sting
Florida Carpenter Ant
Size: 5.5 to 10 mm long
Color: Brown to rusty orange body with black tail end
About:
- They don’t actually eat wood but rather gnaw through it for nesting
- Nest under loose wood debris and piles of sawdust will often indicate proximity to nesting site
- Sometimes travel individually and at night making them difficult to find and treat
Ghost Ant
Size: 1.3 to 1.5 mm long
Color: Dark brown body with milky white tail end
About:
- Often found nesting between baseboards or sometimes in potted plants
- Prefer sweets and often forage through sugar, cakes, and syrups
- Move in trails until disturbed when they scatter erratically
Pharaoh Ant
Size: 1.5 to 2 mm long
Color: Yellow or light brown to red body with shiny tail end
About:
- Nesting occurs in warm and humid areas such as bed linens and piles of trash
- Sometimes use hot water pipes and wiring to travel
What They Look Like in a Natural Environment
Fire Ants
Tawny Crazy Ants
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