Types of Ants :: Crazy Ants :: Printer-Friendly Version
Ant Origin & Distribution
Crazy ants, originally from the Old World tropics, are a common pest in Puerto Rico, Florida and other Gulf coast states, as well as southern Arizona. Reports of infestations throughout the rest of the United States are sporadic and due primarily to ants being introduced in shipments of goods such as in the soil of tropical potted plants. In cooler, northern climates infestations are confined to indoor areas where they can be persistent.
Ant Identification
Workers from crazy ant colonies are uniformly reddish dark brown to black and are all about 1/8" in length. Upon close inspection they have noticeably longer legs and antennae than other ants their same size. Crazy ants generally have loose, unorganized trails, and when disturbed, run erratically with no apparent direction- giving them their "crazy" ant common name.
Ant Biology
Colonies of crazy ants are relatively small with multiple queens and a few thousand workers. In favorable environments, such as Florida, larger colonies containing tens of thousands of ants may occur with several nest sites linked together by foraging trails. Nests can be found in both wet and dry soil or under objects on the ground such as potted plants, landscape timbers, firewood, and piles of debris. They may also exist next to foundations in landscape mulch and thick vegetation.
Above ground nesting sites include gutters clogged with debris and under gravel on flat roofs where foragers may enter structures from the roof down. Nests may exist in structural voids, including wall voids, under carpeting and under and between undisturbed items stored on floors. Indoor nests may also be found in indoor planters and potted plants. Although winged ants are produced in colonies, it is not fully clear if new colonies are formed from mating flights. Most likely, new colonies are produced by budding, where queens and workers leave a parent nest to begin a new one.
Ant Habits
Crazy ants feed on natural foods including living and dead insects and on honeydew produced by plant sucking insects (aphids, scales). Crazy ants can utilize household food sources that are either greasy and/or sweet. Food can be completely covered by ants within a short period of time. Foraging trails of crazy ants are often not very organized and therefore not very apparent, but they may be more apparent when the ants are following the edges of structures. Trails may be hundreds of feet long, which make locating nest sites difficult. Many times indoor foragers come from outdoor nests. These foragers may access buildings on the ground or over branches and vegetation touching the structure and then enter through areas such as weep holes and exterior cracks and crevices around windows and doors. Indoors, they may be seen foraging along baseboards and carpet edges.
Ant Control
If you think you might have a crazy ant infestation in your home, it's imperative that you contact a certified and licensed pest control professional
to inspect the situation and confirm identification. Experts will advise against do-it-yourself options, as it is much more efficient and cost-effective to have a trained set of eyes identify the correct ant species and recommend effective treatment options specific to an individual infestation. Improper do-it-yourself options may result in killing a few ants, while the rest of the colony simply relocates to other areas around and inside the structure.