The odorous house ant typically does not have any smell. But when step upon they will emit an unpleasant odor similar to rotten coconuts. These ants will often invade your home looking for food and then settle within your walls or floors. They typically are brown or black.
Reproduction
Females in the nest lay one egg daily. It takes an average of 24 days for the young to reach adulthood. Colony size ranges from 100 to 10,000 ants.
Inspection
They forage day and night Their nests can occur in a great variety of situations. Inside, these Ants usually construct their nests in wall voids, especially around hot water pipes and heaters, in crevices, sinks, cupboards, etc. Outside they are found in exposed soil, usually shallow, often located beneath a board, brick, stone walk, etc. They are most likely to enter buildings when their honeydew supply or sweet supply of food is reduced by natural occurrences such as rainy weather or autumn leaf fall.
Diet
They can feed on anything such as insects, honeydew, seeds, and plant secretions, but do prefer sweets. They are extremely fond of honeydew and attend such honeydew-excreting insects as plantlice (aphids), scale insects, and mealybugs.
How to Get Rid of Odorous Ants
Treat the exterior perimeter with a non-repellant insecticide like Bugly. Spray a coarse mist of Bugly Outdoor around the base of the foundation. Spray a foot up the wall and a foot out from the wall. Spray 18-inch bands around all windows, doors, and plumbing, utility penetrations and along any visible ant trails. It can’t be detected by the ants, so they crawl through it and unknowingly track it back to the nest and queen, killing all.
