House Ant Bites
House ant bites. Sometimes ants do have a mind of their own. They might look small, but they’re pretty pesky and deceptive in the way they seem to be hiding any time you try and find them.
But we hear you – and it really can be not very pleasant when they get into your house. So like we’ve told many others before us – read on!
In this guide, you will learn how to identify five different types of ants that bite and where these biting ants come from, and how you can eliminate not only these types of ants but also any future ones.
One of the best ways to protect yourself from bites is by knowing what kind of ant it is that’s bitten or stung you in the first place; therefore, this is precisely what this article shall teach.
House Ant Bites
Ant bites can be painful. They usually produce a red, swollen mark on your skin that may become very itchy or you may see a pus-filled spot which will sometimes start to ooze several hours after the initial bite.
You may react poorly and develop an allergy to their stings, but by far the most common outcome is simply a pain or rash at some point.
Here are some other types of ants that bite:
1. Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are black and winged ants that sneak into your house to search for food, water, and shelter.
The difference between carpenter ants and termites is that the former does not eat wood like termites do but instead find dampness or other sources of moisture as holes onto which they will build their colonies.
These colonies can be easily spotted outdoors since carpenter ants will develop nests in wood and debris outside your home.
Yet, since the environment is exposed to many elements like rainwater and moisture from the lawn, it’s harder to perceive whether these conditions exist inside your home.
Carpenter ants aren’t aggressive by nature but may become so when they feel threatened by humans. This is usually when they bite humans who accidentally come too close to them while nesting.
Since all carpenter ant species have a potent acidic venom known as formic acid, carpenter ant bites will suffer tremendously.
2. Pavement Ants
Pavement ants are a kind of ant species that grow up to 3 mm in length. Uniquely, given their nesting habits, pavement ants adore living next to homes.
Inside the house, pavement ants nest in places like behind stones, under cracks in the pavement, inside wall or floor voids, and insulation.
Outdoors, pavement ants will make turfs out of dirt and plant roots. In warm areas with lots of moisture, Moist mulch beds (and woodpiles – which have plenty of these) are ideal for them to build colonies.
Since they look similar to another type of ant called carpenter ants – another outdoor pest that carries harmful diseases – at first glance, it can be hard to tell the difference between them.
Pavement ants aren’t aggressive by nature, but they do have potent venom if you happen to mishandle them, as with any insect bite.
3. Acrobat Ants
Another ant species that bites commonly in many homes across the US is the ghost ant. Ghost ants are tiny in size, with workers growing to between 2 and 4 millimetres (0.1 to 0.2in) extended, queens growing to between 3 and 5 millimetres (0.12–0.2in) and males growing to approximately 1 millimetre (0.04in).
They can be identified by their pale yellow or cream colour but possess a slight translucence and appear almost white under some lighting conditions.
Thanks to ridges on their abdomen, which also feature thinner stripes, ghost ants create an illusion of transparency and fleeting shadows when the light catches them just right.
The name “ghost” ants come from this effect, with many mistaking them for ghosts due to this strange optical illusion.
4. Sugar Ants
Sugar ants are a type of ant about the size of a grain of sugar. Because of their small size, sugar ants can easily slip inside your residence without you noticing their presence in time.
This species of ant has black bodies and reddish brown-coloured legs. They get this name from feeding on sweet foods like honeydew produced by aphids and other plant sap secretions.
Sugar ants live worldwide, but they are most heavily concentrated in warm climates. Inside your house, sugar ants will nest almost anywhere near a food supply.
Usually near the kitchen and pantry, behind baseboards or along shelves where there’s some sticky substance to build their colonies on top where food might be kept around it – literally!
You can identify a sugar ant colony by looking for raised dirt mounds containing cavities that hold brood (eggs and larvae) and an ant queen that lays eggs for a new worker and soldier castes.
5. Red Fire Ants
If you have ever been bitten at home by ants in Florida, you already know that the bites are incredibly itchy and angry-looking.
For starters, there’s a reason why Florida is known as the insect capital of America. You’re probably wondering how to get ants out of your home once they are inside because they multiply very quickly!
Sometimes it might seem that these little critters can appear in numbers which make them impossible to oust on your own.
But thankfully, there are things homeowners should avoid doing when ant infestations threaten the health and safety of their loved ones, pets and homes.
One thing natural removal professionals say homeowners do with some frequency is to use toxic chemicals.
Although killing fire ants may sound like a good idea for many homeowners, this action often does more harm than good. The typical chemical used for treating ant mounds is also highly toxic to animals and people alike.
Ways of Keeping Ants Out Of House
- Reducing dampness around your house.
- Seal Your Home’s Cracks and Gaps.
- Maintain a Clean Kitchen.
- Trim or remove shrubs and bushes near your home’s perimeter.
- Remove or trim the shrubs surrounding your home’s perimeter.
- Wood pieces that are damaged or wet should be discarded.
Ways of Keeping Ants From Biting
- Use ant baits and traps to eliminate biting ants inside your home.
- Protect your body from the elements by wearing protective clothing.
- Ant mounds should be avoided.
- Spray essential oils around your bed.
- Don’t eat in bed.
FAQs
How do you deal with an ant bite?
If you get bitten by fire ants, you can use things readily available to you in your household. We suggest antihistamines as they are one of the safest and most popular over-the-counter remedies for insect bites.
Be sure to equip yourself with a container of them – always! If fire ants bite you, try using an ice pack on the affected area because it will serve to cool off the blisters and make them more manageable.
See how effective that is? If you are a child or older adult suffering from allergies severe enough for your symptoms to include skin inflammation and difficulty breathing, then DO consult your doctor right away.
How Biting Ants Enter Your Home?
Ants of all kinds can get into your home through cracks and crevices, whether it be in the walls (easier to get into homes that have wood siding), on roofs around ventilation or plumbing, between doors, next to windows/doors that leak, and even door casings that are cracked.
These ants also hide inside boxes you bring in from outside and other objects such as potted plants or old furniture with small crevices.
Conclusion
In this guide, you’ve learned about the five types of ants that invade your home: carpenter ants, pavement ants, acrobat ants, sugar ants, and, most surprisingly, red fire ants. You’ve learned why they invade and what you can do to prevent a further invasion that could lead to bites by knowing which ant looks similar but isn’t harmful. If you found this guide helpful or know someone who might need it because they were bitten by one of these little guys, then don’t hesitate to share so we can get it out there to help them heal quickly.
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