Little black ant
Little black ants are also scientifically known as monomorium minimum. As their name suggests, they are fairly small with workers measuring one eighth of an inch in length. The have only one caste and therefore possible for the colonies to have multiple queens. These ant’s bodies are black or jet-black in color. Their queens are often thrice to four times the size of the workers.
Little black ant behavioral patterns
These ants live in colonies and prefer moist habitats such as wet logs, tree stumps, dead tree limbs, tree holes as well as bricks, rocks and lumber. They are easy to spot as they will often make a visible trail as they look for food or water. One can also locate their nest with relative ease because their trail will often be from their nest to a food or water source.
The workers are particularly fond of eating honeydew produce by aphids. Aphids will often be found on Fruit trees, roses and numerous shrubs. It is therefore not surprising to find that an infestation in your home of black ants may be as a result of the roses, shrubs and fruit trees surrounding your home. They are a feeding haven for black ants because of aphids and the honeydew they produce. Other sources of food for black ants include:
- Corn meals
- Greasy or oily foods
- Honeydew
- Vegetables
- Insects
- Plant secretions
- Sweets
These black ants may make their way into your home through the small spaces under your door or get into your house through cracks and crevices in the wall, window seals or floor. They do so in search of food and water.
Interestingly, males and females often shed their wings soon after mating. But the males will not only shed their wings, but will go on ahead to die shortly after.
Prevention
Black ants can be prevented from entering your home in several ways. Sealing any crevices and cracks and limiting or pruning the number of fruit tree, roses and general shrubbery around the home. Ensuring the yard is clean from piles of lumber and rotting wood is also a good place to start.
If you have a sprinkler system, you want to make sure that they do not spray directly onto the foundation. That is because a moist foundation is an ideal habitat for most bugs including black ants.
If the Infestations of ants is unbearable, you may have no other choice but to engage a professional pest handler on how to get rid of them. Depending on the actual cause of a black ant infestation in your property, the answer may lie in re-landscaping your yard and around the foundation to ensure that the soil around your foundation is less moist. A choice in plants that are less prone to aphids and similar insects will also help.
Conclusion
Blackants are not harmful in any way, however they can be a nuisance when you always see them crawling in your kitchen, food and bathroom area.
