What ants live in Vermont?
Carpenter Ants in Vermont
They chew through wood to create passages and nests to raise their young. Piles of sawdust removed from their tunnels are one sign that carpenter ants may have infested your home.
A survey of U.S. pest professionals found that 100 percent of respondents treated ant infestations in the past year, and that the most prevalent species found were carpenter ants, odorous house ants and pavement ants.
According to a 2009 Global Invasive Species Database summary, the ants have now been reported in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and more recently, Washington State.
Carpenter ant bites aren't serious and don't appear as a distinct bug bite or sting. You may notice a bite if you've been outside and near a colony. There is a chance your skin could be a bit red in color from the bite, but it shouldn't be severe. You could feel a burning sensation after the bite.
Terminix recommends drilling 1/8" holes every six inches in the area where you suspect the nest might be. Then, use a bulb duster to "puff" boric acid through the holes. (The boric acid will kill the ants.) You might have to repeat treatments multiple times in order to destroy the nest.
Carpenter ants are fast moving and stop only to feed or share food with other ants. They are most active at night. Workers emerge from the nest about 15 minutes after sundown.
Ant Control & Extermination Information
Ant identification is relatively simple due to their three distinct body regions: head, thorax and abdomen, as well as antennae. Despite similar construction, ants vary in overall appearance. Small or large ants and brown or black ants are common nicknames for different species.
Some of the more common ant species that may invade and choose to reside inside are pavement ants, carpenter ants, odorous house ants, thief ants, acrobat ants and pharaoh ants.
Sugar Ants Inside Your Home
Once inside, sugar ants are usually seen first in the kitchen or bathrooms since they are attracted to moisture. Water droplets on countertops and in sinks provide the perfect moisture source for sugar ants.
If you see small black ants in your kitchen, don't panic! These are the common ants that you'll find indoors, referred to as “nuisance ants” or “odorous house ants.” The bad news is you have an ant infestation and need to eliminate it before populations increase.
What are these tiny brown ants in my house?
Odorous House Ants
These small dark brown or black ants are one of the most common ants found inside homes. They're often found on counters or running along floorboards. They'll come inside looking for food or someplace dry during rainy weather.
Carpenter ants are a species of black ant common to the northeast and states like Vermont, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, or other states with large areas that are still wooded. They are a usually a bit larger than some of the other common northeastern ants like pavement ants or odorous house ants.
Milder winters provide ant colonies with the resources needed to grow larger and spread out into areas where they may not have thrived before. Because of this, homeowners can expect to see an increase in ant activity in 2022. Some of which may include species of ants that have migrated to a new area.
Fire ants get their name from their especially painful sting or bite. The Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) is an invasive species imported from Brazil in the 1930s and is known to be more aggressive than other species of ants.
Should I pop an ant bite? Depending on what type of ant bite you have, the bite or sting can turn into a blister. It might be tempting to pop the blister, but don't pop it! Popping a blister could lead to an infection.
Queens are much larger than regular worker ants and will look noticeably bigger than the others. Queens are also born with fairly large wings, and while some males have wings, they're much smaller. If you see a large, winged ant positioned at the center of an ant nest, it's very likely to be a queen!
Carpenter ants have a head that is shaped like a heart, while regular ants have a more circular head. The thorax of the carpenter ant is also more symmetrical than a regular breed.
Little black ants come indoors at times in search of food and moisture, and an infestation of these little pests is typically the result of improper food storage. Noticing these ants in your home may mean a larger outdoor infestation is at hand and located nearby, or possibly already inside.
The black garden ant (Lasius niger), also known as the common black ant, is a formicine ant, the type species of the subgenus Lasius, which is found across Europe and in some parts of North America, South America, Asia and Australasia.
These tiny pests are just that - an annoying pest in your home - but they are not dangerous. On the other hand, carpenter ants can induce a burning feeling with their bites, as they can inject formic acid. But the good news is that black ant bites are not dangerous.
What is the fastest way to get rid of carpenter ants?
A soapy water solution or window cleaner can effectively kill the ants on contact but without residual toxicity. Wiping up ants' chemical trail using soapy water or vinegar mixed with a water solution will be useful. Carpenter ants tend to walk on long trails, so it is important to wipe away the trail.
Carpenter ants usually gain access to buildings through cracks around doors and windows, holes for wires, or straight through wet, damaged wood. They will also crawl along overhead wires, shrubs, or tree limbs that touch the building far above the ground.
If you see a single reddish or black ant, with a single node between its abdomen and thorax, anywhere inside your home, it is time to be worried about carpenter ants. The singular reason you should worry is because carpenter ants don't always feed inside a house they are infesting.