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Ants are social, industrious insects that have come to outnumber any other class of land-based animals.

Unfortunetly, their successful dominance has sometimes come at the expense of other animals including man. Here are some things you should know about ants' behavior that can impact you and your home:

Entry Points:

Ants can enter your home through minute exterior cracks scouting for a variety of food - sweets, fats or protein sources. Searching from the kitchen pantry to bathrooms to the attic, ants will march on to find nourishment and a cozy nest site.

Scent trails:

Scout ants tell their nest mates where they have found food by putting down scent trails (pheromones) the workers can follow directly to the food source.

Nest locations:

Ants can nest in any void or crack, high or low, inside or outside your home - anywhere - even under your house.

Colony size:

Nest populations can range from a few hundred to over 500,000. Disturbing ants can cause the colony to pick up and relocate within the home or property.

Adaptable:

Ants are not dependent on a definite habitation and can rapidly transport their eggs, larvae, and pupae to a more favorable location when necessary. They can adjust to weather extremes and have few natural enemies. All this results in most ant species flourishing  and enjoying a relatively long lifespan of several years.

Dangerous and Destructive:

Beyond annoying, some ant species can inflict pain and suffering with their stings and bites. Others can seriously damage your property by chewing up wood to nest in.

Do-it-yourself ineffectiveness:

Many do-it-yourself ant treatments result in making the ant problem worse by scattering the colony. It's important to make a complete and thorough  treatment to eliminate all the nest sites. Proper ID of the ant and a specialized approach by species can dictate the methods and materials needed for a successful solution and future prevention.

Houston Area Ants include:

Fire Ants, Little Black Ants, Pharaoh Ants (sugar ants), Crazy Ants, Carpenter Ants, Rasberry Ants (mispelled Raspberry Ants), and Leaf-Cutter Ants are the major local species.