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| Pharaoh ants can be a major annoyance at home or work. These ants can live in seemingly innocuous places such as under potted plants or in stacks of paper on a desk. The color of this ant, usually a shade of orange or yellow, can give a good hint to its identification. |
Identification: Pharaoh ants, Monomorium pharaonis, are tiny ants, whose workers are all the same size. They tend to look yellow to light orange, but can look brown. The head and body are covered with indentations similar to the surface of a golf ball. The abdomen is smooth and shiny. This species looks similar to little black ants. (Pest Ants of Louisiana).
Biology: This ant can form a nest in nearly any crack or hole with suitable conditions. Colonies have been found between sheets of paper. This species has numerous queens. New colonies can be formed by a queen walking to a new location with a few workers. This causes pharaoh ants to be difficult to manage because the colonies can be highly fragmented. They feed on dead insects, sweets, and oils and fats. These ants are a major concern in hospitals and other areas where they might contaminate sterile materials and foodstuffs.
Treatment: Use bait in areas where they are a problem. Try sweet, liquid baits first. If they do not take the sweet baits or stop taking them, switch to a protein-based bait. Granular baits with fish oil or soybean oil may be effective. NEVER spray for these ants. It will only make the problem worse. In Louisiana, these ants live outside, so remove vegetation that touches the structure; these ants will use these guidelines as bridges into the structure.