Tiny Ants

Tiny Ants in Houses

Ants are not a welcome guest in any house. While they don’t bother leather, wood, or fabrics in a house, some do build nests in wood that is decomposing. In addition, some can be real pests by causing painful bites and stings. Tiny ants don’t exactly make the ideal house guest.

Tiny ants in kitchen

While any house guest will certainly help break down the food supply, ants won’t just eat food, but they’ll contaminate it too. Small ants in the kitchen like to hover around sinks and wherever there is food or traces of sugar. Be sure to thoroughly wipe down countertops after preparing food and seal containers tightly to keep tiny ants away.

Tiny ants in bathroom

Tiny ants like to make themselves at home—they’ll find their way into bathrooms, too. They are commonly found scavenging in bathroom sinks and showers and on bathroom floors and counters. Indoor ant colonies can be eliminated with baits; ants entering from outdoor cracks or screens should be controlled with barrier sprays.

Various Tiny Ants

Tiny black ants (little black ants)

Measuring about 1/8 of an inch, tiny black ants reside in rotted wood, masonry, and woodwork. Their ant nests in the ground can be found by looking for small craters of fine soil. They munch on sweets, vegetables, meats, and other insects.

Tiny red ants

Also called fire ants, tiny red ants are about 1.3 millimeters long and reddish to golden brown in color. These ants nest under leaf debris, stones, rotten tree limbs, tree crevices, and mounds of grass. Tiny red ants (or fire ants) are known for their long-lasting, painful stings.

Tiny white ants

Called ghost ants for their white coloring, these tiny ants are also much like ghosts in that they instantly appear and then disappear. They may not bite or sting, but they do help themselves to sweet foods like cakes, candy, and cookies. Tiny white ants are only about one millimeter in length—think of the size of a pin head—and are fast-moving and practically transparent, making them difficult to hunt down.

Tiny Brown Ants

Sometimes called little fire ants, these ants are golden to light brown in color, not shiny, and slow moving. If one experiences a painful sting but no insect is in sight, this ant may be the culprit. Through a microscope, one can see that tiny brown ants have clear-cut ridges above each eye and antenna. They are 1/16 inch long.

Tiny flying ants (Tiny ants with wings)

Tiny flying ants start swarming around as soon as temperatures and humidity begin rising. They are distinguished by their wings—its back pair are smaller than its front; their antennae are bent or in “elbow” shape. Immediate action should be taken if one sees swarms of tiny flying ants. If left untreated, the ant colonies could continue to increase in numbers and become a major nuisance to both homes and gardens. One can start treating them by cleaning up spills and crumbs and tightly sealing food containers. Sprinkling baby powder into the carpet, vacuuming, and sealing and throwing away the bag can help. Lastly, one can spray with an organic ant killer.