SOUTHERN FIRE ANT

• Amber-colored head and thorax, black abdomen, golden hairs
• 1/8 – 1/4 inch long
• 3 teeth on the mandible
• Ventral tooth near node’s attachment to the abdomen
• 10-segmented antennae
• 2-segmented club
• 2-segmented pedicel

Southern Fire Ant Identification

• The southern fire ant is found in many areas of the United States from California to South Carolina and Florida.
• The typical southern fire ant mound is flattened and irregular in shape, and covers 2 to 4 square feet.
• Southern fire ant mounds are often found in sunny areas with one to many openings.
• Southern fire ants swarm from May through October on warm days.
• The southern fire ant is usually a ground-nesting ant, but it may also nest in masonry or wood of buildings near the warmth of a fireplace hearth or warm soil, most often near the kitchen.
• Southern fire ants feed on sweets, grease, proteins, seeds, young tree bark, insects and nuts. However, they’ve been known to remove insulation from phone and electrical wires and gnaw on clothing, especially if soiled.
• Southern fire ants are most active in the morning and early evening. They do not trail

Threat

Southern fire ants will swarm if their nests are disturbed and they inflict painful stings.

To Control a Southern Fire Ant Infestation

Ant bait can be effective in destroying an infestation of southern fire ants.

TEXAS LEAF CUTTING ANT

• Rust brown in color
• 1/16 - 1/2 inch long
• Several pairs of spines on the head and thorax

Texas Leaf Cutting Ant Identification

• The Texas leaf cutting ant is found in south-central Texas from San Antonio to Dallas or eastward from there through east Texas into Louisiana.
• Texas leaf cutting ants harvest the leaves of plants and carry them back to the colony over their bodies.
• They use the leaves as fertilizer to grow special fungus that the colony uses as its food source.
• Texas leaf cutting ants forage at night and when they find a suitable tree or shrub, they swarm it and cut circular-shaped pieces from the leaves.
• Foraging trails might be extended several hundred feet from the nest – a colony on one property could be preying on the trees of another.
• Texas leaf cutting ants may strip a small tree of all its leaves in a single evening.
• Nests are built in the soil and can be very large if in an undisturbed wooded area or field. Their nests can be 1000 square feet in size, numbering in the millions of ants, 15 or more feet underground. Crater-shaped mounds are often found surrounding the entrance holes.

Texas leaf cutting ants eat weeds, grains, fruit and nut trees and grass.

To Control a Texas Leaf Cutting Ant Infestation

Ant bait stations can be effective in controlling a Texas leaf cutting ant infestation.

THIEF ANT

• Smooth, shiny, yellowish to bronze in color
• Very tiny; 1/32 to 1/20 inch long
• 1/16” as a worker
• Two nodes
• 10-segmented antennae
• Uneven thorax
• No spines on thorax
• 3-segmented club
• Small eyes

Thief Ant Identification

• This tiny ant is often mistaken with the pharaoh ant as they are both so tiny. The primary difference between the thief ant and the pharaoh is the thief ant has a 2-segmented antennal club with the pharaoh ant has a 3-segmented club.
• Thief ants can be most often found around kitchen sinks and in cupboards, feeding on grease, oils, dead insects, meats and other proteins. They don’t tend to eat sweets.
• Thief ants steal the food of other ants, hollowing out seeds for their oil or feeding on dead rodents.
• The thief ant gets its name from the way they nest near colonies of other ants and steal their larvae to eat.
• Trails of thief ants can be found along baseboards, on window sills, near sinks or cabinets and in closets.
• Thief ants are small enough to enter packaged foods so they’re often found in kitchen cupboards.

To Control a Thief Ant Infestation

Ant bait stations can be effective in controlling a thief ant infestation, and you can treat the nest directly with a liquid or gel ant bait.