Services > Pest Management > Ants > Odorous House Ant



Latin Name:
Tapinoma sessile

Appearance:
Dark reddish-brown to black and 1/16- to 1/8-inch long. Antennae have 12 segments.

Habit:
Nests found in a great variety of situations. Inside buildings, they are often found nesting in the walls or beneath the floor. They are most likely to invade buildings during rainy weather. They travel in trails, foraging day and night.

Diet:
Honeydew melons in the wild. Inside buildings, they prefer sweet items.

Reproduction:
Each female in the nest lays one egg a day; young reach adulthood in an average of 34 to 83 days; workers and females live for several years.

Other:
When crushed, give off very unpleasant odor; colonies are very large, but can be driven away by invading Argentine ants.