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Ants in the Home |
By Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Entomology
Ants, particularly field ants (Formica spp.), tend to show a spurt of indoor activity in late winter. Field ants are usually black (sometimes reddish-brown) and nest in soil. Although they do not nest in homes, the nests are often located around the base of foundations. This leads to the foraging of worker ants in homes, looking for food. Such foraging seems to be most common when outdoor sources of food (particularly sugars) are unavailable due to the continued dormancy of plants and continued freezing temperatures. The ant colonies warmed by the heat of the adjacent home become active early and are forced to forage indoors for lack of other foods. Such problems are usually temporary, ending when plants (and the honeydew producing insects they support) begin to actively grow in spring.
Photo: Judy Sedbrook
