One of the most common ants Hamilton residents deal with is Pharaoh ants. They are infamous indoor pests, one of the toughest to control.

Pharaoh Ants can be found in the spring, summer and fall months.

Pharaoh ants are yellow to light brown in color, with a darker abdomen that appears translucent. They are typically 1/16 of an inch in length. They may be very tiny, but they can quickly wreak havoc on your Hamilton home or business.

Pharaoh ants have the distinction of being the most difficult structure infesting ant species to control. Buildings often contain dozens of nests and hundreds of queens. If the colony senses a threat, such as workers returning to the nest with a foreign smell (from ant sprays or household cleaners) the queens will disperse takings a small group of workers with her. One nest with a dozen queens becomes 12 nests almost overnight. They are definitely not a species that can be controlled by DIY measures.

Pharaoh ants like warm, humid areas indoors such as drains, pipes, or wiring and are often seen in heated buildings during colder months.

They will travel along electrical wires and plumbing and disperse throughout buildings and even entire blocks. Common nesting sites include between wall voids, books, and sheets of paper, behind baseboards and refrigerators, in clothing, and even inside electrical switch boxes. These ants search as far as 40 meters away from the nest.

Pharaoh ants have become a serious pest in hospitals, rest homes, condominiums, apartment dwellings, office buildings, motels and hotels, grocery stores, factories, commercial bakeries, food establishments and other buildings because they can carry and may transmit  over a dozen pathogens, such as salmonella, staphylococcus, and clostridium, which may cause botulism infestations in hospitals

Pharaoh Ant Treatment

Call a pest control expert immediately after identifying a pharaoh ant indoors. While seeing one or two ants may seem harmless, they can reproduce quickly under the right conditions. Do not spray the ants; spraying typically worsens the problem, as pharaoh ants are known for “budding,” or creating satellite nests very quickly after sensing a threat.

Baiting is the only effective treatment method for pharaoh ants. Pharaoh ants are known to have many colonies therefore all ant trails need to be baited. Treatment must include walls, ceilings, floor voids, and electrical wall outlets.

If you see pharaoh ants in your Hamilton home, call Truly Nolen today for a free inspection: 905 -548-7679