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Odorous ants are attracted to sugary substances and can quickly infest kitchens, pantries, and other areas where food is stored. They leave scent trails, allowing other ants to follow and join in the search for food sources. This behaviour can lead to food contamination, which may pose health risks.
Pest Control
Applying a properly labeled insecticide around the outside perimeter of the home and under siding can help keep ants from crawling in. This can be done yourself, following all directions on the product label, or by a pest control service. We’ve outlined the types of ants found in apartment complexes, home remedies to keep them out, and even pest control insights that will get rid of ants for good. Like other pests, ants are likely to appear in any home – even apartment complexes.
Carpenter ants
They swarm in May and June, and you may find a few of them wandering into your home in search of a mate. Seeing of few of the swarmers at this time of year is usually not a cause for concern. Their soil nests are shapeless, shallow and, fortunately, temporary because these ants frequently relocate. Take a look at your landscape beds; heavy mulch near building foundations has been linked to increased issues with odorous house ants.
Odorous House Ant Nest
However, in disturbed, urban environments, many queens and tens of thousands or more workers may be present in a colony that has many nests. Workers are more dominant when present in larger numbers (urban environments) than smaller numbers (forests). Odorous house ant is a small native ant species found in the United States, southern Canada and Mexico. It survives in a variety of environments found from near sea level to elevations of more than 2 miles and can be found in all the continental states. It’s possible that odorous house ant is really four similar-looking species, but until more data are produced to support this hypothesis, we’ll consider it as one.
These tiny creatures, often referred to as “sugar ants,” are more formally known as odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile). Odorous house ants regularly forage for food along well-traveled trails. One of their favorite foods is the sweet honeydew produced by plant sap feeding insects such as aphids and mealybugs.
Carpenter Ants: Size, Location, Bite, and Killer (2023 Complete Guide)
Baits are usually the best option for eliminating ants that have entered the home. Following all label directions, the bait should be placed where ants have been seen. Because ants can be finicky and prefer different types of foods at different times of the year, you may need to try different baits. The ants will feed on the bait, then carry it back to the nest to feed the colony.
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These ants enjoy sweet things, and mostly go inside when their honeydew supply is reduced due to heavy rain. Odorous house ants are generally not known for biting humans. Their primary mode of defence is to release a foul odour when disturbed, hence their name. Odorous house ants have moderate sized colonies of two to five thousand individuals. Although most feed primarily on honeydew and tend honeydew excreting insects in nature, many scavenge and are attracted to sweets and meat products. Workers are one size, about 1/8 inch – 3/16 inch and black to brown.
They mostly prefer sweets but will also feed on dead insects and grease. Nests are typically found outside under rocks, boards and the like, but can also nest within structures. Colonies are from hundreds to many thousands of individuals in size. The odorous house ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smell it gives off when crushed. These tiny brown ants range in size from one-sixteenth of an inch to one-eighth of an inch long.
To keep scouts from returning with their friends in tow, quickly clean up spills, particularly honey, maple syrup, and soda. But think twice before you grab a can of bug spray and start crop-dusting your kitchen countertops. Explore a wide array of educational and informative pest and insect videos. Living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity. Mature spermatozoa are stored by females following copulation. Reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
Otherwise, you may find yourself with two or more colonies budding from the original. These structures will rot from neglect and function like a red carpet for carpenter ants. The best way to get rid of ants there is to keep your deck in tip-top shape. Below, we’ve highlighted two decking materials that are wood alternatives, as well as a top-rated wood stain to protect a wooden deck from further damage.
Indoors, they eat meats, sugary foods, dairy products, pastries, cooked or raw vegetables and fruit juices. The best way to control odorous house ants is with ant baits. An advantage of using baits rather than sprays is that you are much more likely to eradicate the whole colony. Another very effective action you can take indoors is to remove scent trails that the ants have left behind.

If despite your best DIY efforts you continue to see many of these tiny ants, you may need to call in a pest control professional. Like lemon juice, vinegar is also versatile and can be used for more than just cooking. Add a vinegar/water mixture into a spray bottle and spray all of your apartment’s hard surfaces and wherever you see any trails. One of the biggest contributing factors to attracting ants is leaving food, crumbs, and spills.

Kitchen pantries and cupboards are common targets for these pests and they prefer to build their indoor nests near locations that are warm and close by to moisture. Odorous ants also nest outside and may crawl indoors through cracks in the foundation or openings around doors and windows. Indoors, odorous house ants nest near moisture sources, such as in wall voids near hot water pipers, in heaters, beneath leaky fixtures and inside wood damaged by termites. Outside, odorous ants are often found in exposed soil or under stacks of firewood. Sometimes odorous ants use these branches to get into the home. Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of the foundation.
After you submit the information below, a trained professional in your area will get in touch within 1-2 business days to set up a date & time that is convenient for you. You might be tempted to apply a bug barrier spray around the foundation of your home to discourage entry, but Hansen doesn’t recommend it. For starters, the spray wears off and addresses only one potential source of entry for ants. If you have pets, check the packaging carefully and be mindful of where you place ant baits. With that pleasant thought in mind, we asked our pest-management experts about the best way to get rid of ants. Moreover, the odor can vary slightly among individuals and colonies but is generally recognizable as pungent and unpleasant.
Amanda Rose Newton is a pest specialist and horticulture expert, reviewing pest control and gardening content for The Spruce's Cleaning and Gardening Review Board. Her passion for pest control and sustainable gardening allows her to review plant and pest content for best practices and accuracy. She is a board-certified entomologist and volunteers for USAIDs Farmer to Farmer program. She is a professor of Horticulture, an Education Specialist, and a pest specialist.