PEST LIBRARY: ANTS

Got ants in your pantry but don’t know what kind they are? If you want to know what some of the crazy varieties of ants look like – including the crazy ant itself – you’ve come to the right place.

There are numerous species of ants, from the Florida carpenter ant that loves moist wood and tracks down sources of sugar in homes to fire ants that tend to live underground and are extremely aggressive when nests are disturbed.

The odorous ant lives in wall and floor voids, under toilets, and in other enclosed places. When crushed, they give off a weird smell, reminiscent of rotten coconut.

Still other types include Argentine ants that live in enormous colonies and can sneak into homes through tiny cracks. The pharaoh ant lives in enclosed humid areas—and then there’s the highly adaptable crazy ant.

The bigheaded ant creates mud tubes like termites do, with each queen laying up to 290 eggs monthly.The ghost ant will happily live in your microwave, while the whitefooted ant is comfortable in bathrooms and kitchens.

And, while each ant species has a preference where to live in the United States, almost all of them love nesting in Florida.