| Appearance |
 Light
brown to
dark
reddish brown; 1/16- to 1/8-inch
long. |
| Habitat |
|
Big
headed ants enter buildings occasionally,
preferring to nest in protected soil such as under stones, leaf litter,
mulch,
patio blocks, slabs and firewood. These ants are also commonly found
inside the
soil of potted plants, and many big headed ant
control problems may be traced to planters. As the name
implies, the major
workers' heads are very large in proportion to their bodies. |
| Diet |
|
This species likes to feed on a wide variety of foods
including dead insects, plant materials and garbage. The workers
are partial to the sweet "honeydew" produced by aphids, scales
and mealybugs. Inside,
they forage for meats, grease, liver, molasses, peanut butter,
pet foods and fruit juices.
|
| Control |
|
Because big headed ants are soil
nesters, their
colonies are often easy to see due to piles of displaced soil formed as
they
excavate tunnels in the ground. Most colonies are small and relatively
easy to
treat with professional products, but treating infestations involving
multiple
colonies requires specialized ant
control expertise. |
|
