Queen Odorous House Ant
Ants are eusocial insects, meaning that they are dependent on each other for survival. A single ant colony is comprised of members with several different specializations. The queen is typically immobile with her sole purpose being the production of eggs to grow the colony. Other specializations within this caste system include the workers who forage for food and care for the young, soldiers who protect the nest, and the princesses and drones that start the lifecycle again with a new colony.
When a colony of ants has taken residence within a person's home, the individuals that are usually seen first are the workers. They scout your home for food, water and building resources. When they stumble upon something of interest that is desired by the queen, the workers will lay a pheromone trail for the rest of the workers to follow in order to gather the resource for the colony.
The most common ant that is found inside a person's home is the Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile), also known as the Sugar Ant. They are usually found in the bathroom and kitchen first, but will congregate anywhere that food has been spilled, or areas with higher humidity. Odorous House Ants are different to how most people imagine them to be in two ways. First, the queens are mobile, just like the workers, and will pick up and move the colony if they feel it is necessary to do so. Second, yes, queens is plural; these ants have polygynous nests in which there can be several queen ants producing eggs. Once the colony has grown large enough, or if there are signs of threat, these queens could panic and split the nest into more parts of the house. They usually nest within the wall voids, so they have a thoroughfare of your entire house at their disposal.
The best treatment is preventative; to keep them from entering the house from the start. It is always a good idea to clear about a foot or two of buffer around the foundation and siding of your house, where possible. Reducing and eliminating plants or objects that touch the house can be done by transplanting bushes, trimming tree branches, and line trimming grass near the foundation. Landscaping that touches your house can create an ideal ant bridge that leads directly into your home, completely skipping over the treatment area.
Admittedly, it isn't always reasonable for every home with unique landscaping to accomplish this perfectly. Additionally, some houses just seem predisposed for ant activity, seemingly regardless of their landscaping. Recurring issues are likely caused from ant colonies living within the wall voids, particularly if previous treatments were incomplete.
When treating for these ants, some standard methods are better than others, and some exacerbate the issue. Baits that are sold over the counter will typically contain orthoboric acid as the active ingredient. Orthoboric acid, also known as boric acid, is chemically similar to borax which is used to clean clothing. While boric acid is quite effective for other types of insects, ants exposed to the chemical will die very quickly, almost without exception, before they can return to the nest. This is counterproductive, and can cause the queens to panic and split the nest into more rooms of the house.
Spray treatments can have similar effects as well, especially if repellent sprays are used. All of the sprays sold at the hardware store are going to be repellent sprays, and should never be used for ants. Non-repellent sprays are usually used by pest control technicians for eliminating ants inside the house. So long as the entire house is treated with the product, the ants will be controlled quite effectively. If it is applied as a spot treatment, it can be quite effective for the short term in localized areas, but the ants will likely return or may spread throughout the house in response.
The best treatment is to use a slow acting bait for ants. As a eusocial insect, ants share food through a process called trophallaxis. Using these special baits gives ants enough time to return to the nest, share the poison with fellow workers, the young and the queens. Typically, within a week, the nest will be significantly reduced in size and without a queen, which will lead to the demise of the ants within the house.
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