Orkin Exterminator & Termite Control

Pharaoh Ants

Pharaoh ants are small, yellow ants.  Their thorax is typically darker, helping to locate the ant. They are present in almost every area in the world and are considered to be a major pest due to their ability to survive in indoor areas. Hospitals frequently require control for pharaoh ants, as they can quickly spread disease and contaminate sterile equipment and rooms.

Unlike some other ant species, pharaoh ants have multiple queens and are able to move their colonies from place to place when disturbed. Workers can grow from eggs to adults in as little as 38 days and may live for nine to 10 weeks. Queen pharaoh ants can live for four to twelve months, but male pharaoh ants die within three to five weeks of mating. Pharaoh ants begin new colonies by budding out. This means that a small group - a minimum of five workers, ten preadults and a single queen - migrate from their colony to start a new colony.

Pharaoh ants can build nests in walls, cabinet voids, behind baseboards, refrigerator insulations, the hollows of curtain rods, the folds of clothes, sheets and paper and other undisturbed dark spaces.  A colony of Pharaoh ants will scatter if a toxic substance disturbs it. This creates multiple problems where there had been only one. In controlling pharaoh ants, it is often advisable to seek professional help.

Pharaoh Ant Pheromone

Natural Pharaoh Ant Repellent