Winged Pavement Ants Indoors

Queen pavement ants produce winged male and female reproductive ants, called swarmers. These swarmers fly out of the colony to mate and start new colonies. Winged pavement ants produce swarms in June and July. When large groups of winged pavement ants enter building and homes, they can become a nuisance.

Pavement ant workers are about 2.5 to 3 mm in length, while queens are approximately 6 mm long. Their bodies are dark brown or black, with pale antennae and legs. Under a magnifying glass, the head and thorax of a pavement ant will appear ridged with parallel lines, and their unevenly round thorax has a pair of tiny spines. The pedicel of the pavement ant's abdomen is two-segmented with two nodes. While pavement ants have stingers, they rarely use them.

Indoors, pavement ants will nest under floors, within walls and inside insulation. They prefer to nest near heat sources during winter and are often seen in the walls of ground-level masonry. Pavement ants also follow pipes, which they use to access upper floors of homes and buildings. Outdoors, they nest next to buildings, under stones or in pavement cracks so that they can enter the walls and other natural openings of buildings.

Pavement ants are not a threat to the structure of buildings and homes, but they can be a serious nuisance to people. Contact a pest control professional if pavement ants are seen in a home.