The Most Common Ant Species in Austin, Texas

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Nathan green services : it was such a pleasure to meet your technician Mr Raul Espinosa. He was very knowledgeable about his job and meticulously checked the property and explained to us that unluckily we are connected to other neighbors which would’ve made his work impossible since the others apparently don’t care about the presence of mice in their attics and the six owners would’ve had to decide to do the job. We really appreciate his time and knowledge . Such a great asset for your company.

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Cindy Davis

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Radeen Kabir

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Austin is an awesome place to live. It’s a wonderful place for food, live music, warm weather, and beautiful outdoor spaces. It’s also home to a lot of ants!

There are a great many types of ants in Texas, and our Capital city is no different. So, chances are, if you live in Austin, you’re going to know a thing or two about ants.

It’s pretty common to have an ant infestation in Austin homes. The tricky part is figuring out which ants you have. The most common ants in Austin, Texas are:

Acrobat ants
Fire ants
Carpenter ants
Little black ants (yep, that’s the official name!)
Rover ants

In today’s blog post, we’re going to take you through each of these ant species, telling you what they look like, what to look out for if you think you have an infestation, and more.

Acrobat ants

Acrobat ants are named as such because they’re able to arch their tail end over their head. It looks a lot like a head stand when they do this, but they actually do it when they feel threatened.

Impressive contortions aren’t the only thing acrobat ants do when they’re in distress. If you disturb worker acrobat ants, they might release a bad smelling odor and bite you as a way of defending themselves.

If you have an acrobat ant infestation in your home, they’ll likely be nesting in your door and window frames, your baseboards, and your walls. They prefer to nest in moist areas, so they’ll be particularly attracted to any water damaged areas of your home.

Common signs of an acrobat infestation include ant trails, debris such as wood shavings, and insulation from your home being pushed through holes in your wood.

Rover ants

Rover ants are usually really small.

You can expect them to be around 2.5 mm in length. They can be easily identified because their antennae have only 9 segments, as opposed to the more commonly seen 12. This type of ant can come in a range of colors from brown/black to light yellow. The front of their thorax has a hump.

Rover ants won’t bite or sting you. However, they can be really pesky if you get them in your home or yard. If you have a rover ant infestation, you’ll probably find them in rotting wood, within your home’s structure, under piles of leaves, or under plant pots and stones.

Fire ants

It’s really common to come across fire ants in Austin, Texas. They’re red/brown in color, vary in size, and are known for being aggressive.

Fire ant bites and stings can pack a punch - it’s not uncommon to experience burning and itching sensations, as well as redness and swelling when you’ve been bitten or stung by a fire ant.

A major sign of a fire ant infestation is the appearance of mounds. A handy trick for identifying a fire ant mound is that they don’t have a hole in the top like most ant mounds do. Fire ants are particularly attracted to food spills (especially sweet/fatty foods) or pet food bowls.

To find out more about fire ants and how to prevent a fire ant infestation, read our blog.

Carpenter ants

This type of ant can come in a variety of colors: black, brown, orange, or a mixture of the three. They’re just over 6 mm in length and can wreak havoc on your home’s structure if you have an infestation.

Signs of a carpenter ant infestation are small piles of sawdust underneath wood (e.g. window sills), frass (a mixture of wood, saliva, and waste, that looks like sawdust), ant trails, and rustling noises coming from inside your walls at night.

Carpenter ants bite and, while they’re not dangerous, they can be sore. To learn more about carpenter ant bites, check out our blog on what to expect from them and how to treat them.

Little black ants

Little black ants (a.k.a. sugar ants) are exactly what it says on the tin. They’re black in color and only around 1.5 - 2 mm in length.

These little critters love their food, especially sweet or greasy food. With that in mind, you may see them in trails going towards a food source if you have an infestation.

They’re not dangerous - they won’t bite you or sting you and they’re not likely to cause any structural damage to your home. However, who wants an ant infestation on their property? No one! So that’s where we come in.

Looking for ant control in Austin? We’ve got you covered. Natran provides green pest control services to homes and businesses in Austin and Houston, Texas. We can quickly remove and prevent ants infestations and other household pests.

We pride ourselves on being an environmentally conscious pest control company. Natran only uses botanical-based treatments in its pest control solutions, reducing the number of toxins entering your home, your community, and the environment as a whole!

Call us at 281-326-9912 to book your free inspection for as soon as tomorrow.

Schedule a Free Inspection With Natran Today.