Acrobat ants

What acrobat ants look like

Acrobat ants are named for what they do when they are disturbed. A worker lifts its abdomen up over its thorax and holds it there like a raised tail. Seen from above, that abdomen is clearly heart shaped, which no other common Ontario house ant has. Workers run 3 to 6 mm long and range from light brown to black, and many are two-toned with a darker rear end. Under magnification you can see a pair of small spines on the back of the thorax and a waist with two nodes that attach to the top of the abdomen rather than the front. When crushed or alarmed they give off a sharp, unpleasant smell. That combination, the heart-shaped raised gaster and the thoracic spines, is enough to separate them from odorous house ants and carpenter ants.

Signs you have acrobat ants

• Raised abdomens. Disturb a trail and the workers stop and lift the heart-shaped rear end over their backs.
• Trails on wires and pipes. They commonly follow utility lines, downspouts, siding seams and tree limbs into a building.
• Debris being pushed out. Small piles of insulation fragments, wood shavings and dead ant parts below a crack in trim or siding.
• Activity near damp wood. Concentrated around leaking roof flashing, window sills, chimney flashing, deck ledgers and older carpenter ant damage.
• Swarming ants indoors. Winged ants at windows in spring or summer, usually near the damp area holding the nest.

Why acrobat ants come indoors

Acrobat ants do not chew into sound, dry lumber. They move into wood that is already wet, rotting or hollowed out, including galleries abandoned by carpenter ants and termite-damaged framing. They also nest readily in foam insulation, under siding and in wall voids. Because of this, finding them inside is usually a sign of a moisture problem somewhere in the building envelope, not just an ant problem. They also come in to forage, mainly for honeydew from aphids and scale insects on nearby trees and shrubs, and for sweets and protein in the kitchen. Treating the ants without finding and fixing the wet wood tends to give a short-lived result.

How to keep acrobat ants out

• Find and fix the source of moisture: roof and chimney flashing, gutters, window and door leaks, and poorly vented crawl spaces.
• Replace wood that has already rotted or been damaged by other insects rather than painting over it.
• Trim tree limbs and shrubs away from the roof and walls, since they use branches as a bridge.
• Seal gaps where wires, cables and pipes enter the building, and close open siding seams and soffit gaps.
• Keep firewood, lumber and landscape timbers off the ground and away from the foundation.

How GO! Pest Control treats acrobat ants

• Inspection. We follow the trails to the nest, check wires, pipes and branches used as bridges, and identify the wet or damaged wood that is holding the colony.
• Treatment. We treat the nest directly where we can reach it, including void treatments, and support that with baiting and a targeted exterior application at entry points.
• Follow-up. We return to confirm the nest is gone and to look for satellite activity in other damp areas of the building.
• Advice. We tell you plainly which moisture problem needs repair, because that is what decides whether the ants stay away.

We are licensed, insured and bonded, and we work in homes, apartments, condos and businesses across the Toronto GTA, Ottawa and Hamilton.

Common questions about acrobat ants