Pharaoh ant

What pharaoh ants look like

Pharaoh ants are tiny, about 1.5 to 2 mm long, and pale yellow, light brown or a washed out red with a darker tip to the abdomen. They are small enough that people often mistake them for specks of dust moving on a counter. The body is almost translucent in strong light, the antennae end in a distinct three segmented club, and the waist has two nodes. Workers are all a single size and they move quickly in fine, wavering trails rather than straight lines. Unlike most ants here, pharaoh ants do not swarm outdoors. Winged forms are produced inside the nest, mate there and lose their wings, so you rarely see flying ants. A colony can hold multiple queens and continues breeding all year, because pharaoh ants live indoors in heated buildings and do not need a winter break.

Signs you have pharaoh ants

• Very small pale ants. Yellowish ants barely visible on light coloured surfaces, in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and anywhere warm.
• Trails in odd places. Fine lines running along pipes, electrical conduit, wire runs, wall edges, the backs of cupboards and under sinks.
• Attraction to moisture and protein. Ants working sink drains, sponges, damp cloths, pet food, grease and sweet residue at the same time.
• Multiple rooms at once. Activity in several separate areas of a building rather than one point of entry, which is typical of a budded colony.
• Activity through winter. Ants present in January and February, since the colony lives entirely indoors and never goes dormant.
• Worse after spraying. Sudden appearance of trails in new rooms shortly after a surface insecticide was used.

That last point is the clearest signal that you are dealing with pharaoh ants rather than another species.

Why pharaoh ants turn up around Ottawa and Toronto properties

Pharaoh ants are a tropical species that cannot survive an Ottawa or Toronto winter outdoors, so they live entirely inside heated buildings. They arrive by being carried in, usually in deliveries, groceries, packaging, potted plants, furniture, laundry or luggage. Once inside they settle in warm, hidden voids: behind tiles, inside wall cavities, around hot water pipes, above ceilings, in electrical boxes, under appliances and inside insulation. They are common in apartments, condos, restaurants, hotels, long term care homes and hospitals, because those buildings offer continuous warmth, constant food and a shared structure that lets a colony spread along pipe and wire runs from one unit to the next. Multi-unit buildings across the Toronto GTA, Ottawa and Hamilton are the usual setting. Kitchens and washrooms in any commercial building present the same conditions.

Are pharaoh ants dangerous?

Pharaoh ants do not sting people and their bite is too small to matter, so the direct physical risk is close to nothing. The concern is contamination. These ants are strongly drawn to moisture and protein, which leads them to drains, refuse, soiled dressings, sinks and damp cloths, and then onto food preparation surfaces and stored food. In healthcare and care home settings they have been found in sterile supplies, wound dressings and IV lines, and they are capable of carrying bacteria from one place to another, which is why they are taken seriously in those environments. In homes and restaurants the practical outcome is spoiled food, contaminated packaging and a hygiene problem that is difficult to talk away. Structural damage is not an issue, although ants nesting inside electrical boxes and appliances can occasionally cause faults.

How to keep pharaoh ants away

• Store all food, including pet food, in sealed rigid containers, and clean up grease, crumbs and spills the same day.
• Keep sinks, drains and dishcloths dry overnight, fix dripping taps and deal with condensation around pipes.
• Inspect incoming boxes, produce, deliveries and second hand furniture, particularly in restaurants and multi-unit buildings.
• Seal gaps around pipes, conduit, tile edges, backsplashes and cabinet kickboards where voids connect to warm spaces.
• Remove rubbish promptly, use lidded bins and keep refuse areas clean and away from kitchen doors.
• Never attack the trails with household spray, because that scatters the colony and multiplies the problem.

In an apartment or condo, tell the building management early, since neighbouring units are usually involved.

How GO! Pest Control handles pharaoh ants

• Inspection. We confirm the species, map the trails through the building and work out how far the colony has budded, including into adjoining units where that applies.
• Treatment. Pharaoh ants are controlled with a careful baiting programme, not with sprays. We place baits the workers carry back so the queens and brood are reached.
• Exclusion. We seal the pipe runs, conduit entries, tile gaps and cabinet voids that let the colony travel between rooms and units.
• Follow-up. We return to replenish baits and monitor the trails over successive visits, because budding colonies take more than one treatment to clear.
• Advice. We set out the cleaning, storage and delivery checks that keep a treated building from being reinfested.

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 pharaoh ants