Odorous House Ants
Odorous House are by far, the most common little black ant found indoors in our area. There are at least two species. They both appear to be dark brown to black. One species is about an 1/8th of an inch and one is about half that size, or a little longer than a single penny is thick. Definitely a ‘Tiny’ black ant.
Each nest of Odorous House Ants may contain multiple queens and the nests in your house and yard may be related to the nests in your neighbors. In fact, they may be part of a super colony that covers large residential areas, several city blocks and more.
Odorous House Ants are usually in a home for a long time before being noticed. When noticed they are usually spotted in the early spring.
Interior activity usually stops a few weeks later when their preferred food sources emerge on the exterior, aphids and other sources.
They are usually back in the home again following scent trails they established earlier sometime after control materials start breaking down – they just aren’t showing up where you can see them