Ant Control
There are measures you can take to minimize the likelihood of an ant invasion in the kitchen; wiping up spills and putting food away immediately in sealed containers helps.
Usually nest outdoors in stumps and logs in contact with the soil and in dead tree limbs and cavities or in homes in wood damaged by termites, fungi and moisture. They don't actually eat wood - though the galleries they excavate can be quite extensive.
Pharaoh Ant
Small red to yellowish ants that can nest in wall voids, cabinets, boxes of food and any other accessible crevices and spaces and are even known to invade sick rooms and feed on blood plasma and wound dressings.
Odorous House Ant
Odorous house ants are small ants about 1/8th inch long and dark brown in color. Their name comes from the foul odor, similar to the smell of rotten coconuts, that is given off when the worker ants are crushed. Odorous house ants regularly forage for food along well-traveled trails. They feed on dead insects, sweets and meats.
Acrobat Ant
Named the acrobat ant because of the way the worker ants carry their abdomens above the rest of the body as if they were performing a balancing act. Acrobat ants are slightly longer than 1/8th inch. They vary in color from yellowish brown to dark brown, and the heart-shaped abdomen is usually darker than the rest of the body. When acrobat ants nest indoors they are usually inside wood or cavities kept moist with water from leaks. As they excavate the large galleries used as nest sites, sawdust may be deposited near the nest area.
Thief Ant
Tiny ants that sometimes go undetected for weeks. They earn their title by feeding off the larvae of other ant species. Commonly seen around the kitchen sink or pantry, they go for cheeses, greasy foods, meats and sometimes sweets.
Argentine Ant
Among the many species who like honey, syrups and jellies, they are also meat eaters and outside they can severely damage orchard crops. You can find these ants crawling around electrical outlets, kitchen counters and on bathroom ceilings at any time of the year.
Red Imported Fire Ant
Usually a reddish brown color, fire ants live in colonies of up to 200,000 individuals with mounds that can be two feet high and three feet across with as many as 50 colonies per acre. It's painful, burning sting results in pustules that take up to 10 days to heal. Some people are extremely allergic to the sting, needing fast medical attention to deal with the toxin.