Rover ants aren’t like standard ants. Instead, they can be a costly threat.
It’s kind of a funny name – “rover ant”. It sounds more like a pet than a pest, as if you could teach it to sit and stay and roll over. But rover ants are indeed a growing pest control issue and one you should not ignore.
Rover ants are native to Paraguay and Argentina and are relative newcomers to the US. They’ve rapidly established territories in the Gulf States from Texas to Florida and are starting to expand to the north as well. Some scientists believe the rover ant’s potential rage could reach as far as Tennessee.
These ants are very much like the thousands of other ants in that they usually live their lives outdoors but are sometimes tempted by the lure of your home’s ample supply of food and water. Rover ants are often a paler shade of blond to brown instead of their cousins’ red or black. One interesting distinction is the dramatic difference in size between the winged reproductive females (called alates) and the males. Males are only a millimeter or two long, tiny enough to sneak through your window screening. However the females are at least three times that size.
The alates are attracted to light and can often be seen around porch lights and other fixtures in the summer. Their colonies are on the small-to-medium side for their species, not huge or far-reaching but they are persistent. They don’t bite or sting so they’ve been rather ignored as a pest, especially since outdoor pest control often focuses or more damaging and costly threats like termites. They are a growing problem, establishing themselves in new areas of the country and gaining ground each year.
The main issue with rover ants is that they do exactly what their name suggests – they rove. They are willing to roam around looking for food and moisture and more than willing to move in with you. Rover ants appear to really like being around people and all their salty and sweet food. Some studies show that rover ants are actually more populous in urban and suburban areas with a higher human population, unlike many ants that prefer to thrive in the outlying countryside.
Rover ants are adaptable and willing to thrive equally well in both undisturbed and developed land. They aren’t as selective about their living quarters as some ants and can be unpredictable in how they adapt to an area. They may nest in soil, leaf litter, rotting wood or under stones. One of their favorite nesting places is in your mulch but they’ll also nest in your home.
Once inside, rover ant colonies will spread out in irregular ways. They might build a colony in the cinder blocks or travel inside the walls into the electrical conduits. Rover ants might even set up housekeeping in your potted plants. They tend to stay nearest to the kitchen and bathrooms, seeking food and water. Ants of any kind will contaminate your food and rovers are no exception.
Rooting out and eliminating rover ants can be tricky business since they are so willing to adapt to their environment. It’s really an issue for a professional pest control company like Slug-A-Bug because rovers aren’t very attracted to most of the granular baits that homeowners can purchase. Exclusion methods and other green pest control methods work much more effectively against this recent addition to our ecology. Rover ants aren’t a pest to taken lightly, even if their name is sort of cute.