You see them all the time outdoors: small, cone-shaped nests in the dirt. These are the homes of pyramid ants which, unfortunately, also like being in your home. When you see one in the house, thousands are likely living in a nearby nest.
Pyramid ants are named for the pyramid-shaped protrusion on the top of the thorax. Their coloration is typically brown to reddish black with a darker abdomen on a segmented body. They are a smaller ant, only about an eighth of an inch long. They eat other insects and harvest aphids to extract their honeydew. For this reason, many people consider these ants beneficial — that is, if they stay outdoors.
Colonies of pyramid ants aren’t especially large or complex. They usually number in the range of a few thousand individuals. This sounds like a lot unless you compare them to something like the red fire ant, which can number up to a half million in a colony.
Mounds of excavated soil around the entry point make pyramid ants easy to spot in the lawn, unlike pavement ants that prefer to live under stepping stones and patio blocks. Reaching pyramid ants with treatments and baits is fairly easy because their homes are close to the surface of the lawn and are accessible.
Homeowners’ biggest complaint about these ants is their tendency to forage and swarm in the home. They’re especially drawn to sweet foods. Unlike fire ants, they’re not aggressive, but they can show up in large numbers and become pests. If you have a problem with these ants, contact Slug-A-Bug right away. We’ll come out and give you a free evaluation.