How to Eradicate Invasive Pharaoh Ants

What kind of creature can spread human diseases and drink from the mouths of babes in hospitals? The pharaoh ant!

These nightmarish insects (Monomorium pharaonis) were originally named pharaoh’s ants because they were mistakenly thought to have been one of the plagues of ancient Egypt.

Although originally from the tropics (and therefore a huge problem in Florida and Texas), this species readily infests heated buildings in cold climates, so it is a menace throughout the US.

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For reasons that we will describe, these troublesome insects are extremely difficult to control.

Read on to learn more about these tiny but fearsome creatures.

Pharaoh ants are very efficient at colonizing new territory and driving out the native species.

One of the main reasons that they can do this is the tendency of their colonies to spread by “budding.” What this means is that groups in one colony can just split off and start a whole new colony without having to swarm and start over.

They don’t even need a queen to start with. Workers can develop one, and this makes it even easier for groups to separate and start new colonies.

And unlike other ant species, which typically fight to the death when in adjoining colonies, pharaoh ants tend to get along with each other.

If you disturb them, they can just move their colony to another place.

In addition, they frequently survive conventional treatments to kill them. And the spread of colonies within a building makes it even more difficult to kill all of them simultaneously.

These factors make them such effective