Ants

Ant identification decides the answer completely. A carpenter ant excavating a wet joist and an odorous house ant trailing to a sugar spill are the same shape at a glance and entirely different problems.

Carpenter ant

The thorax seen from the side is evenly rounded in a single smooth arch, with no spines or dips. This is the m…

Professional recommended

Odorous house ant

Crushed workers give off a distinct sweet, musty smell often described as rotten coconut or blue cheese. This …

Prevention usually resolves this

Pavement ant

The head and thorax carry fine parallel grooves running front to back, visible under a hand lens as a striped …

Prevention usually resolves this

Little black ant

Extremely small at 1.5 to 2 mm, noticeably smaller than pavement or odorous house ants seen alongside them.…

Prevention usually resolves this

Pharaoh ant

Very small at under 2 mm and pale yellow to light golden brown, often with a darker abdomen tip, appearing alm…

Professional recommended

Red imported fire ant

Reddish-brown head and thorax with a darker abdomen, and workers of clearly varying sizes within one colony.…

Professional recommended

Thief ant

Among the smallest household ants at under 2 mm, pale yellow to light brown.…

Identify and monitor first

Harvester ant

Large at 5 to 10 mm, red to reddish-brown, with a conspicuous fringe of long hairs beneath the head forming a …

Identify and monitor first

Reviewed by AgainstPest Editorial Team Last reviewed: 2026-08-17