What the heck is this ant? (Houston, Denton: house, subdivision, live in)

[Mom2Feebs]

They're tiny, shiny black, roughly 3mm in length (very, very small) and they are all of a sudden in my pantry. I am cleaning it out now to find the source of their frenzy. They're after something! They look like a speck of coffee grounds, but then they start moving. WTH is this crap? I keep my sugar, cookies, etc in containers, but I am wondering if something has a hole...ugh!

Has anyone seen these and know what they are and how to get rid of them? They are just everywhere in my pantry. It is freaking me the heck out.

Thanks in advance!

[Mom2Feebs]

I think I found out what they are, dogGONE it! Just what we need--a friggin' new species comin' in on the banana boat.

Rover Ants (Brachymyrmex patagonicus), an emerging pest species « Myrmecos Blog

Brachymyrmex patagonicus, also called the “dark rover ant”, does occur in Denton, Texas. I collected specimens of this ant two weeks ago at a gas station on I-35 in Denton.

I live and work in Houston where this ant has become the number one pest species that pest control companies encounter. Complete control of this ant has proven challenging. They are very mobile and appear to move nesting sites with little provocation. Dark rover ants are primarily an outdoor species and this is where most efforts at control should be focused. However, outdoor perimeter treatment must be extremely through. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds and is not the norm for many pest control service companies.

Interestingly, ten years ago this ant was not even on the pest radar in and around Houston. While it could be collected easily outdoors it was rarely if ever encountered indoors. Ten years later…..it’s everywhere, in huge numbers and defying most efforts to control it’s abundance. Good luck!

[gy2020]

You may have crazy ants. They have begun to infest the Houston area over the last two years or maybe three or four. They are in about 5 counties in the Houston area. they came into the area by way of a cargo ship. Google them. They love electrical outlets and if the ants do not march in a straight line but go all over the place they are definetly crazy ants. That is their signature.

[Mom2Feebs]

No, these aren't the Raspberry ants. These are different. These are definitely the Rover Ants.

[Sampaguita]

Yuck!

All I know is that my skin crawled when I saw the first photo.

Good luck getting rid of them!

[LizzySWW]

I think it's time for you guys to move to that house in Katy! ASAP! OMG, I feel so bad for you........

[AlexTx]

I don't know that I had that kind of ant, but every year around this time, ants find there way into my pantry which is near the back door.

I tried a couple of different kinds of ant killer with little luck. Then I did some internet research and read about this: http://www.terro.com/products.php?pr...uid_ant_killer

I put a few drops of this (on cardboard) and placed it in 2 different spots in the pantry where I saw ants and the ants were gone in less than two days. And they haven’t been back.

I know Home Depot sells this stuff. Good luck.

[Mom2Feebs]

Well, I talked to a few of my neighbors. Seems the general consensus is: they're looking for water (or any type of food that might have water in it). That makes sense, since the carpenter ants we were seeing in our bathroom several months ago were visiting during a bit of a dry spell as well. The people downstairs and next door both have them. Others have speculated we're getting the insects that ran from the building nearby that was recently tented for termites. Gads. I gotta tell ya...I'm just about done with it.

I put Terro bait out in the pantry, since we still had some leftover. We'll see if it works.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by LizzySWW

I think it's time for you guys to move to that house in Katy! ASAP! OMG, I feel so bad for you........

Right!!! I know! You know that house in Katy is gonna have its share of bugs that we'd have to clean out. *shiver* I get the heebies just thinking about it.

[rutherefaces]

Anybody dealing with a spider invasion in their homes. I live in a brand new subdivision near Pearland. Brunswick Place--a DR Horton build.