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Termites, which don't live in northern areas with real winters, are not a problem...They are, however, "the canary in the coal mine." They only live in/eat rotted wood. So it you have termites, they're telling you have have rotted wood. THAT'S the problem.
Those real little ants that can live in houses only live in wet wood. If you see them, you have a leak somewhere and the wood will soon rot from mold/fungus.
Carpeneter ants are a problem. They are big & black, and do infest & destroy good wood.
Termites, which don't live in northern areas with real winters, are not a problem...They are, however, "the canary in the coal mine." They only live in/eat rotted wood. So it you have termites, they're telling you have have rotted wood. THAT'S the problem.
Those real little ants that can live in houses only live in wet wood. If you see them, you have a leak somewhere and the wood will soon rot from mold/fungus.
Carpeneter ants are a problem. They are big & black, and do infest & destroy good wood.
My parents in Northeaster Pennsylvania had termites. I've seen termite damage on the show Flipping Boston. They survive real winters. I have tiny black ants around my kitchen sink every late spring when we have the first hot, dry period.
Those ants look like the ones my mom gets. They occasionally get in the house. They are slower moving compared to most other ants I've seen. Doesn't look like fire ants. Fire ants are crazy fast and swarm when poked at with a stick, very aggressive. They usually have huge mounds that you can run a stick into very easily about a foot.. that's what makes them dangerous for cattle. They step into a mound and sink in then get covered in angry biting ants then cow panics. I know of a woman out on a walk on her land that stepped in one. Barely made it back to her house to call 911, she had allergic reaction to the hundreds of bites she received.
Are yours slow moving? My mom found the ones she had were ot attracted to sweet, she tried Terro ant poison, the sweet bait. They wouldn't touch if. But found a piece of dried up meat of some kind on the floor that they were all over...she was able to kill them off with some kind of spray for insects.
I am familiar with fire ants as we have them here in SC. The first thing you will notice is a smallish mound (say 2in high) which looks like a small sand pile. All hardware stores sell a fire ant poison. It is a powder that you sprinkle on the mound. It works well.
Honestly, can't tell a thing from that photo, nor is any info given to the region of the country this photo is taken.
Best i can guess is that they are Pavement Ants, which frequently swarm and battle rival colonies that are too close. You see this a lot in the spring time and it looks very similar to what you see.
If they are, they are harmless. Even at 20 feet away i doubt they would venture into the house as that's about the max range of their usual territory. That's a LOONG distance for these little ants. Now, if their nest was right on the foundation, you might see some come in.
But honestly, i can't tell at all what species that is and if it's something to worry about.
My parents in Northeaster Pennsylvania had termites. I've seen termite damage on the show Flipping Boston. They survive real winters. I have tiny black ants around my kitchen sink every late spring when we have the first hot, dry period.
I get those, too. They come and go. I don't seem to be able to be rid of them.
I am familiar with fire ants as we have them here in SC. The first thing you will notice is a smallish mound (say 2in high) which looks like a small sand pile. All hardware stores sell a fire ant poison. It is a powder that you sprinkle on the mound. It works well.
I fought Texas fire ants for 40 years. The hardware store stuff may kill 300,000 of the ants in the mound, but the other 900,000 in there just move a few feet.
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