Odorous Ants Love Bathrooms in Sea Girt, NJ

Here we are in Sea Girt, NJ where a client of ours was complaining that she had ants in her bathroom.  Now, the two most popular areas in your home where you will find ants are in the kitchen, because the smell of food attracts them, and in the bathroom because they are attracted to anything that is damp. When I began my inspection in the bathroom, I immediately located the ants coming out of the cracks and gaps of the grout. Upon closer inspection of the ants, I noticed that these ants were Odorous House Ants. 

How do I know the difference? Apart from years experience dealing with pests and insects, Odorous house ants, sometimes called odorous ants, are about 2.4 to 3.3 mm in length, they have dark brown or black bodies with one node on their petiole, which is hidden by their abdomens, and they have an unevenly shaped thorax when viewed from the side. Aside from all that technical info, the MAIN reason why they are called Odorous House Ants is that when you crush them, they emit a strong, rotten coconut smell. Hence the name ODOROUS! 

Odorous ants enter homes in search of food, preferring sweets and meats. Kitchen pantries and cupboards are common targets for these pests and they prefer to build their indoor nests near locations that are warm and close by to moisture. Odorous ants also nest outside and may crawl indoors through cracks in the foundation or openings around doors and windows. 

Odorous house ants are extremely persistent pests, traveling indoors in large numbers. When they invade kitchen storage areas, they have a tendency to contaminate food products. What makes them even more annoying is that they are able to bite, but don’t worry, they don't cause much pain. 

In addition to finding ants in bathrooms, as I continued my inspection of the home I also found Odorous ants in the kitchen and basement area. I baited the areas as needed and continued inspecting the entire home to make sure I didn’t miss any access points. Afterward, I suggested to the homeowner that they caulk any open cracks and crevices throughout the home as well as to keep moisture and crumbs at a minimum and to clean up any pet food that is on the floor and to wash their pets food and water dishes.  Odorous ants are attracted to pet food and sanitizing their dishes regularly will minimize the risk of an infestation. This is the time of year where ants are invading homes like crazy and you want to do ever preventative measure to make sure your home isn’t on their list!