Ghost Ants: Are They Haunting Your Home?
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Ghost ants are tiny, translucent ants aka sugar ants. Ghost ants usually eat enough food to equal about 30 percent of their body weight on a daily basis and are a social species who love to raid kitchens. They can become invasive when left unchecked.
Ghost ants sound like spooky Halloween creatures, but they very much live in reality. You have probably encountered them multiple times around your home. Have you spotted tiny ants crawling on top of your kitchen counter or roaming around in the bathroom? Chances are, you’ve met the ghost ant.
The good news? Ghost ants like to stay hidden and are not a threat to humans. They don’t bite, sting, or carry viruses, but just because they are harmless doesn’t mean that they aren’t annoying to have them raiding your kitchen for crumbs.
What are Ghost Ants?
Ghost ants are hard to spot due to their pale body and translucent legs and will blend in on almost any surface. The vital organs of the ghost ant are located in the abdomen, which is pretty much see-through. When ghost ants are threatened, a small opening called an acidopore emits tiny bits of formic acid. A ghost ant’s abdomen is transparent to the point you can see bits of color inside them from the food they’ve eaten. Ghost ants are tiny enough to be easily mistaken for a speck of dust—that is until they start swarming around your fruit bowl and invading your pantry. But don’t be fooled by the tiny size of ghost ants. These translucent ants can become a problem if left unchecked because they will form colonies quickly and show up in the most unexpected places.
Life Cycle
Ghost ants complete their life cycle like most insects in three stages: egg, larva, and adult. Life begins when the fertile female, the queen, mates with males inside the nest. After her eggs are fertilized, the male suitors usually die within four to five weeks. The queen can lay several batches of eggs that number up to 5,000 or more. While the queen rests, her chambermaids feed and groom her. Thousands of nursemaid workers protect and tend to the queen’s eggs until they hatch into caterpillar-like larvae in two to four weeks. The process of growing from an egg to an adult takes about 38 days. Female worker ants survive about six weeks, while a queen lives closer to 4-6 months.
Behaviors
The adaptability of ghost ants and their relatives is probably one reason they have been around for millions of years and their perpetual energy and busyness are critical to the ghost ant’s survival.
Ghost ants are social insects and depend on instinct to preserve their colony. Their tiny brains use biological cues to follow the lead of their particular caste: workers, breeding males, breeding females, or queens. They complete their duties automatically without stepping out of their caste boundaries.
Although they can be an invasive ant species, ghost ants are rather timid and scurry in confused circles when threatened. Running from danger is their first line of self-defense. However, workers will sacrifice life and limb to protect their queen and the safety of their nest. They will use their pincers, legs, and acidopore as effective weapons against predators.
Damage
It may be hard to believe that tiny ghost ants that you can barely see would cause enough problems to warrant having to treat your home to evict them. However, they can and will wreak havoc when coming in contact with your food supply, along with weakening structural supports in your walls.
Trash cans are a beacon for ghost ants. All those microscopic germs, bacteria, and viruses can cling to the ants’ bodies and feet. When they bore into the sweet goodies in your kitchen and pantry, they contaminate the food. If you and your family eat it, you are at risk for sickness and disease.
A Day in the Life of a Ghost Ant
Pssst… Relax, they don’t bite.
Sterile worker females are constantly on the hunt for food to stock the nest pantry. This never-ending grocery run, called warehousing, isn’t for the faint of heart—each worker ant can carry up to 10 times her body weight!
Within the worker ranks, there are some pretty specialized jobs, too. The queen requires time and attention and the “chambermaids” are in charge of doing just that. They groom her, fulfill her every need, and make sure the colony stays clean and well-kept. The “nursemaids” are the babysitters for the queen’s thousands of baby hatchlings and do so by carrying the babies on their backs until they are fully grown. It’s like running the ultimate ant daycare, except this one never closes.
Ghost ants, aka sugar ants, have a healthy appetite for all things sweet. In fact, these tiny ants usually eat enough food to equal about 30 percent of their body weight on a daily basis. If you weighed about 125 pounds, that would be equivalent to eating about 37.5 pounds of food every day.
Ghost ants are most active during the day and can travel 100 yards away from their nest to search for food. When they have the chance to sneak into your home, ghost ants are highly attracted to anything sweet or greasy in your kitchen. They can slowly chew through plastic and cardboard to get to the goodies they crave.
Getting Rid of Ghost Ants
Are ghost ants creeping through your kitchen shelves and pantry like they own the place? A team of Ghostbusters won’t do the trick in eliminating these tiny invaders. The best method for keeping ghost ants away is prevention. You can start by taking a good look around your home’s foundation and sealing up even any cracks or gaps. Ghost ants are small enough to make their way through the smallest of spaces so even the tiniest of cracks will need to be sealed off.
Trimming any shrubs or plants that are growing close to your house will make it less inviting for insect intruders. Investing in mesh screens and repairing any that are damaged will help keep them out as well.
As for your kitchen, diligence is key. Use airtight containers made of sturdy plastic or glass for any dry food storage. Ghost ants are always on the lookout for an easy meal so a habit of wiping down countertops, cleaning up crumbs, and avoiding dirty dishes being left out overnight will keep these ants away. They also love garbage and a good preventative measure is to keep a tight lid on your trash can and don’t wait for it to overflow before taking it out.
When To Call For Professional Help
While prevention can be effective for handling the occasional ant or bug, there are times when professionals come in handy. If ghost ants or any other pests keep showing up it could be a sign of a larger infestation. Noticing ongoing activity around your kitchen, bathrooms, or walls may indicate there’s a nest you haven’t been able to locate. Kapture Pest Control is a team of experts who have the tools and expertise to inspect your home and find the root of the problem.
We offer a prevention plan specifically for your home’s needs that is an efficient and cost-effective way to treat ghost ants and other pests. Call our Kapture team today to receive a free quote!
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