How Long Do Ants Live?

If you’ve ever wondered to yourself, How long do ants live? You’re not alone!

Many folks think all insects have short lifespans, but in some cases, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Depending on the type, ants can sometimes live a very long time. The exact answer to this question depends on the ant species and the various roles within a colony.

Ants are one of the most advanced and successful insect groups throughout the world. They are social insects and their colonies contain several different types or castes of individuals. The castes include soldiers, workers, queens, and reproductive males.

No matter the type, they all have a high moisture requirement and nest where moisture is readily available. They might even travel considerable distances to obtain their perfect environment.

All ants become annoying once they make their way inside your space, but some species are worse than others; like carpenter ants nest in wood and can do structural damage. Most ants can bite and some can even sting. This sting usually results in local swelling but in highly sensitive people, an allergic reaction results.

Their colonies have the ability to survive the winter by hibernating. However, if a colony builds its home indoors, the ants may remain active all year-round. So…how long do ants live? Let’s find out!

Many factors come into play when looking into how long ants live. Here are a few rough estimates for some of the more common ants in New Jersey:

• Thief Ants: 1 year
• Pharaoh Ants: 1 year
• Little Black Ants: 1 year
• Odorous House Ants: 3 months to a year
• Western Thatching Ants: 1 year

But some New Jersey ants can live considerably longer like carpenter ants. These powerhouses can live a whopping 7 years!

The above numbers mostly refer to the worker ants which is just one of the types of ants that make up every ant colony. Most people know that the colony revolves around the queen. But did you know that queens can often survive for a significantly longer amount of time.

The longest recorded life of any insect has been that of the queen ant. This particular queen lived for 28 3/4 years in captivity! Now THAT is a long time.

As you can see, many ants can live for quite a long time. However, the biggest factor in determining whether you can outlive them is understanding how quickly they can reproduce. Some ant colonies have multiple queens so even after one queen is eliminated they continue to reproduce. One queen can potentially lay up to 300,000 eggs within just a few days!

In other words, ants outliving humans is likely because they will continue to grow in population. While ants are vital to our ecosystem they are still quite annoying when co-living in our homes. So how do we get rid of them in our homes? Unfortunately, there’s really just one way to get rid of an ant colony which is to find where the colony is nesting and eliminate the entire colony.

If you are having ant issues in your home, you are probably also finding ant hills in your yard. Knowing how long ants can live becomes a big motivator for finding ways to remove them. Your lawn is typically the source of most ant activity inside your house. At least to begin with.

Once ants are eliminated in your yard, your ant issues in the home will most likely disappear. Start by finding the ant hills. You can eliminate the ant hills with an appropriate insecticide treatment. Sometimes you can eliminate an ant hill by pouring boiling water on it. But this can result in harming yourself or others if not handled properly.

Once the ant hills are taken care of, it is best to make sure all tempting conditions to any remaining ants are eliminated. Standing water in your backyard can draw unwanted pests so do your best to eliminate these areas.

Firewood is also a gathering place for ants, especially carpenter ants. Store firewood twenty feet or further away from the house. It is also important to keep branches and shrubbery trimmed and away from the house. When branches are close to the home, ants can easily use them as a bridge to travel inside.

As you can see, learning the answers to “How long do ants live?” and figuring out how to get rid of them can become quite involved. You can always give our pest control experts a call for quick and reliable care to get rid of ants in your yard. Our team is trained in resolving your ant issues and will do everything we can to protect your home and yard.

The most important step in eliminating ants is eliminating the colony. If you remove just a few ants, then the issue will always come back. The ants you see inside your house are usually workers of an ant colony. They are foraging for food and water. If you kill them, the ant colony will produce new worker ants and your issue begins from scratch.

Therefore it’s so important to find the colony which is a function of identifying what type of ants you have living amongst you and your family. Once you know that, you will know their nesting preferences which will help you find the colony. From there you use basic detective skills to find it. Make sure to inspect nearby wood piles, tree stumps, wood posts and nearby trees.

Side note: For a little science experiment, once you figure out what species you’re dealing with, you can also find out the ants’ lifespan.

In most cases, you will need an insecticide for the workers to take back to the nest. After the colony is eliminated and you are still finding ants inside your home you can use the treatment to eliminate those that are left behind. Ideally the insecticide has a residual effect and is placed in areas the ants have to pass through when foraging for food.

As always, if you find your ant issues to be bigger than you want to handle, call Kapture Pest Control—the New Jersey ant experts. We are here to help you take back your home!

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