Are Ghost Ants Common in Salt Lake City?

Salt Lake City, Utah, has a semi-desert climate making it susceptible to many types of pests. Common pests found in the city are ants, bugs, beetles, cockroaches, rodents, spiders, termites, and wasps.

But the question is, are ghost ants common in Salt Lake City?  But the question is, are ghost ants common in Salt Lake City? In this blog post, we’ll discuss the prevalence of ghost ants in Salt Lake City and whether or not they are a major issue.

What are Ghost Ants?

Ghost ants are a type of ants that are characterized by their pale color and tiny size. Due to this, they can be hard to see. They have six legs, antennae, unevenly rounded heads, and a dark brown thorax. Their abdomen and legs are pale yellowish in color. Ghost ants feed on sweet foods like honeydew and dead and living insects. When they enter your home, they can be commonly found in your kitchen. In terms of nesting, they nest in cavities or crevices in dead tree branches, under stones, inside logs, and within piles of leaves and other debris. Luckily, they don’t have a stinger and do not sting. 

 

Ghost ants can create large colonies, which are all divided. They can enter any building, like your home, through the foundation or tree branches. Ghost ants are attracted and need moisture, they can also enter through your sink and infest items that there is moisture. Once inside your house, worker ghost ants will father their food and go back to their colony to feed them. 

Do ghost ant bite or sting?

Ghost ants bite, but they do not sting. Due to their non-aggressive nature, they will only bite if they feel their nest is threatened and their bites are not dangerous or harmful to humans. Although, they still pose a health risk because they can contaminate food. 

ant infestation in salt lake city

Signs of ghost ant Infestation

Ghost ants prefer cavities from deas tree branches. They are commonly found outdoor, so sightings of these ants in soils, dead tree limbs, inside logs and under stones or firwood is the usual signs of these ants. 



Ghost ants can also be spotted inside and the best way to check if you have infestation is to look behind walls, baseboards and under carpets. In addition, since they love moisture you can also find these ants in flowerpots or other moist areas. 

Can you find ghost ants in Salt Lake City?

No, you cannot find ghost ants in Salt Lake City, and they are not common in the place. Ghost ants are commonly found in Central and Southern Florida. However, you can still find other species of ants in Salt Lake City, and a similar-looking ant species to ghost ants can also be found in the city. Below are these common ants that you can find in Salt Lake City.

 

Carpenter Ants: The largest species of ants that you may see in Salt Lake. They are characterized by their black, brown, or red color. They are called “carpenter” ants because they nest in wood, specifically damp and decaying ones. When they nest in the woods, they will create tunnels inside of it. These types of ants can damage your home because they chew on wood to create their nest.

Velvety Tree Ants: Another species of ants that can damage your Salt Lake home. They will nest on your wood, porch, and walls. Due to their nesting, you will find furniture in your home that is being chewed, even window screens and insulations that are not even made out of wood. Velvety Tree ants are soft and black ants that have hairy underbellies.

Pavement Ants: Build their nests on cracks in sidewalks or pavements. Hence, the name “pavement” ants.  But they can also build nests in rocks or anywhere where there is a heat source. That’s why they go inside your house when the weather is cold. They are typically light brown or black in color with 12-segmented antennae and have vertical lines on their head. They are common house pests in Salt Lake because they look for food inside your house. They are attracted to greasy, sweet, and starchy foods as well as moisture. So you might find them in your kitchen, cabinet, pantry, or trash.

Pharaoh Ants: Another dangerous species of ants found in Salt Lake. They can spread diseases, like salmonella and streptococcus, to people. They are attracted to food, so they will go inside your home to look for food. These small ants will eat just about anything they can find, and they will build their nests anywhere. That’s why you will see them more often in your home rather than the other species of ants. You can identify them with their reddish-yellow color and wings. Unfortunately, they are very hard to get rid of because of their large colony.

Field Ants: They are called “field” ants because they are commonly found outdoors and do not go inside your Salt Lake home. Additionally, they are usually attracted to grassy lawns, and you might find them nesting in thick mulch or shrubs where they can create small ant hills. If their nests are threatened, they can attack you. They are usually mistaken as carpenter ants, but carpenter ants can go inside your home. Field Ants are characterized by their red, yellow, black, or a mixture of the three colors, and they are larger than pavement ants.

Harvester Ants: One of the two dangerous ants found in Salt Lake City. They can be extremely aggressive and can sting you. Their sting can be painful and can cause allergic reactions like swelling and bleeding. You can identify them by their common bright to dark red color, but there are some that are black in color. Luckily, they don’t usually enter houses and only stay around lawns and flowerbeds. Their nests also have tunnels that they built and have mounds of dirt left at the surface. Nonetheless, these dangerous ants can be beneficial to your soil as they can combine different types of soil when they are travelling and creating their tunnels, resulting in aerated soil. 

 

Getting rid of ants in Salt Lake City

Not all species found in Salt Lake City are dangerous and damaging. Some are even beneficial to humans. However, they can be a nuisance to the homeowners when there are already living in colonies. The best way to get rid of them is to get an ant exterminator. There are types of ants that can be hard to get rid of. The only way you can effectively eliminate and prevent them from coming back is to get the best pest control near you. They can get to the bottom of the infestation and implement the right method to get rid of your problem. 

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Nida Hernandez