Moisture Ants
The Moisture Ant, also known as the Yellow Ant, got these common names because of their structural nesting habit of utilizing high moisture areas and because of their yellowish color.
Moisture Ant Recognition
The Moisture Ant is found throughout the United States. Moisture Ant workers are about 1/8” long, and they range in color from yellowish brown to dark brown.
Moisture Ant Damage
Moisture Ants are not considered a structural pest because they only infest wood that is already decaying.
Moisture Ant Biology
Moisture Ant colonies are moderate in size, composed of several thousand workers at maturity but having only one queen. Development time (egg to adult) averages about 88 days. Reproductive Swarmers usually appear from July to September.
Inside structures, Moisture Ants will infest areas of moist, rotting wood. Such areas may include the damp rotting wood often found in a bathroom behind tub wall tiles, in a wall with a leaking pipe or in damp crawl spaces, etc. Outside, Moisture Ants typically nest in well-shaded areas, in rotting stumps or logs. Moisture Ants are primarily nocturnal and feed on a variety of sweets, nectars and proteins.
Moisture Ant Control
The first step in control of Moisture Ants is to eliminate the moisture source or any wood-to-ground contact. Next, the damaged wood should be replaced and then the remaining wood and surrounding area should be treated with an appropriate pesticide by a trained and licensed pest control operator.