Can Pavement Ants Cause Structural Damage?

If you live in Central Florida, you probably appreciate the warm winter months that top out at 75 degrees while the rest of the country is going through blizzard like conditions. But, living in a state that is warm all year long is attractive to all life forms, not just humans. For this reason, Floridian’s deal with more than their share of pests. One of the more common pests are ants. We have a plethora of ant species. Today we will be discussing the species commonly referred to as the “pavement ant”.

This ant (Tetramorium caespitum L.) is commonly referred to as “pavement ant” because it can be found in and around urban areas. It lives and operates its territory alongside some of the busiest roads in the world, all the way out to the suburbs. The pavement ant is a small black , or sometimes very dark brown, ant that arrived in North America in the early 19th century from Europe. It hitched rides over on ships that would ferry people and supplies back and forth.

The ant is a massive reproducer. The mounds can sometimes appear very small on the surface but go 6 feet down and contain over 10,000 ants. They are scavengers. They pick up what other animals (including humans) drop. A scout ant wil discover the food and leave a trail of pheromones to the food source and they will be on it in a matter of minutes.

The ant is also called “sugar ant” because it likes sweet foods the most. Some other species of ant will ignore sweet foods, the big headed ant for example. The pavement ant can bite but rarely does so to humans.

The simple answer if they do damage to structures is Yes. When they nest they will actually dig away anything in their path. They have been known to leave bits of wood and concrete outside of their nest as they excavate.

You can try taking care of this ant problem yourself or you can hire a professional that will get it done right from the start. And the pest professional will get it done before damage is too great.