The Most Common Ants in Central Florida

Beautiful sunny warm Florida is the home to an increasing number of human beings. Every year our population numbers go up. What’s not to love? We have sun, beaches, no state income tax and almost year-round warm weather. With those great conditions come some tradeoffs. We have to deal with traffic congestion, hurricanes and erratic humans (see Florida Man). But we also have some of the highest pest problem rates in the country as well.

One of the major contributors to pest problem in Florida are ants. There are many kinds of ants but in the article we want to list the four most common.

1. Florida Carpenter Ants – No this ant isn’t a singer for the The Carpenters. This ant’s namesake actually comes from the fact that it burrows through wood and causes homeowners quite a headache. It mainly forages at night and seeks out fruits, insects and plant juices. This includes trees and, unfortunately, your home’s structure.
2. Red Fire Ants – Any Floridian can attest to the painful bite of these buggers. The red imported fire ant is an invasive species of ant that sets up shop anywhere it pleases and bites any unsuspecting person or animal which wonders into its path. They will often make mounds around your yard and are quite dangerous to small animals and humans or people with allergies to insect bites.
3. Bigheaded Ants – This may sound like a goofy name for an ant but its true (pictured). This ant has an unusually large head. You can tell if you have a bigheaded ant problem if there are small piles of sand being left around. They will often burrow through sand and create piles with the removed grains. You will also find other unwanted debris in these piles. Dead/expired ants can be found in these piles as well. This ant can get into your walls and truly infest your home.
4. Rover Ants – These are the tiny little black dots you see moving around. They are brown or black in color and can become quite the annoyance. Often times baits can help get rid of this ant. They are a prolific species and professional pest control may be required to get rid of them permanently.

There you have it, the top four ant species for the state of Florida. There are many other kinds of ants out here but these are the most common and ones in which you will encounter most being while being a resident of Florida.