Pharaoh ants are tiny ants that often cause big problems once they move indoors. They are a common pest in homes, hospitals, restaurants, and other buildings where warmth, food, and moisture are easy to find.
The pharaoh ant is a tiny, yellowish ant known for being hard to control because it can build many nests and move them quickly. These ants can squeeze through very small spaces and can be tough to get rid of without professional help.
Pharaoh ants are tiny, but the workers, males and queens look different. Worker ants are the smallest, only about 1/16 of an inch long. They’re yellowish-brown with darker brown abdomens and move slowly in long trails.
Male ants are about the same size. They’re uniformly black, have straight antennae, wings, and are responsible for mating. Pharaoh ant queens are the biggest, ranging from 1/8 to 3/16th of an inch long. They’re dark red and also have wings, though they often lose them after starting a new colony.
If you look closely, all pharaoh ants have black eyes and two small segments on the narrow part of their body called the pedicel, which connects the front and back halves.
Because of their tiny size and light color, they’re easy to miss. They often move in slow, steady trails along baseboards, cabinets, or countertops, usually heading to or from a food or water source. You’re more likely to notice the trail than the ants themselves at first.
Pharaoh ants live in multi-queen colonies that include workers and developing ants. Queens lay eggs, which hatch into larvae. Workers feed and care for these larvae until they turn into adult ants. Some become workers, while others become new queens or males for mating.
One of the reasons pharaoh ants are so hard to control is that their colonies can range from a few dozen to 300,000 individuals, and, if threatened, the colony may break up and spread out, with each group forming its own new nest. That’s why infestations can grow quickly, even if you think you’ve already treated the problem.
Pharaoh ants don’t just show up during certain seasons; swarming can take place any time of the year, although winged adults seldom fly. They also lose their wings after mating.
In cooler months, you may notice them more indoors as they search for warmth, but their constant activity means they can cause problems at any time of year.
Understanding what pharaoh ants need to survive and where they prefer to live can help explain why they show up and how to reduce the chances of an infestation.
If you’re wondering why you have pharaoh ants in the house, it’s because they love warmth and moisture, and like to form well-defined trails, which are often associated with heating systems. These ants also prefer warm, humid environments, which is why they’re often found in climate-controlled buildings like hospitals, office buildings, and homes.
Indoors, they often nest in wall voids, behind cabinets, inside electrical outlets, or near plumbing. They’re especially common in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, where heat and humidity are higher, and food or water is easy to reach.
These ants are also found deep-seated in cavities in heated buildings and often found in hospitals or places associated with humid conditions. Because they’re so small, they can slip through cracks in walls, around baseboards, and even between tiles. Once inside, they usually don’t go far from their nest, which is why you’ll often see them trailing between a water source and a hidden space nearby.
Pharaoh ants aren’t picky. Indoors, they feed on high-protein foods, including meat, fats, blood, and dead insects. Crumbs, spills, uncovered food, grease, and even toothpaste or pet food are great food sources for these pests. That’s why you might find them in pantries, under appliances, or inside food storage containers.
Pharaoh ants are considered a public health pest in hospitals. They may enter wounds, IV bottles, or may be found near sleeping infants. They are known to harbor disease-carrying pathogens such as Streptococcus sp.
In warm and humid areas such as Florida, they can be found outdoors. Outdoors, they feed on dead insects and other organic matter. But once they move inside, they’ll take full advantage of whatever they find, making food safety and sanitation a concern, especially in restaurants or healthcare settings.
Once pharaoh ants have moved in, they can be very hard to remove without professional help. Because of their tendency to bud and create new colonies, disturbing them with store-bought sprays or cleaners can actually make the problem worse.
Start with keeping food sealed and stored properly. Clean up crumbs, spills, and dirty dishes right away. Wipe down counters regularly, especially after meals, try to fix any leaks under sinks or in laundry areas, and try to lower humidity where possible with fans or dehumidifiers. It also helps to seal up cracks and gaps around windows, doors, and baseboards. Pharaoh ants are tiny, and even the smallest opening could give them access to your space.
Just keep in mind, these steps may lower your risk, but they aren’t foolproof. Once ants are inside and nesting, professional treatment is usually the only way for effective pharaoh ant treatment.
Whether you’re dealing with pharaoh ants, Roger's ants, white-footed ants, or citronella ants, our ant control technicians at Presto-X know how to locate and treat pharaoh ant infestations at the source.
We use strategies that target the entire colony, not just the ants you see. We also help you understand how the infestation started and what steps can be taken to help stop it from coming back.
Yes, pharaoh ants are considered invasive. They form large colonies with multiple queens, which allows them to spread quickly and take over new spaces. Once they get inside, they nest in walls, behind baseboards, or near heat and moisture, making them hard to remove without professional help.
Pharaoh ants are difficult to control because their colonies have many queens. When disturbed, they often split into new colonies, called budding, which spread the infestation further. Full colony removal usually requires professionals who use ant baits suitable for pharaoh ants to avoid regrowth.
Vinegar might cover up scent trails for a short time, but it won’t get rid of the colony. Pharaoh ants nest deep inside walls or hidden spaces, so surface sprays or cleaners don’t reach the source.
Pharaoh ants are much smaller than most common ants and have a yellow to reddish body with a darker abdomen. Unlike many ant species, these ants prefer to live indoors year-round, form multiple colonies in one space, and are much harder to control once an infestation starts.