The Ghost Ant also known as the Black Headed Ant is very tiny, usually less than 1/16 of an inch in length. The Ghost Ant has a grayish white thorax and a black head. It can be hard to see on some surfaces in the home because of their pale, almost opaque abdomen.

The Ghost Ant prefers a warm climate, so Florida is a suitable place for these ants to thrive. Places in the home you may find the Ghost Ants are in wall voids, cabinets, the soil of potted plants and running along the baseboards. The Ghost Ant typically nests outside in plant soil, under rocks, in and around firewood, logs, and tree cavities.

Crazy Ant gets its name from the way it runs around erratically, seemingly with no purpose. (like it lost its mind) This is very different from other ants that usually trail uniformly. The Crazy Ant is opportunistic in its nesting habits. They will use virtually any crack or crevice to build a satellite nest, moist or dry, they don't care. They can be found outside in the landscape under mulch or timbers, in logs or rocks, just about everywhere. Inside they will nest in wall voids, items stored or left alone for long periods.

Although the Crazy Ant seems to be wandering aimlessly they really do have set trails for foraging. They are omnivores and feed on many foods like grease and sweets. A Crazy Ant pest management program must include correcting conducive conditions. Locating and treating colonies and targeted treatments with a residual. In many cases the home owner will need to call in a pest control professional, like Safari Pest Control, who will inspect, devise a pest management plan, and educate the home owner of their role in controlling the Crazy Ant.

Tawny "Raspberry" Crazy Ants:
Tawny Crazy Ants, an invasive ant native to South America, are a recent addition to the list of pest ants here in the states. First discovered in Texas in 2002. They are now in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and FLORIDA. These ants will annihilate honey bee hives, by consuming brood and colonizing the hive. They can cause electrical damage and mechanical failure such as HVAC systems, pump switches, motors and when large numbers accumulate in electrical equipment they cause short circuits and equipment failure. They will trail considerable distances up and down bushes and trees irritating nesting birds and small animals, causing them to relocate. Worker ants commonly 'tend' sucking insects, scale insects and others that excrete a sugary substance called 'honeydew' when stimulated by the ants.

They are considered super colony ants. The local population of TCA can reach extraordinary densities in a single season. They get so dense they often out compete populations of red imported fire ants for resources which can lead to extinction of local colonies of fire ants. Residents experiencing the tawny crazy ant, prefer the fire ant. Research groups have been involved in many lab and field experiments trying to understand more effective ways to manage these TCA super colonies. Trying just about every bait, granular and contact insecticide as well as liquid contact insecticides. The good news is: almost all these treatments are effective in killing the TCA. The bad news is: within about 2 weeks Crazy Ants reinvade the treated area and reach densities the same or greater than before being treated. The best results in the field trials involved the use of liquid contact insecticides containing the AI Fipronil followed by an application of another contact insecticide containing the AI Dinotefuran. Using the Fipronil on the perimeter of the house and an application of the Dinotefuran to the lawn and landscape adjoining the house. This treatment prevents the reinvasion for about 3 months and is quite expensive. No species of invasive ants in the US has ever been completely eradicated. 

Many universities and county extension scientists and entomology labs work every day trying to help understand and control these pests. One side effect of the vast numbers of ants killed by pesticide are drifts of dead ants that may accumulate next to walls. These drifts contain massive numbers of ants. To put this into perspective, one could easily fill numerous trash bags full of dead ants in just minutes from these drifts. When casually observing these huge piles of ants, your first intuition is that you are viewing piles of dirt. Although these enormous quantities of ants are clearly being killed, it can be demoralizing to watch as new foraging workers simply crawl over the top of these drifts. This gives a notion of just how abundant this species can be.

Acrobat Ants are similar to carpenter ants but much smaller. When viewed from above, the abdomen is heart shaped. When viewed from the side, the abdomen is raised above the main part of the body. These ants vary in color, from yellowish brown to dark brown. The abdomen is darker than the rest of the body. They have a stinger, but are not a health concern, as they hardly ever sting or attempt to sting.

Then name 'acrobat ant' comes from the way they sometimes hold their abdomens up in the air when threatened or running. It appears as if they are performing an acrobatic stunt. They also emit a strong odor when disturbed.

Acrobat ants do not build typical ant mounds in yards like other ant species. Outside they prefer to live in decaying logs, stumps, and hollow tree cavities. Indoors they look for voids, including abandoned carpenter ant nests, termite galleries, and insulation. Acrobat ants are the most dominant arboreal ant species in the forests of Northern Florida.