Crazy Ant
Category: Ants
Scientific Name: Nylanderia fulva or Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille)
Identification:
Color: Dark brown or black with gray sheen
Size: 1/16 to ⅛ inch long
Region: Found throughout the United States
Lifespan: 6-12 weeks
Important Considerations:
- Crazy ants live in small, very adaptable colonies. They can survive in both very wet and very dry environments.
- This species of ant creates foraging trails to their food source. Sometimes these trails can be 100 feet long.
- Outside, crazy ants like to feed primarily on dead insects and honeydew from aphids. It is common for them to enter your home in the fall, where they will begin to feed on nearly any pantry food item.
Where to Find Them on Your Property?
If you have crazy ants inside your home, they will often be found in potted plants, inside wall voids, or underneath flooring or carpeting. Outdoors, they create homes in protected places usually covered in soil such as mulch or trash piles, inside potted plants, or in empty spaces within plants or trees.