Pharaohs Ant (Monomorium pharaonis)

Pharaoh ants are small ants with a yellowish-red colour. The queen is larger and reddish-brown in colour. This species of ant will place it's nest just about anywhere. They will nest in any crack that is suitable to their needs. They prefer to be near a water source.

Needing warm, humid conditions, it is a pest in hospitals and similar institutions, as well as multiple accommodation blocks. Nests are well hidden, usually sited close to heating systems and with colonies of 100,000 individuals in size.

Ants can enter your business through even the tiniest cracks seeking sweet or greasy substances in kitchen, pantry or storeroom areas.

Ants leave a long lasting invisible chemical trail known as pheromones for the rest of the colony to follow once they locate the food source.

They can nest just about anywhere in and around your business, in lawns, walls, stumps, even under foundations.

Colony size can number 100,000. When foraging worker ants are killed by residual treatments, the colony will fracture or split into two or more colonies to ensure part of the colony survives.

Most Do-It-Yourself approaches only kill the ants you see, whereas a truly effective treatment will penetrate and destroy their nest to prevent them from returning. Also, home remedies don't account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments.

Pharoah's ants can bite children and more alarmingly they can penetrate sterile medical dressings.

Successful Control of flying and crawling insects requires regular service by a professional pest control company. Eradication requires a close understanding of the pest species, its biology, lifestyle and habits.