Ghost Ants

Ghost Ants (Tapinoma Melanoccephalum)                    

This little ant, sometimes referred to as the black-headed ant, emanates from the tropics and therefore will need warmth and protection. Ghost ants are extremely adaptable in their nesting skills and habits and can be found in in a multitude of environments such as spaces between walls, between cupboards, folded clothing, or linen, or in the soil of potted plants. When witnessed indoors they are mainly found in your kitchen and bathroom as they scourge for food and water. In kitchens they tend to prefer sweet items such as bags of sugar, honey, or sweets. They will also feed on grease deposits although not as happily as they will on sweets. Their trails are often difficult to see due to the tiny size and pale colour of these ants, and their random feeding pattern.

Identification:

The ghost ant is a very small ant, 1.5-2mm long Pale almost see through body and legs, with a darker head and thorax. The pale coloured, almost translucent abdomen and legs, in addition to its tiny size, gives the ghost ant its name.

Biology:
The queen usually lays many eggs which will hatch after 2 to 4 weeks to form tiny larvae. These are fed and tended to by sterile female workers for up to 2 months. The development is sped up with increased temperatures and after 2 to 4 weeks the fully formed ant will emerge. Colonies of ghost ants tend to be moderate to large in their colony size and often several queens may be present. New colonies are started by ‘budding’ where one or more reproductive females, several worker ants and possibly some brood (larvae and pupae) move to a new nesting site.

Control:
The methodology of Ghost Ant control is very similar to that of Pharaoh’s Ants. Baiting using a food attractant combined with a juvenile hormone or slow acting poison is the only method likely to be successful. Residual sprays or dusts should not be used, either as a method of control or anywhere within the infested areas in the period preceding or during a baiting treatment due to the ‘budding’ as this may cause new colonies to become present before the treatments are complete.

Products to control Ghost Ants: