Army Ant Control: Facts & Identification

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All About Army Ants

Army ant is a moniker applied to over 200 different species of ant. It is usually applied to any ant that displays aggressive predatory foraging group tactics known as “raids,” hence the army association. The name army ant is also applied to those species of ant that do not build permanent nests.

Army Ant Behavior

Army ants live in colonies with caste-like hierarchical social systems. These colonies are made up of worker ants, soldier ants, and one queen. Army ant syndrome describes behavioral and reproductive traits such as obligate collective foraging, moving incessantly throughout their lives (nomadism), and queen ants who allow their ant populations to become ferocious social hunters. 

Unlike other ant species that send individual scouts to find food sources to which they will lead others to find at a later time, ant varieties that exhibit army ant syndrome send out a cooperative, leaderless group of individual foragers (bivouacs) to find and overwhelm prey at the same time. Army ants are constantly moving due to their near continual need to find large quantities of prey to feed their huge colony populations. Army ants can kill and eat up to 100,000 animals in a day including lizards, snakes, chickens, pigs, goats, scorpions and birds. 

In army ant colonies, the queen ant will lay eggs the entire day while the large soldiers focus on defense; medium soldiers forage for food and the smallest workers care for the queen’s eggs and larvae. 

Army Ant Species in the United States

Most of the army ants in the US are found in the southern half of the country. US army ants don’t pose a serious threat to livestock or small animals as they do in tropical locations. Army ants in the US mostly feed on other ant populations. 

US army ants do spread bacteria and can contaminate any food they encounter. Additionally, army ants can sting, and some individuals can be allergic to army ant stings. 

Getting Rid of Army Ants

Army ant populations are easy to spot by their sheer numbers. Since army ant colonies are built of the ants themselves, you will see them above ground. If you see the clear signs of army ants on your property or in your home, call a pest management specialist as soon as possible. The enormous size of army ant colonies means that they can invade and become a real nuisance in a very short amount of time. A great pest care specialist, like Pest Control Experts, will come inspect your ant problem and create a plan that will eliminate ants as aggressively as they attack your food.