Caribbean Crazy Ants
(Paratrechina pubens)
Appearance
Caribbean Crazy ants are golden-brown to reddish-brown in color, and are covered with dense hairs. After feeding, their abdomen will appear to be striped due to the stretching of the light colored membrane that connects the segments of the abdomen.
Size
Range from 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch in length.
Behavior
The Caribbean Crazy ant will scavenge for a wide variety of solid and liquid foods, such as seeds, fruits, garbage, honeydew, and practically any household food. They are also predatory and will attack other insects. Although they are called crazy ants, Caribbean Crazy ants actually follow very tight trails, which can be deceiving at first. Caribbean Crazy ants have rather large trails up to 3 or 4 inches in width and are very fast moving ants.
Habitat
In the last few years, most of the reports of Caribbean Crazy ant infestations have come from pest control operators in and around South Florida. Trails consisting of thousands of Caribbean Crazy ants have been observed along sidewalks, buildings, and gardens.
Interesting Facts
Reports of this ant in South Florida date back to the mid 1950s, but infestations were uncommon until the late 1990s. However, Caribbean Crazy ants have become a severe problem in South Florida recently. They can be very difficult to control because of their extremely large numbers.
Control
Do you live in South Florida and think that this ant may be invading your home? Hulett Environmental Services offers specialty pest control treatments designed to control and eliminate this pest!
