ANT THE WINNER IS ....

Thief Ants.  I think they are Thief Ants.

I've done quite a bit of research today.  Which has left me anxious and with an overall creeped-out feeling.  Since starting to write this post, I've scratched my neck. back and legs 12 times. 

13.

In my research I found some great websites if you are into bugs.  What's that bug? being one of them. Another is the highly informative (albeit visually honk-shew) website bugspray.com.

Yet another site said this about the Thief Ant

Thief ants are very small, two nodes, one size, light brown or yellow. They are found throughout the U.S. Theif ants nest near other ant colonies and steal food and larvae to feed their own colony. Outside they nest under rocks or logs, inside wall voides and behind baseboards. Move in trails along baseboards, seaking greasy foods, rarely sweet.

I'm assuming they mean they are rarely after sweet foods.  Not that the ant itself is rarely sweet.  This sounds dead on.  They even had a picture of one, which, to tell the truth isn't all that helpful seeing as though I'm not willing to get a microscope to examine these guys closely.  My ants ARE moving along the baseboard.  And they are gathering around the dogs dishes.  Is dog food greasy?  Probably so.

So, okay, Thief Ants.  I googled to see how to control them and found this.

"Thief ants are more difficult to manage with baits than other ants."

HA! I thought.  Good thing I've been spraying them!

Now for the bad news:

Spraying Thief Ants inside the home will not prevent more ants from entering and may cause more harm as it will stress the colony and cause them to flee and make more nests.

Just what I need.  Stressed ants.

The creeped-out neck/back/leg scratch count is up to 27.

Comments

[Jeanette]

Thief ants are very fond of protein-rich foods. (Like dog food) They are difficult to get rid of, and their presence indicates the presence of other ant colonies - unless they were successful in eliminating all of the others. Perhaps an exterminator may be of assistance if you have exhausted all of your options. How abour outdoor sprays that work in conjunction with indoor ones? Just a thought...

[beek]

Now that is bogue. I hate ants. Did you learn anything good about them? You know how spiders and bats eat misquoitos, yada yada yada... They are creepy. Everything I just mentioned is creepy. Blech. Now I'm scratching.

[jenne]

oh lord!
I mean, if you even knew how stressed this makes me!

[Michelle]

Now I'm itching too! Sheesh!