Ants are social insects – they live in colonies that contain three castes or groups: workers, queens, and males. Most of the ants you find in a colony are the workers, which are sterile females. They are responsible for gathering food, feeding the brood  and queen(s), and maintaining and defending the nest. Most ant species produce winged males and females during certain times of the year. These winged individuals, called “swarmers”, leave the nest to mate and start new colonies. After mating, the males die and the females (queens) search for suitable locations to start new colonies. The queen sheds her wings and starts laying eggs that will hatch into the legless, grub-like larvae. The queen takes care of these larvae as they develop until finally they become pupae. Within a few weeks, adult worker ants emerge from these pupae and take over the job of tending the young. At this point, the queen’s primary job becomes lay more eggs, although she may help feed and groom the larvae.

Ants invade homes and other structures in search of food, water, and shelter. Therefore, effective ant management needs to be a combination of control methods that involve inspection, sanitation and exclusion, habitat modification, and often some type(s) of insecticides.

Ant Identification
Some ant species may require special management considerations which are presented in the section below entitled Specific House-Invading Ants. If you are having difficulty controlling an ant problem in your home, it may be helpful to collect a few specimens for proper identification. 

Inspection
It is important to check carefully and thoroughly both indoors and outside to determine areas of ant activity, nest locations, and type of ant present. Indoors, follow ant trails to locate their entry point such as an electrical outlet or gap along a baseboard or around a water pipe. Outside, check the foundation, walkways, trees and shrubs, and in mulched areas for ant trails. Look for nests in mulch and vegetation next to the foundation.