Common Pest Ants of the Southeastern United States

Although many ants may be considered to be pests from the human vantage point on occasion, only a subset of these would be considered to be serious pests that are regularly encountered by humans. Below is a list of the most commonly encountered pest ants in our region. For a more comphrehensive list of pest ants go to the Pest Ants of the Southeastern United States web page. The list below is arranged alphabetically by genus.

Common name	Scientific Name(s)	Type of Pest	SE States where ant is found	Image
leaf cutter ant	Atta texana (Buckley)	pest of pine forests in sandy, upland areas; bites	LA
obscure rover ant	Brachymyrmex obscurior Forel	nuisance; may adversly affect biodiversity	FL, MS (southern parts of these states)
dark rover ant	Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr	nuisance; may adversly affect biodiversity	widespread in SE
Asian needle ant	Brachyponera chinensis Emery	stings; adversly affects biodiversity	AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN
Florida carpenter ant	Camponotus floridanus (Buckley)	structural pest; nuisance	AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC (found in sandy areas in the Coastal Plain, mostly coastal)
red carpenter ant	Camponotus noveboracensis (Fitch)	structural pest; nuisance	NC (ant northward)
black carpenter ant	Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer)	structural pest; nuisance	widespread in SE
compact carpenter ant	Camponotus planatus Roger	structural pest; nuisance	FL, MS (especially southern half of FL, limited to Gulf Coast in MS)
carpenter ants (various spp.)	Camponotus americanus Mayr Camponotus caryae (Fitch) Camponotus castaneus (Latreille) Camponotus chromaiodes Bolton Camponotus decipiens Emery Camponotus discolor (Buckley) Camponotus inaequalis Roger Camponotus nearcticus Emery) Camponotus sansabeanus (Buckley) Camponotus snellingi Bolton Camponotus socius Roger Camponotus subbarbatus Emery	structural; nuisance	widespread throughout SE except C. inaequalis, which has only been reported from FL and coastal MS
acrobat ants	Crematogaster ashmeadi Mayr Crematogaster cerasi (Fitch)) Crematogaster pilosa Emery	household pest: occasional structural pest	widespread in SE
pyramid ants	Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager) Dorymyrmex smithi Cole	nuisance pest, numerous mounds in yard	widespread in SE, in sandy soils
mound or thatch ants	Formica integra Nylander Formica subsericea Latreille	nuisance pest, large colonies	widespread in SE, especially north of FL
tropical stinging ant or Roger's ant	Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger)	occasional stinging pest	AL, FL, MS (limited to coastal AL, MS, & SC)
cornfield ants; citrinella ants	Lasius americanus Emery Lasius interjectus (Mayr) Lasius neoniger Emery	nuisance	widespread in SE
Argentine ant	Linepithema humile (Mayr)	huge supercolonies; nuisance; adversly affects biodiversity	widepread in SE up to southern TN
bicolored trailing ant	Monomorium floricola (Jerdon)	nuisance pest	AL, FL, MS (more common in FL, only in southern AL and MS)
little black ant	Monomorium minimum (Buckley)	nuisance pest	widespread in SE
pharoah ant	Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus)	nuisance pest	widespread in SE, but typically localized and often indoors
robust crazy ant	Nylanderia bourbonica (Forel)	nuisance pest	AL, FL, GA, SC (scattered localities)
Tawny crazy ant	Nylanderia fulva (Mayr)	huge supercolonies, nuisance, adversly affects biodiversity, short circuits electrical equipment	AL, FL, GA, LA, MS (southern coastal plain predominately)
crazy ants (other spp.)	Nylanderia guatemalensis (Forel) Nylanderia pubens (Forel) Nylanderia terricola (Buckley) Nylanderia vividula (Nylander)	nuisance pest	widespread in SE
trapjaw ant	Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus)	stinging pest, adversly affects biodiversity,	AL, FL, LA, MS (Gulf Coast region)
panther ants	Pachycondyla harpax (Fabricius) Pseudoponera stigma (Fabricius)	stinging pest	LA (P. harpax) AL, LA, FL (P. stigma)
long legged crazy ant	Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille)	huge supercolonies, nuisance, adversly affects biodiversity	AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN (populations not found in FL or coastal regions are typically indoors)
Big headed ants	Pheidole megacephala Fabricius Pheidole navigans Forel Pheidole obscurithorax Naves	occasional household pest; competes with native species	FL (P. megacephala) AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC - southern coastal plain (P. moerens) AL, FL, GA, MS - mostly in Gulf Coast region (P. obscrurithorax)
Florida harvester ant	Pogonomyrmex badius (Latreille)	stinging pest, large mounds	AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC (only nests in areas with deep sand)
twig ants	Pseudomyrmex ejectus (Smith) Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Fabricius) Pseudomyrmex pallidus (Smith)	occasional stinging pest)	widepread in SE, especially in southern parts of Coastal Plain (P. gracilis is an introduced species mostly found in coastal counties)
red imported fire ant	Solenopsis invicta Buren	serious nuisance & stinging pest	widespread in SE
black imported fire ant	Solenopsis richteri Forel	serious nuisance & stinging pest	northern AL and MS, south central TN
hybrid imported fire ant	Solenopsis invicta x richteri	serious nuisance & stinging pest	AL, MS, TN
native fire ants	Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) Solenopsis xyloni McCook	serious nuisance & stinging pest	historically widespread in SE, but moved out by imported fire ants, relict populations of S. geminata still present in FL
thief ants	Solenopsis carolinensis Forel Solenopsis molesta (Say)	nuisance, structural, & occasional stinging pest	widespread in SE
ghost ant	Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius)	househeld pest	FL, GA, LA, MS, NC (more common in FL, but isolated records elsewhere, usually coastal)
odorous house ant	Tapinoma sessile (Say	nuisance pest	widespread in SE
whitefooted ant	Technomyrmex difficilis Forel	household nuisance pest	FL
pavement ants	Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander) Tetramorium immigrans Santschi	occasional structural & nuisance pest	widespread in SE
little fire ant	Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger)	nuisance & stinging pest, may infest houses, invades food stores	FL