Black House Ant (Ochetellus glaber)

Black House Ant (Ochetellus glaber)

The aptly Black House Ant is a substantial household pest on the Mid North Coast. Our humid
climate, abundant water and array of blossoming trees provide this pest with all their natural
survival requirements.  In addition to the houses we build for ourselves yet share with them.
The Black House Ant is a small ant (about 3mm long), with a distinct shiny black cuticle and often
seen working in trails in the kitchen and bathroom of houses.

This ant will often be nesting in the
roof and wall voids around houses where they have ready access to both inside and out to forage for
food and water. Once inside they will often contaminate sugary foods and find their way into kettles
and sinks on the hunt for water. The ‘Frass’ they eject from their nests is often a worrying site for
homeowners worried the ants are eating the walls or roof. In fact, this frass is just a waste product.
A mixture of droppings, dead ants and scrap food ejected from their nest, like taking out the trash.
Their persistence and ‘colony focus’ make them a frustrating challenge for homeowners trying to
alleviate their own infestations and DIY attempts often end with a call to Local Pest Experts. At Local
Pest Experts we have a direct colony control focussed treatment which enables us to locate and
eradicate individual nests to provide long term relief from frustrating ants in your house.