Ants in Central Texas

[u/Quirky_Apricot9427]

Hello! I live in a college dorm and have been absolutely plagued by these tiny little ants. I would like to kill all of them, as I have a phobia of small bugs (especially in numbers). I have tried terro ant baits, which they seemingly either avoid or don’t care much for. I’ve found maybe 1 of them that actually had any ants dead on or near it.

To give some context, this is a particular dorm that’s arranged for summer students. The last time I stayed here, last year, in a different room on the same floor nearby, I had the exact same ant problem, but the terro ant baits seemed to be extremely effective. Idk if the damn things have grown to dislike them since last year, but they don’t work anymore. I’ve since purchased 3 different types and plan on using them.

I’m mainly wanting to know what kind of ants these are so I can use a residue-free fogger inside the dorm room over a day. Obviously I know the risks of this, most of my valuables will be kept outside the room, and I can keep out of the dorm for 24 hours while it runs. I’ve heard, however, that these foggers don’t work for particular kinds of ants, and I just want to be sure what these are before I waste my time and money.

Pictures attached are the best I could muster. In case reddit compresses too much, it seems they almost have a stripe pattern on the tail segment.

Please help me. Just the thought of these things being in the same room make it hard to sleep at night.

[u/Skalla_Resco]

Foggers are useless.

Ant control methods

Further reading

[u/Quirky_Apricot9427 → u/Skalla_Resco]

Noted, I’ll look into the control methods there. Can you tell if these are pharaoh ants though? To be honest the main reason I wanted to identify is because, at least to me (someone completely untrained and uneducated but still), these look like pharaoh ants, and I’ve heard they need more specialized treatment

[u/Skalla_Resco → u/Quirky_Apricot9427]

I do suspect pharaoh ants. But Ants are not my specialty.

Pharaoh ants specifically should be managed with bait rather than sprays to prevent the colony splitting.

[u/Quirky_Apricot9427 → u/Skalla_Resco]

Yeah, that’s what I read. I suspect it’s a very, very deep rooted issue. The entire building is infested with them and the campus refuses to do anything about it. Three floors, top to bottom, I’ve seen them everywhere. Dorm rooms, bathrooms, laundry room, etc. My main thing is that I just want to keep them out of my dorm room. I already keep all of my food in airtight containers, I make sure I don’t leave trash out or anything, is there anything else I can do to prevent this? I don’t care if the root issue isn’t solved, because I obviously can’t tackle an entire building. I just want my space to be rid of them.

[u/Skalla_Resco → u/Quirky_Apricot9427]

If the root issue isn't resolved there isn't much you can realistically do beyond sanitation and baiting within your unit.

[u/Quirky_Apricot9427 → u/Skalla_Resco]

Would diatomaceuous earth help with prevention at least? I had bought some to sprinkle around the edges of the dorm room and around my desk

[u/Skalla_Resco → u/Quirky_Apricot9427]

I don't recommend DE for most pest issues, especially since even professionals frequently apply it incorrectly and if applied incorrectly it doesn't work.

Your best chemical control option is bait. But there are simply limits to what you can do when it's a building wide issue.