To a pesky ant, scrumptious entrees include any fatty substances, sweets, fruits, seeds, nuts, insects either dead or alive, and dead animals. Ant nests can be found under houses, in lawns, walls, under stones and even in flat, open ground. Worldwide there are more than 12,000 species of ants. Sacramento's most annoying ant is the Argentine, which hitched a ride to the states about 100 years ago. They also create more revenue for pest control companies.
Argentine ants are light to dark brown and bite, rather than sting.
They have a sweet tooth and no perceptable odor if one is crushed. However, should you squish a couple dozen, a musty odor is emitted. Number two on the least-wanted list is the odorous ant, which lives up to its name. Even when a single ant is crushed, the smell of rotting vegetation can be detected. Sacramento residents and businesses also have had problems with velvety tree ants and carpenter ants, but incidents have been few.