Most ants do not require controls and are considered beneficial. However, ants may become a nuisance by constructing mounds or small hills in the lawn or by invading the home from the yard in search of food. The ants found in Iowa lawns are not biting or stinging pests. The fire ants of the southern U.S., well known for their aggressive behavior and painful stings, are not present in Iowa. Also, the noted mound building ants of the eastern U.S. that build ant hills several feet in height are not found in Iowa, although our local ants may build mounds several inches high and 12 to 18 inches in diameter if left undisturbed for a long period of time.
Ants are social insects that live in well-organized colonies.
Nearly all of the ants in a colony are the wingless sterile females, called workers, typically seen on or around an ant hill. In the spring or fall ant colonies may produce winged males and females called swarmers. These disperse from a wellestablished nest to begin new colonies. Ant Mounds . Soil nesting ants construct mounds or small hills by bringing granulated soil to the surface from the nest below.