One unusual situation where harvester ants sometimes do enter buildings is when winged stages are swarming. Mating flights concentrate around prominent points in the landscape. As a result, large numbers of winged ants may be found on top of large buildings or around chimneys and similar points. Harvester ants have a blunt stinger but can produce a painful sting. Usually they can't penetrate thick areas of skin, such as a hand.
Children generally are more likely to feel harvester ant stings than adults.
They are a recent arrival to the state but are currently the most common ant found in homes. Pavement ants forage on a variety of food that includes grease, meat, small seeds and sweets. Unlike most other ants, pharaoh ants adapt well to nesting indoors. They spread their colonies throughout a building and readily split into smaller colonies when disturbed. Pharaoh ants like a wide range of food, which includes syrups, jellies, grease, cake and pet foods.