Ghost Ant
Also known as sugar ant. Tapinoma melanocephalum
Tiny, fast, pale-bodied ants that trail across kitchens and bathrooms.
Photo: no rights reserved (CC0) · public domain/CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
About 1.5 mm long with a dark head and thorax but a translucent, pale abdomen and legs — which is why they seem to vanish against light surfaces. They move in fast, erratic trails.
Wall voids, behind baseboards, in potted plants and any warm, humid space. Common in Florida kitchens and bathrooms year-round.
- Faint trails along countertops, sinks and baseboards
- Ants appearing around anything sweet or greasy
- Tiny pale specks near moisture — dishwashers, coffee makers, potted plants
Not dangerous, but they contaminate food and nest indoors in dozens of small satellite colonies, which makes them very hard to kill with store spray — it just splits the colony.
Spraying ghost ants makes them worse. Rhino uses non-repellent baits the workers carry back to every satellite nest, plus exterior trail and entry-point treatment, to collapse the whole colony.
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