{"id":1563,"date":"2021-06-28T11:31:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T15:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajsext.com\/guide\/comment-se-debarrasser-fourmis-pharaon\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T19:46:14","slug":"how-to-get-rid-of-pharaoh-ants","status":"publish","type":"guide","link":"https:\/\/www.ajsext.com\/en\/guides\/how-to-get-rid-of-pharaoh-ants\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get rid of pharaoh ants"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":1549,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"How to get rid of pharaoh ants?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Learn everything about pharaoh ants and discover a few basic tips that will help you limit the presence of pharaoh ants in your home or place of business.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[{"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_type":"Article","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_title":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_desc":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_author":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_img":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_coverage_start_date":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_coverage_start_time":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_coverage_end_date":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_coverage_end_time":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_article_speakable_css_selector":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_type":"faq","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_faq":[{"question":"Do pharaoh ants have a queen?","answer":"Yes, even several. Pharaoh ant colonies are polygynous\u2014meaning they can hold dozens, even hundreds of queens at the same time. They mate inside the nest and can lay up to 400 eggs each in the course of their lifetime. During the reproductive process, some of the queens leave the nest with a few workers in order to set up new satellite colonies."},{"question":"How big are pharaoh ants?","answer":"Pharaoh ants are small. The workers are from 1.5\u202fmm to 2.5\u202fmm, and the queens might be up to 5\u202fmm long. Their colour ranges from light yellow to brown, with darker colouring on the abdomen. Their translucid appearance and tiny size make it hard to spot them. This is also what helps them thread their way easily into buildings."},{"question":"Are pharaoh ants inside the home dangerous?","answer":"Most ants do not pose a direct risk to humans. However, the presence of pharaoh ants does constitute a sanitary health risk. They can carry bacteria like salmonella or staphylococcus, thus contaminating kitchen surfaces or food if they circulate in these areas."},{"question":"What attracts pharaoh ants?","answer":"Pharaoh ants are omnivorous\u2014they eat practically anything. They are attracted by heat, humidity, and the presence of food (especially if it contains sugar, fat, or protein). In Qu\u00e9bec, as they can\u2019t survive outdoor winter temperatures, they find refuge in heated buildings where they can be active all year. They often settle near electric cables, water drains, baseboards, or behind kitchen appliances, where conditions are favourable to their survival."},{"question":"Why are pharaoh ants so hard to eliminate?","answer":"Pharaoh ant colonies might contain several tens of thousands of individuals, including many queens that continually lay more eggs. When the colony is perturbed, it can split into several satellite colonies (sometimes called \u201cbudding\u201d). Thus, a badly thought out or executed attempt at eradication can quickly worsen the problem. In addition, their nests are often in hard-to-reach places. Therefore, completely eliminating pharaoh ants can require several months."},{"question":"Do spray insecticides work against pharaoh ants?","answer":"Spray insecticides don\u2019t work efficiently against pharaoh ants. In fact, these products can even worsen the problem by provoking the colony into \u201csplitting\u201d or \u201cbudding\u201d mode. Once the colony has detected a threat, it fragments, and the problem just grows worse. Furthermore, insecticidal sprays only kill visible workers and don\u2019t reach the queens, who continue to lay eggs inside the nest. The most efficient method consists in using bait that the workers bring back to the nest."},{"question":"Why do pharaoh ants come back even after treatment?","answer":"If pharaoh ants return after a treatment, it\u2019s often because it was inadequate and caused the nests to multiply. The queens that were not eliminated by the treatment will continue to lay eggs elsewhere in the building. A new infestation can also come from neighbouring units or common areas of a building where active colonies might still subsist."},{"question":"Are pharaoh ants active year-round?","answer":"Yes, they are active 12 months a year. As they can\u2019t survive outdoors in Qu\u00e9bec, they live exclusively inside heated buildings, where they can reproduce and feed non-stop."},{"question":"How much does it cost to exterminate pharaoh ants?","answer":"The average cost of eradicating pharaoh ants is between $400 and $1000. Rates may vary depending on the size of the area that needs to be treated, the quantity of nests and the severity of the infestation. 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