Pyramid Ants Vs Fire Ants (2024)

If you’ve noticed fire ants on your property but need to know whether they warrant a call to Fire Ant Specialists, let us provide all the information you’ll need. When comparing pyramid ants vs fire ants, you can make judgments based on a range of features and characteristics.

All ants aren’t bad. Native ants are critical for soil aeration and seed distribution. Red imported fire ants are an invasive species that is disruptive to the ecosystem and guilty of causing injury and property damage. Pyramid ants are good, while fire ants are ones you need to take steps to eliminate from your property.

About the Pyramid Ant

Pyramid ants are tiny at about ¼” in length and are common to the area. The pyramid-shaped mounds of loose soil that form the entrance to their nests are the source of this ant’s name. You’ll find tens of thousands of pyramid ants within a pyramid ant nest once the nest is well-established.

The summer months see the height of pyramid ant activity, and they will build their homes and search for food consistently in all sorts of areas – lawns, pastures, woods, etc. The food for pyramid ants generally consists of other types of insects.

Pyramid ants can be annoying, but they’re good to have around. They will eat other ants, including fire ants. However, the mounds will ruin the aesthetic of your lawn, so a call to the exterminator may be appropriate but not as urgent as it would be were the ants of the fire ant variety.

About Fire Ants

Extremely aggressive and guilty of causing injury and damage, the fire ant is an invasive species that should be eliminated from properties when possible. However, the species is also challenging to control. They survive extreme conditions, breed constantly, and have little resource competition.

Fire ants are reddish brown or reddish black, and their nests can hold hundreds of thousands of fire ants and grow to 2′ in height. The aggressiveness of fire ants’ defensive and building behaviors makes them dangerous and costly.

They attack viciously at any provocation, even minimal or accidental, and as they build, they will destroy property ranging from electrical wiring to HVAC systems, driveways, and more.

Unfortunately, if you have fire ants and are attacked, you won’t be confused anymore about what kind of ant you have. Fire ant stings burn, hence the name. The wounds linger for a week, and in a small percentage of the population, the venom causes a serious allergic reaction.

Getting Rid of Ants

If you have fire ant mounds, you can usually use their appearance to determine which type of ant you have on your property. Fire ant mounds are flat on top and much wider than pyramid ant mounds, which will be pointed like a pyramid.

Whether you have pyramid or fire ants, contact the team at Fire Ant Specialists for solutions. We use proven methods and are fully licensed and insured.

Click here or call 352-291-2687 to determine whether you have pyramid ants vs. fire ants or to book a service to take care of either problem. Within a single life cycle, your property can be practically ant-free and stay that way with regular retreatments.