These are hands down the most common ant found up in Coarsegold, Oakhurst and Yosemite Lakes Park.  We have heard people refer to them as “black ants,” “sugar ants,” “stinky ants” and even “piss ants.”  They are the ants that are commonly found in your pantry, bathrooms or kitchen counters.  Their shallow nests can be indoors or outdoors.  They will enter the home through small cracks, often using pipes as a direct path.  The odorous house ant prefers sweet substances often invading a home when honeydew on the outside is scarce. 

Usually around August they will still invade, due to the hot temperature, looking for water.  The colonies of the odorous house ant can range from 100-10,000 and have multiple queens.  They forage day and night.  If a homeowner applies the wrong pesticide the nest will more than likely do something called “budding.”  This is when a queen will feel threatened and will start a new nest in another location which makes it almost impossible for the homeowner to control ants.