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How to Manage Ant Mounds in Lawns, Gardens, and Pastures

There are many species of ants that occur in lawns or along and under sidewalks. Most ants are beneficial and do not require control. However, ants may become a nuisance by constructing mounds or small hills in the lawn, landscape, prairie planting, pasture, CRP field, roadside, or on the sidewalk or patio, or by invading the home in search of food.

Carpenter Ants In Homes

Encyclopedia Article
 Carpenter ant

Carpenter ants are very abundant in Iowa, and are common pests in homes and other buildings. The most common carpenter ants are the familiar “large, black ants” that are one-half inch or more in length and shiny black. Other kinds of carpenter ants, however, are as small as one-quarter inch and are reddish brown or two-toned. One consistent characteristic of all carpenter ants is the smoothly rounded outline of the thorax when viewed from the side.

Acrobat Ant

Encyclopedia Article

Several species of small to medium-sized ants are occasional pests in and around the home. One of these is named the acrobat ant because of the way the worker ants carry their abdomens above the rest of the body as if they were performing a balancing act. Acrobat ants are slightly longer than 1/8th inch. They vary in color from yellowish brown to dark brown, and the heart-shaped abdomen is usually darker than the rest of the body. Magnification is required to see a pair of spines on the back edge of the middle section of the body that helps identify this ant from other species. The habit of the workers to carry their abdomens in the air when they are disturbed is probably the best way to identify this species.

Ant Baits for Small Household Ants

Encyclopedia Article

Small ants are a common pest in the home kitchen or bathroom.  Foraging ant workers may appear a few at a time over a broad area, or a large number may descend on food, refuse, pet food, or moisture available overnight.  Of the dozen different ant species that may be a nuisance inside the home in Iowa, the typical small, house-invading species are pavement ants (https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/pavement-ant) and odorous house ants.  (https

Larger Yellow Ant

Encyclopedia Article
Image of larger yellow ants next to a penny

The larger yellow ant, a common ant species found throughout Iowa, is also called the foundation ant. Normally these ants live outdoors in old logs and stumps and under stones. The workers are observed indoors on relatively rare occasions. The workers feed almost exclusively on honeydew gathered from aphids or mealybugs and they are active at night.

Pavement Ant

Encyclopedia Article

Pavement ants are small ants about 1/8th inch long and dark brown to black in color. They are found throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and are a major pest in the upper Midwest. The name for this ant comes from its habit of nesting under sidewalks and driveways and piling dirt removed from the nest in a mound on top of the pavement.

Odorous House Ant

Encyclopedia Article
Artist rendering of an odorous house ant

Odorous house ants are small ants about 1/8th inch long and dark brown in color. They are found throughout the U.S. and in spite of their name, are only an occasional pest in the house. Their name comes from the disagreeable odor similar to the smell of rotten coconuts, that is given off when the worker ants are crushed.

Field Ant

Encyclopedia Article
Artist rendering of a field ant

The name field ant is used for a large group of ants commonly found nesting in fields, meadows and lawns in Iowa. Field ants are probably our most commonly observed kind of ant. They are primarily medium sized (about 1/4 inch long), brownish-black ants, but they show considerable variation from one species to the next. Field ants nest in the soil in moderately large colonies. They are scavengers and feed on other insects and nectar from flowers. Field ants do not normally nest indoors but the workers frequently forage indoors for food and create an annoyance by their presence.

How to Manage Potential Problems Growing Peonies

Peonies are easy-to-grow, long-lived, and reliable performers in the garden.  But they occasionally have issues.  The most common issues with peonies, such as failure to bloom, powdery mildew, and flopping over, are listed below.

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