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How to Manage Pests

Key to Identifying Common Household Ants Antkey PDF

This key includes the ant species that are most likely to be a nuisance around California homes and structures. Many other ant species occur in California, but most are not home invaders. References | Acknowledgment

How to use this key

  • Click on illustrations that best resemble your ant
  • Work through the key until you get to a summary screen of the ant that the key identified

Already know the ant species? Click on an illustration to go directly to ant summary pages

Odorous house ant Argentine ant Pharaoh ant Carpenter ant
Pavement ant Red imported fire ant Southern fire ant

Thief ant

Related information

PDF: You need a PDF reader, such as Acrobat Reader version 8 or later, to view or print this PDF. If no reader is installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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