If the ants are outdoors...you should leave them alone. Usually the "red ants" we see in Illinois are pretty harmless pavement ants. Depending on diet...black ants can look kind of reddish.
The main way to tell is if you find a anthill...put a stick in it. If they immediately start swarming...and I mean swarming up the stick...they're fire ants. Everything else is harmless unless they're getting into your house. House ants make a sort of funky fruit smell when they nest in your walls.
I used to take Rice Krispies outside and put them around an anthill when I was a kid...and then kickback to watch them disappear. Great way to spend a summer afternoon...
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Ants...
Date: 2008-06-13 04:57 pm (UTC)The main way to tell is if you find a anthill...put a stick in it. If they immediately start swarming...and I mean swarming up the stick...they're fire ants. Everything else is harmless unless they're getting into your house. House ants make a sort of funky fruit smell when they nest in your walls.
I used to take Rice Krispies outside and put them around an anthill when I was a kid...and then kickback to watch them disappear. Great way to spend a summer afternoon...