Black ants or garden ants: Lasius niger is the Latin name for these nuisance ants, the workers range in size between 3mm - 5mm and queens 7mm - 9mm and are dark brown to black in color hence their name BLACK ANT. Colonies are typically up to 7,000 strong but colonies can reach up to about 15,000.

These ants are found all over Gauteng and feed off nectar, seeds, small insects and will farm aphids. They nest mainly under stones, or in rotten wood.

The sugar ant: Camponotus maculatus is the Latin name for these ants. the workers range in size between 5mm - 15mm and are a brownish orange color, these ants are easily noticed by their large black mandibles that can give quite a nasty bite. Even though these ants are called sugar ants they are omnivorous and feed on nectar from plants, honey dew from aphids and plant eating caterpillars. These ant nests are mainly found in rooves and cavity walls or on old logs. 

Red driver ant or Army ants: Dorylus helvolus is the Latin name of these ants and are also known as sausage ants. Adults are about 1mm long and are ginger in color. These ants are protein feeders and feed mainly on earthworms, large numbers of these army ants have been known to immobilize small animals and eat their flesh, colonies can range up to 50 000 000 strong. A bite by army or driver ants is extremely painful and have mandibles that can tighten to such an extent it can decapitate the insect and still not release.