Posted by Marianne Rose on May 24, 2006

Q: I over the years I have noticed some really large (some of them almost a foot tall!) anthills on my property. At first, it was just a few. Now I am noticing them more and more. The ant themselves seem fairly small. I have lots of critters of all kinds on my land and let them live in peace, but I want to do something about these ants! I live in Pennsylvania on about 5 acres of moist, partly wooded land. What are these and how can I get rid of them?

Habitat: field/meadow

State: Pennsylvania

Habitat: field/meadow

A: I know exactly what you mean since I have the same problem at my house. My area is on the wet side too so maybe we're attracting the same or very similar species of ant that makes these hills. The genus Formica is a large genus that includes about 70 different species in North America that are mound builders. These ants may build a mound that is .6-.9 meters high (2 or even 3ft)and are probably the ones we have.

From what I can observe, it seems the hills are larger from one year to the next too. If the ant hill is in an area that presents a problem for me, I simply take a shovel and remove the hill down to grade level - I don't like using any insecticides. I hate doing it, but figure the ants will go elsewhere. The removed material seems to be quite crumbly and homogenous too. Sorry I can't provide more information but I hope this gives you enough to start a search for an answer. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( May 24, 2006)