Do you see ants marching across your floor? Chances are there's a whole army behind them. Ants are small, but they can become a serious infestation if you don't address the source. But how long do ants actually live? And why do they keep coming back?
How long do ants live?
An ant lives an average of 1 to 3 years . The queen? She easily lives 10 to 15 years. As long as the colony is alive and there's food to be found, the ants will just keep coming. Even if you get rid of them temporarily, they'll return just as quickly if you don't address the root of the problem.
What about the life cycle of ants?
The problem isn't with a single ant, but with how an entire colony develops. This is how it usually goes:
- Eggs: The queen lays dozens to hundreds of eggs in the nest daily. They hatch after about one to two weeks .
- Larvae: The larvae are fed by workers and grow rapidly. This stage lasts 1 to 2 weeks .
- Pupae: The larvae pupate and develop into adult ants. This takes 1 to 2 weeks , depending on the temperature.
- Adult ants: Workers live about 1 to 3 years , while the queen can live up to 15 years. And as long as she continues laying eggs, the infestation won't stop on its own.
In summer, winged males and new queens also emerge. They fly out to start new nests. This is how ants spread rapidly from garden to garden, or from outdoors to indoors.
