Ants might seem fairly innocuous, but rest assured you don’t want them in your home. Listed below are some common types of ants that you might see crawling about your place of residence.

Carpenter Ants: Carpenter ants are the bane of existence for numerous home owners across the United States, and it’s easy to see why these ants are notorious for their ability to damage the wooden structures of houses. While many people think that carpenter ants eat wood, this is actually not the case. Rather, carpenter ants remove small bits of wood to use for the construction of their nests.

These small insects don’t have a uniform appearance; there are actually multiple variations of carpenter ants wandering across the United States. Because of this, the length of worker carpenter ants can range significantly, varying from 6 to 13 millimeters.

Crazy Ants: Judging by their name, you can tell that crazy ants aren’t the most docile creatures. These ants are marked by their black and brown color and their notably long legs and antennae. When they’re not marching around your home, crazy ants prefer to mill about in plants, soil, heavy vegetation, mulch and garbage. Once they get inside a residential building, they can be spotted on plants and under carpets.

So why the name crazy ants? When disturbed, these insects tend to move around in a relatively frantic manner.

European Fire Ants: Any insect with the word “fire” in its name probably isn’t too friendly. “Unfriendly” would be an apt description for European Fire Ants, who are infamous for their nasty and painful stings. They may take up residence near warm, moist areas of your home, such under bath tubs and water heaters. For now, European Ants tend to be primarily found in the northeastern United States, including New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.

Argentine Ants: The good news about Argentine Ants is that they are incapable of stinging. The bad news? They will release a rather unpleasant smell if they are squished. Argentine ants make their homes in the southeastern part of the continental United States. They also show up in far away Hawaii and California. When inside residential areas, you can find them lurking in wall insulations and inside of wall voids.