Argentine ants are native to South America, but were unintentionally introduced into the eco-system of North America, specifically in California and the southeastern states. The workers are only about 1/16th of an inch long, though queens are 2 to 4 times larger, and can enter homes through spaces as small as 1 millimeter. They do not build mounds, but nest in cracks in concrete, within walls, and even among human possessions.

When Argentine ants enter an area they will usually drive away any other species of ants in the area. This can cause problems with the local ecosystem, as the native ants often disperse seeds for plants in the area, and reduce the population of plant-preying insects such as aphids. Argentine ants form a mutually beneficial relationship with these insects, in which the ants "protect" the aphids from predators and parasitoids, and the aphids provide the ants with s sweet secretion known as "honeydew." The ants will also form "super colonies," wherein ants from one colony will freely mingle with those of another, unlike most other species of ants. This results in there being a likelihood of having a much larger population of Argentine ants in the area than there would be with other ant species.

Traditional insecticides are ineffective with Argentine ants, as the queens—there may be as many as 8 queens for every thousand workers—react to the chemical(s) by increasing their egg output. In essence, pesticide causes the population to increase, rather than decrease. The only effective way to reduce Argentine ant populations is through the use of poison bait. While this form of treatment takes longer to work, it is much more effective, because the workers will bring the bait back to the nest and share it with the other ants, and thus the entire population will die.

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