Due to how widespread the ghost ant is, the exact native range is not exactly known.[4] However, the species is assumed to originate from the African or Oriental regions, seeing it is a tropical species.[5] This has been proven considering the ghost ant cannot adapt to colder climates and are only confined to greenhouses and buildings that provide considerable conditions that allows the species to thrive, although a colony of ghost ants was discovered in an apartment block in Canada.[6] One report has even stated the presence of ghost ants in isolated regions, with a colony being found in the Galapagos Islands.[7] The ant is found in 154 geographical areas.[8]

The species is a common pest in the United States, particularly in the states of Hawaii and Florida, although the species is expanding further north, even reaching Texas by the mid 1990s.[9] They are commonly found in the southern parts of Florida, and is considered a key pest, along with several other invasive ant species.[10] The earliest record of the ghost ant in the United States was in 1887, where the species was found in Hawaii.[11] It was then recorded in Washington, D.C. in 1894.[12] After these two records, the ghost ant would later be found in Maine, New York, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.[8][13] Ghost ants can be found in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[14]