<p>Due to their ecological flexibility, rich diversity, and high abundance in occupied areas, ants are among the insects pioneering the exploitation of discarded containers as alternative nesting sites. However, it is still unknown how many species inhabiting territories polluted with anthropogenic debris tend to nest in discarded containers, and whether they share any ecological or behavioral traits. This study compared the species richness of ants nesting in discarded containers with those living in littered forests. It also compared how many ant species inhabiting urban and suburban forests use containers as an alternative nesting site and investigated whether any shared habitat preference and ecological trait predisposes some species to nest in containers. Our results showed that only a small portion of all ant species occurring in the investigated areas (6 out of 29 recorded species) occupy discarded containers as nesting sites, and no specific environmental trait promotes them to explore these sites. However, ants nesting in the ground constitute most species inhabiting containers, and anthropogenic debris is colonized only by taxa favoring more humid and colder sites.</p>