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Ants
Ants
are the most frequent and persistent pests; can be a major problem
around homes, buildings and/or in the yard.
Besides being a nuisance, ants contaminate food, build unsightly mounds
on your property, and cause structural damage by hollowing out wood
for nesting. An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a second
grader was as strong as an ant, he/she would be able to pick up a
car!
Species such as fire ants, inflict painful stings, which can be life-threatening
to hypersensitive infants, children and adults.
Dozens of different species occur around homes and buildings, each
having unique characteristics.
They can be difficult to control. Understanding their behavior and
the specie-specific removal techniques necessary, can be a big relief
to the creeped out property owner, as well as, a big life saver to
buildings and homes:
Entry: Ants can enter through even the tiniest cracks seeking
sweet or greasy substances, most often in the kitchen and food storage
areas.
Scent trails: Ants leave an invisible chemical trail known
as pheromones for others to follow once they locate the food source.
Nest locations: They can nest about anywhere in and around
your house; in lawns, walls, stumps, even under foundations.
Colony size: Can number from 300,000 to 500,000 and whole colonies
can uproot and relocate quickly when threatened.
Nature’s way of protecting the colony: With comparative
freedom from natural enemies, a colony can live a relatively long
lifetime. Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live
as long as 15 years.
Do-it-yourself ineffectiveness: Most do-it-yourself
approaches only kill the ants you see, whereas a truly effective treatment
will penetrate and destroy their nest to prevent them from returning.
Home remedies don’t account for the fact that different kinds
of ant infestations require different treatments.
Argentine
Ant
Latin Name: Iridomyrmex
humilis
Appearance: From light to dark brown. About 1/10-inch long.
Antenna has 12 segments.
Habit: Argentine ants were brought here in the 1890s and since
then have managed to destroy a large part of native ant species and
the predators (like the Coast Horned Lizard) who feed on these native
ant species.
Today,
Argentine ants present a problem not only to our ecosystem and our
homes, but also to farmers' crops and our beloved gardens.
Very
adaptable, can nest in a large variety of places. Colonies are massive
and may contain hundreds of queens. Nests are usually located in moist
soil, next to or under buildings, along sidewalks or beneath boards.
These ants travel in trails, foraging day and night.
Colonies
can grow to monumental size, sometimes covering entire habitats, such
as an entire garden or your whole back yard.
Diet: Omnivorous, they can eat almost anything but prefer sweet
foods.
Reproduction: Eggs are white and laid in summer. Larvae emerge
after about 28 days. Adult stage reached in about 74 days.
Other: Has no important natural enemy in the United States.
These ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food
by leaving their bodily waste behind.
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Carpenter Ant
Latin Name: Camponotus
Appearance: Among the largest ants, from 1/4 to 5/8-inch long.
Normally
workers are black or red and black in color and range
in size from 3/8 to 1/2 inch. Winged queen ants may be as large as
one inch. However, size is not a reliable characteristic to identify
carpenter ants.
[Drawing: Carpenter ant castes, from left to right:
queen, winged male, major worker, minor worker]
Habit:
There are several species of carpenter ants that may be found infesting
homes and other buildings. Most commonly nest in moist wood including
rotting trees, tree roots, tree stumps, and logs or boards lying on
or buried in the ground.
They
can also nest in moist or decayed wood inside buildings. Wood decay
may be caused by exposure to leaks, condensation, or poor air circulation.
Nests have been found behind bathroom tiles; around tubs, sinks, showers,
and dishwashers; under roofing, in attic beams, and under subfloor
insulation; and in hollow spaces such as doors, curtain rods, and
wall voids. Carpenter ants may also nest in foam insulation.
A parent
carpenter ant colony sometimes establishes one or more satellite nests
in nearby indoor or outdoor sites. Satellite nests are composed of
workers, pupae, and mature larvae. A satellite nest does not require
moisture because the workers do not tend eggs (the eggs would dry
out without sufficient humidity). For this reason, satellite nests
can be found in relatively dry locations, such as insulation, hollow
doors, and sound wood. The workers of satellite colonies move readily
between their nest and the parent colony.
Diet:
Feed
on sources of protein and sugar. Outdoors, carpenter ants feed on
living and dead insects. They are also very attracted to honeydew,
a sweet liquid produced by aphids and scale insects. Indoors, carpenter
ants feed on meats, as well as syrup, honey, sugar, jelly, and other
sweets.
Carpenter
ants DO NOT eat wood. They remove wood as they create galleries and
tunnels. [See photo.]
Most
foraging is done at night between sunset and midnight during spring
and summer months. Sometimes workers travel up to 100 yards from a
nest in search of food.
Reproduction:
Queen lays 15 to 20 eggs the first year and up to 30 eggs the second
year. Eggs complete their life cycle in about 60-66 days, if the environmental
temperatures are 70-90 degrees. Worker ants can live up to seven years,
while a queen may live up to 25 years.
Other: Colonies can contain up to 50,000 workers. When found
indoors, or in exterior walls, it is usually necessary for a professional
pest control applicator to drill small (about 1/8 inch) holes and
apply an insecticidal dust into the nest area. It is best to determine
the nest’s location as specifically as possible. Control should
not be applied randomly through the home. There are no insecticides
available to the public that are labeled for this type of application.
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Fire Ant
Latin Name: Solenopsis
Appearance: Reddish, about 1/4-inch long.
Habit: Nest in mounds of 1 to 2 feet in diameter and about
1/2-foot high. Large colonies can have up to 250,000 workers. Very
active and aggressive, they will sting any intruding animal repeatedly.
Diet: Omnivorous. Known to eat meats, greasy and sweet materials.
Reproduction: Total time from egg to adult averages 30 days;
workers live up to 180 days; queens live two to six years.
Other: Have been known to remove rubber insulation from telephone
wires; sting is painful and can kill young wildlife.
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Odorous Ant
Latin Name: Tapinoma sessile
Appearance: Dark reddish-brown to black and 1/10-inch
long. Antennae have 12 segments.
Habit: Nests found in a great variety of situations. Inside
buildings, they are often found nesting in the walls or beneath the
floor. They are most likely to invade buildings during rainy weather.
They travel in trails, foraging day and night.
Diet: Honeydew melons in the wild. Inside buildings, they prefer
sweet items.
Reproduction: Each female in the nest lays one egg a day; young
reach adulthood in an average of 24 days; workers and females live
for several years.
Other: When crushed, give off very unpleasant odor; colonies
are very large, but can be driven away by invading Argentine ants.
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Pavement Ant
Latin Name: Tetramorium
caespitum
Appearance: Light brown to black with appendages
lighter than rest of the body. About 1/10-inch long. Parallel lines
on head and thorax with a 12-segment antennae.
Habit: Invades buildings while foraging for food throughout
the year. Nests are outdoors under stones, along curbs or in cracks
of pavement. Can nest indoors in walls and under floors.
Diet: Omnivorous. Will eat many things, but prefers greasy
and sweet foods.
Reproduction: Queen produces five to 20 eggs per day; brood
develops in about 40 days; young go through three larval stages.
Other: Slow-moving; a particular nuisance around buildings
with slab-on-grade construction.
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Pharaoh Ant
Latin Name: Monomorium
pharaonis
Appearance: Very small—about 1/16-inch long. Light
yellow to red with black markings on the abdomen.
Habit: Relies on artificial heating in buildings to survive.
Infestations commonly occur in food service areas. Will nest in any
well-protected and hidden areas throughout a structure. Can also nest
outdoors in lawns or gardens.
Diet: Food of all types, but especially sweets. Will also eat
other insects.
Reproduction: Grows from egg to adult in about 45 days. Females
live as long as 39 weeks and can lay about 400 eggs. Workers only
live up to 10 weeks.
Other: The most persistent and difficult of all commercially
important ants to control. Very large colonies with up to several
million workers and thousands of queens.
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Thief Ant
Latin Name: Solenopsis
molesta
Appearance: One of the smallest ants, about 1/32- to 1/16-inch
long. Antennae have 10 segments. They range in color from yellowish
to brown.
Habit: Nests occur in a great variety of locations outside,
especially under rocks. May nest indoors in cracks and cupboards.
Diet: Feeds on immature forms of other ants and insects. Also
attracted to greasy or high-protein foods, such as cheese and animal
matter.
Reproduction: Queens lay an average of 105 eggs, which incubate
for 16 to 28 days. Larval stage may last 21 days in summer, but can
last throughout the winter.
Other: So small they are difficult to detect, they are very
persistent and difficult to control.
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