Ants, Ants, Ants, and more Ants. Are Ants your pest problem? If so please read the following. If you are a Do It Yourself Pest Control Person we can only stress, you need to know the species of ant you are dealing with and treat accordingly.
Ants have taken over the Cockroachas America's number one pest. They can be a nuisance day and night. They are one of the most difficult insects to control, and can drive us crazy. And that goes for both the homeowner as well as the pest management professional! Ants are very prolific. Ants can live almost anywhere and come in a multiple of sizes, but they are the most abundant in warm and tropical climates. With more than 10,000 species, we can thank our lucky stars we have a limited few to deal with. Ants are social insects that live in colonies and are one of the most successful insects.
Ant colonies big and small can include one or more queens, as well as workers, eggs, larvae, and pupae. The worker ants maintain their colonies social structure and the nest (colony). Workers protect the nest against their enemies, and provide the colony with food and other resources.
Some ant species will nest in the ground, under rocks, and or under concrete slabs. Others can be found nesting in wood, such as railroad timber, fence posts, hollow logs, dead trees, and voids in walls of buildings.
The ant’s body consists of three body parts as do all insects; they have six legs with a hard outside shell called the exoskeleton. The three body parts of an ant are very defined which makes it easier to identify. The exoskeleton protects the ant from accidents and injury as well as water loss. The exoskeleton contains a compound called Chitin. Some of our products work on inhibiting the growth of the Chitin.
Insects have great strength for their size, most of us have seen the lone ant dragging and or carrying items weighing several times their own weight.
Ants can be a major problem for your home or business. If you are not treating your home for pests on a regular basis, ants will establish scent trails which will lead into your home. Once these trails are in place, you will have to use more than just a spray (insecticides, pesticides) to stop them from entering.
A good ant bait program is the recommended way to control or eliminate most ant species, for the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person check out our page on Ant Baits Should Be Your First Choice.
Stations for use with the granular and liquid baits we suggest are the Ants-No-More Ant Stations, (use only one type of bait in a single station, either granules or liquids, not both).
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
Nest site/Characteristics: Argentine ant colonies live in moist areas near a food source. Colony numbers fluctuate seasonally, ranging from one hundred to several hundred thousand workers and many queens. Foraging workers follow trails; winged queens can sometimes be found among them. Argentine ants live outdoors in shallow nests in moist areas, under items on the ground, within landscape mulch and ground cover, beneath loose bark on trees, in potted plants and within piles of firewood, lumber, and under slabs of homes, driveways, and sidewalks. Like the Odorous House ant, the Argentine ant will also nest indoors, beneath carpeting, in walls, and suitable voids. When outdoor conditions are too wet or too dry, Argentine ants invade buildings by trailing along tree and shrub branches, utility lines and wires.
Argentine ants may develop huge colonies containing hundreds of thousands of workers and possibly thousands of queens. The Argentine ant is one of the most difficult to control. One reason these ants are so successful is due to the fact that worker ants of individual colonies are friendly towards one another (experts say nationwide and worldwide these ants may be one big super colony), and colonies will join together to form super colonies. When Argentine ant colonies are killed or removed from the area, they can be quickly repopulated by ants from colonies on neighboring properties. An Argentine ant colony can suffer the loss of 99% of the colony's individuals, and the colony can still survive and rebuild. No significant natural enemy of this species currently exists in the United States. We have found they will compete against the Imported Fire ant and win.
The best product we recommend as a residual spray is Termidor SC as we have had great success with it as well as a lot of the Pros. In the few short years it's been around, Termidor SC has been proven to be the most effective at completely eliminating problem ant populations. We still use baits with Termidor SC for two reasons, (1) The baits will attract the ants through the Termidor SC more often, and (2) Baits are used to attract the ants out of the home; the baits work quicker than Termidor SC, but used with Termidor SC will help eliminate the problem ants quicker, as Termidor SC can take several weeks to work on its own and most people don’t like waiting a long time. But, it is worth the wait. By using Termidor SC once in mid-spring and again in late summer (3-4 months apart) will continually work to keep the ant population down. Termidor SC has really changed the way pest professionals are approaching ant control. Chances are that the ants in your home actually have their nest outside, (sub colonies may exist in walls, but usually travel back outside), and they travel back and forth for food and water. Since they live outside, it makes total sense to control them there. Termidor SC is applied to the exterior foundation walls of your home, creating a treated area of protection. Also any bushes or leafy plants must be cut back from the home so as not to give the ants another entry point to your home. In the past several years, the professional pest control industry has been revolutionized by new control technologies, especially in the area of non-repellents or "totally undetectable" liquid treatments. Unlike older insecticides, non-repellents can not be recognized by ants as well as other insects. Termidor SC is impossible to be smelled, tasted, or even felt by pests. They crawl through the treated area, not knowing that by ingesting treated materials or merely contacting the insecticide, they will die very slowly. Termidor SC is unique because ants not directly exposed to the areas treated with Termidor SC will be controlled as they come into contact with affected ants. This "Transfer Effect™" means most species will be controlled within two to four weeks following the treatment.
Feeding Preferences: Argentine ants prefer sweets such as honeydew, fruit juices and plant secretions, but will also forage on proteins (meat, insects, and eggs) and fats and even attack small, vulnerable animals.
Control: Argentine ants can be difficult to control because it establishes multiple sub colonies and may nest in such a wide variety of sites.When Argentine ant colonies are eliminated, new colonies may quickly take their place.
Do It Yourself Pest Control key to a successful Argentine ant management program includes the following steps
Correcting any conditions conducive to the infestation (unnecessary harborage, sanitation)
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
Carpenter Ants can be a challange to the Do It yourself Pest Control Person, we stress knowing as much as you can about this ant before you try to get control of this pest.
Nest site/characteristics: Moderately sizedmature colonies contain more than 3,000 workers with one queen per colony (colonies may contain satellite nest that consist of workers, larvae and pupae; together with the main colony, the total population may exceed 15,000). Nest usually originate in moist, decayed wood and voids, and may later expand into sound wood. Look for coarse sawdust piles (frass) that contain insect body parts and listen for the sound produced as workers chew to remove wood to enlarge the nest. Outside, nests are commonly found in dead or damaged portions of trees, rotting logs and stumps. Carpenter ants forage alone or along trails 300 or more feet from the nest. “Trunk Trails” between parent and satellite nest are clear of vegetation and debris, typically cutting across lawns. Carpenter ants enter buildings around door and window frames, through eaves, along plumbing and utility lines, and over branches touching the structure. Peak foraging occurs at night.
Feeding Preferences: Carpenter ants feed primarily on insect honeydew, plant and fruit juices and insects. Indoors, they feed on food debris, including sweets, eggs, meats, cakes, pet foods and grease.
Control: Find and directly treat as many nests as possible. Delta Dust is a good residual dust for voids in homes and commerical buildings,also in stumps, and other voids outside. Successful control depends on eliminating the parent colony which is usually located outdoors.
Do It Yourself Pest Control key to a successful Carpenter Ant management program include the following steps:
Thoroughly inspect property to locate nests and identify conducive conditions. Trim vegetation and eliminate moisture problems
For colonies in wall voids, inject an insecticide dust such asDelta Dust
For effective perimeter treatments, apply a good residual product like Termidor SC, Demand CS, and Suspend SCTalstar PL or . Apply spot treatments to any possible ant entry points. Apply insecticide sprays around he base of trees that possibly harbor nests
Apply granular baits around the base of trees harboring nest, around building, along ant trails and in cracks and crevices where ants enter the structure. Indoor applications must be limited to areas inaccessible to children and pets.
For satellite colonies in your wall voids the use ofD-Foam from Waterbury will help you get control
The best product we recommend to the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person, as a residual spray is Termidor SC as we have had great success with it as well as a lot of the Pros. In the few short years it's been around, Termidor SC has been proven to be the most effective at completely eliminating problem ant populations. We still use baits with Termidor SC for two reasons, (1) The baits will attract the ants through the Termidor SC more often, and (2) Baits are used to attract the ants out of the home; the baits work quicker than Termidor SC, but used with Termidor SC will help eliminate the problem ants quicker, as Termidor SC can take several weeks to work on its own and most people don’t like waiting a long time. But, it is worth the wait. By using Termidor SC once in mid-spring and again in late summer (3-4 months apart) will continually work to keep the ant population down. Termidor SC has really changed the way pest professionals are approaching ant control. Chances are that the ants in your home actually have their nest outside, (sub colonies may exist in walls, but usually travel back outside), and they travel back and forth for food and water. Since they live outside, it makes total sense to control them there. Termidor SC is applied to the exterior foundation walls of your home, creating a treated area of protection. Also any bushes or leafy plants must be cut back from the home so as not to give the ants another entry point to your home. In the past several years, the professional pest control industry has been revolutionized by new control technologies, especially in the area of non-repellents or "totally undetectable" liquid treatments. Unlike older insecticides, nonrepellents can not be recognized by ants as well as other insects. Termidor SC is impossible to be smelled, tasted, or even felt by pests. They crawl through the treated area, not knowing that by ingesting treated materials or merely contacting the insecticide, they will die very slowly. Termidor SC is unique because ants not directly exposed to the areas treated with Termidor SC will be controlled as they come into contact with affected ants. This "Transfer Effect™" means most species will be controlled within two to four weeks following the treatment.
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
Fire Ants to most Do It Yourself Pest Control People should not be that big a deal. A & E uses Extinguish Plus, this bait gives us great control but as most people know battling these pest, it is not a one time shot. If you follow the baiting tips below you can achieve great control yourself.
Nest site/characteristics: Fire ants are pests of the southern United States. Native fire ants rarely become structural pests. The RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT (RIFA), and BLACK IMPORTED FIRE ANTS have spread to more than 13 southern and western states, and continue to expand their range. These ants cause serious medical, agricultural, and property damage. The RIFAis very aggressive and will sting repeatedly, especially when their colony/mound is disturbed.
Red Imported Fire ants pose a health risk to anyone venturing into areas where the ants are found. Although the vast majority of stings result only in a raised welt that may develop a white pustule, a person allergic to insect stings could experience a more serious reaction. Additionally, a person seldom receives just one sting. Rather, dozens or even hundreds of stings can be inflicted quickly on a person accidentally kneeling or standing next to or on a fire ant mound
Fire ants typically nest outdoors in sunny areas of exposed soil or lawns and construct large mounds that are easily seen; mounds are rounded and range from a few inches to several feet across. If left untreated, fire ant infestations may reach 30-100 single-queen mounds per acre, containing up to 80,000 ants. Each mound has several tunnels just under the soil surface extending out several feet. After rain, mounds in sandy soil are rebuilt with sponge-like surfaces. Mounds may be constructed next to a foundation and enter homes or businesses through weep holes or other exterior cracks and holes. Once inside, workers forage in trails beneath the edge of carpeting and base boards, and will bring soil up into the wall and create a new home. When disturbed, fire ant workers pour out of their mound and aggressively attack the offender.
Colonies generally have their own territories. They forage in established trails. Red Imported Fire ants are attracted to electrical junction boxes and air conditioners. They also nest in gas and water meter boxes and follow pipes into the building.
When A & E has homes with Fire Ants entering the home (yes many times it is Fire Ants), we will use 2 or 3 baits on the outside of the home or building , which will draw the ants out to feed and slowly kill them. Extinguish Plus is our preferred bait of choice. Read our help page Baiting for fire Ants for additional tips and other good Fire Ant Baits.
Feeding Preferences: Red Imported Fire ants prefer high-protein foods, but will feed on almost any plant or animal matter.
Control: Broadcasting bait in the Spring, mound treating during the Summer, then broadcasting bait again in the Fall has been proven to work very well (this should be done yearly; yes, if it was easy we would not have any fire ants). If this method is used every year you will dramatically decrease your fire ant population and keep it down.
Do It Yourself Pest control key to a successful Fire Ant management program include the following steps:
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
The Odorous House Ant will give you the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person a run for your money, but in saying that you can achieve control
Small dark brown to black ant, when crushed, the workers give off a rotten coconut odor, the source of their name. Just by pinching one ant between your fingers will allow you to get a "quick ID" just by the distinct odor, most of the professional use this method.They become a nuisance when they make their way into our homes most commonly into our kitchens and bathrooms, and being small sometimes they are hard to see.Foraging Odorous House ants will usually not be seen in trails as is common with most ants, but seem to be here and there all over the counter top and other areas, where they are foraging for food and water
Habitat/Behavior:
A&E, as do most pest professionals, considers the Odorous House ant the one of the most difficult to control.When using many residual sprays they will just move and reemerge in another area. We are constantly doing battle with Odorous House ants. They can be especially difficult to control because they establish numerous sub colonies and may nest in such a wide variety of sites. They will also frequently change what type of food source (fats, carbohydrates, sweets, proteins, and grease) as to meet their dietary needs. This is why when we service a home we use several baits, (we call it our buffet for ants) this works very well. Odorous House ants are very common all over the United States. Like Argentine ants, Odorous House ants will nest indoors, under carpeting, in walls, and other voids.Outdoors these ants will nest under items on the ground, within landscape mulch, beneath loose bark on trees, under ground cover, in potted plants, and within piles of items, such as lumber, firewood, or bricks. Odorous House ants may develop large colonies containing thousands of workers and numerous queens with sometimes numerous sub colonies, which can be located inside the home as well as outside.
The best product we recommend as a residual spray is Termidor SC as we have had great success with it as well as a lot of the Pros. In the few short years it's been around, TermidorSC has been proven to be the most effective at completely eliminating problem ant populations. We still use baits with Termidor SC for two reasons, (1) The baits will attract the ants through the Termidor SC more often, and (2) Baits are used to attract the ants out of the home; the baits work quicker than Termidor SC, but used with Termidor SC will help eliminate the problem ants quicker, as Termidor SC can take several weeks to work on its own and most people don't like waiting a long time. But, it is worth the wait. By using once in mid-spring and again in late summer (3-4 months apart) will continually work to keep the ant population down. TermidorSC has really changed the way pest professionals are approaching ant control. Chances are that the ants in your home actually have their nest outside, (sub colonies may exist in walls, but usually travel back outside), and they travel back and forth for food and water. Since they live outside, it makes total sense to control them there. TermidorSC is applied to the exterior foundation walls of your home, creating a treated area of protection. Also any bushes or leafy plants must be cut back from the home so as not to give the ants another entry point to your home. In the past several years, the professional pest control industry has been revolutionized by new control technologies, especially in the area of non-repellents or "totally undetectable" liquid treatments. Unlike older insecticides, non-repellents can not be recognized by ants as well as other insects. TermidorSC is impossible to be smelled, tasted, or even felt by pests. They crawl through the treated area, not knowing that by ingesting treated materials or merely contacting the insecticide, they will die very slowly. TermidorSC is unique because ants not directly exposed to the areas treated with TermidorSC will be controlled as they come into contact with affected ants. This "Transfer Effect" means most species will be controlled within two to four weeks following the treatment.
For added control on the exterior, use a hand held spreader to apply a pesticide granular product such as Talstar PL Granular Insecticide. Using this product will allow you to get complete coverage to hard to reach ground areas, and in mulch or rock areas. It is a sand-based granular insecticide that will filter down into those areas where ants and other insects are likely to be living.
Feeding Preferences: Odorous House ants prefer sweets such as honeydew, fruit juices and plant secretions, but will also forage on proteins (meat, insects, and eggs) and fats and even attack small, vulnerable animals.
Control: This ant can be difficult to control because it establishes multiple satellite colonies and may nest in such a wide variety of sites.When Odorous House ant colonies are eliminated, new colonies may quickly take their place.
Do It Yourself Pest Control key to a successful Odorous House ant management program include the following steps:
Correcting any conditions conducive to the infestation (unnecessary harborage and sanitation)
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
Pharaoh Ants are very tiny, about 1/8-inch in length and may easily be confused with thief ants, but has 3 segments in the club-like structure at the end of the antenna (thief ants have 2 segments). The body color will range from light yellow to red, with black markings on the abdomen.
This pest ant can be very difficult to control and eliminate. Residual products are not useful because colonies tend to split. Baiting is the preferred method. Pharaoh ants typically establish themselves in areas near moisture, such as the kitchen or bathroom. They travel from room to room within the walls via plumbing pipes and electrical wires.
Pharaoh ants will nest in virtually any site that is secluded and provides protection. Colonies have been found nesting in walls, furniture and appliances, but they have also been discovered in unique locations such as between the folds of sheets, and other materials in closets, hollow curtain rods and under roofing shingles. They are very opportunistic in their selection of nesting sites.
Pharaoh ants can only be controlled by effective placement of ant baits. The type of bait that is ultimately successful, (we usually use two to three baits) is one on which the colony or colonies involved will feed for an extended period of time. The foraging workers return the bait to the colony, feeding it to other workers, larvae and queens.
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
Nest site/Characteristics: White Footed Ants nest at or above ground level. They do not nest in soil. A single colony may have nests in many locations. It is almost impossible to tell one colony from another because different colonies will be connected to each other. The White Footed Ants prefers nest sites that are near moisture and food sources, and protected from predators and extreme heat. Nests tend to be found outside of structures more than inside. Indoors they nest in wall voids and attics. Outdoor nests are often found in tree holes or on the underside of leaves, on bushes, under palm fronds and old leaf boots. They can also be found in loose mulch , under debris such as newspaper, fallen coconuts, scrap wood and in leaf-litter on the ground, in forks of trees, and in rain gutters.
Fortunately, white-footed ants do not bite or sting, nor have they been reported to cause any type of structural damage. They do, however, exist in colonies made up of several hundred thousands of individuals. Therefore, white-footed ants are considered by home owners to be a nuisance pest. Add to this the fact that most pest exterminators have exempted these pests from their guarantee.
What makes this pest so unusual and hard to control? Once they have invaded your home, it is very hard to get rid of them, mainly because they react differently than other types of ants which we all are used to. We are used to placing baits, which the most ant species will eat and then return to its nest, regurgitates and feeds the larvae which in turn feeds the nest including the queen. The bait then takes effect and kill the nest. Not so with the white-footed ant. White-footed ants are very unusual in that food ingested by foraging workers is not regurgitated and shared with others. The sterile workers of the nest are capable of laying unfertilized eggs which are fed to adults within the colony and their offspring. Therefore, certain toxic baits may affect only those members of the colony that directly contact and ingest baits. However, if large numbers of workers feed on the bait, enough will be killed to cause the brood to die of starvation. It is also possible that very slow-acting bait toxicant may, after some time, end up in the trophic eggs.
Do It Yourself Pest Control key to a successful White Footed Ant management program include the following steps:
Correcting any conditions conducive to the infestation (unnecessary harborage and sanitation)
Trim branches (shrubs, trees) away from your home
Seal all possible entry points leading into your home
Service the property regularly to detect and eliminate any new colonies
Application of perimeter treatments with Demand CS, Suspend SC ,Tastar P or Talstar PL (Broadcast Talstar PL over the entire yard for long term control, up to 3 times a year)
Dust all wall voids, cracks, crevices, attics (above and below insulation) and the crawl space. Delta Dust (A & E's Choice for a dust product) is best for killing and repelling your white footed ants, other ants as well as many other insects
Treat Vegetation
Residual insecticides applied to vegetation around structures are also helpful. They kill insects that produce the honeydew that White Footed Ants feed on. Demand CS and Suspend SC are two products that can be used on many ornamental plants. Vegetation favored by White Footed Ants Florida includes
nearly all palms, especially coconut, sabal, or queen
most fruit trees
large ficus trees
gardenia
hibiscus
ixora
many plants having showy flowers with sweet nectar
most plants infested with aphids, scales, mealy-bug or other sap sucking insects
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
A & E's Choice for day to day pest control work. Demand cs is great for the control of Spiders. 8 oz. bottle will make 19 to 38 gallons of ready to use product.
FastOutTMCS Foam delivers to you a truly Non-Repellant Foam Insecticide. This product is ready to use, microencapsulated, and has a non-repellent residual activity.
