What Damage And Harm Do Sugar Ants Cause
When it comes to the risk they pose, the sugar ant scores low.
They do not destroy wood like a carpenter ant does, or sting and bite like the fearsome fire ant. But they do pose a risk in terms of the spread of bacteria and illness.
Ants are scavengers and will eat all kinds of questionable things that can carry bacteria. They forage in trash cans, contacting rotten food waste, feces, and even eating carrion . They then wander into your cupboards and sugar tin.
Sugar antscarry and deposit bacteria such as streptococcus, staphylococcus, and dysentery via their feet. So, it is essential to get rid of them sharpish.
As well as them being unhygienic, it is also possible for them to indirectly damage the rest of the house.
You then have the cost of getting rid of the ants and putting right the damage done, which can become expensive if you need to go through walls to get to the problem.
How To Get Rid Of Fire Ants
Fire ants are an invasive species, believed to have been introduced to the United States from Brazil in the late 1930s to the mid 1940s. Because of their aggressive nature, they have successfully spread to most of the southern states, including Florida and Georgia. Fire ants are so aggressive they are known to attack other insect and animal species. The decline in the numbers of the horned frog, ground nesting birds such as quail, and lightning bugs have been attributed to the red imported fire ant.
There are 2 main species of fire ants, the Red Imported Fire Ant and the native fire ant. The RIFA is by far the most common species that we see. Red imported fire ants build mounds and pile up large amounts of soil a fire ant pile is usually not larger than 18 in diameter. Fire ants have proven to have a high economic impact, significantly lessening yields of soybeans and damaging crops of citrus, corn, peanuts, and potatoes. In conjunction with the economic impact and the potential medical harm imposed by fire ants, much research has been done on fire ant reduction and control methods. State and federal governments apportion millions of dollars in their budgets for fire ant control, as do individual businesses and homeowners. Thankfully, the investment into fire ant research has yielded effective pest control methods to get rid of fire ants from your yard or property.
Fire Ant Reproduction
Fire Ants Food Preferences
Survival Tactics of Red Imported Fire Ants
How To Get Rid Of Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are one of the most common indoor pests. Carpenter ants are easily recognizable by their large size and black and red color pattern adult carpenter ant workers are about ½ to 5/8 inches in length. Carpenter ants live in large colonies and are considered one of the most difficult species of ants to kill. To fully eliminate carpenter ants from your home, it is especially important to locate the nest. Carpenter ants can build their nest indoors, or the nest may be outside. Killing carpenter ants requires specialized knowledge and often some serious detective work.
Carpenter ant treatment protocols are similar in many ways to other species of ants and different in others. Earlier we discussed baiting ants with edible ant baits. If the bait is eaten, the ants take it back to the nest and feed it to the other ants. This is problematic with carpenter ants because they so often choose to eat both live and dead insects rather than baits placed out for them. The most popular and effective bait specific to carpenter ants has been taken off the market, however, there are other baits labeled for carpenter ants. To make baiting matters more difficult, at different times of the year, carpenter ants will only eat specific things. You may have to alternate between or offer a combination of sweet, protein, and carbohydrate-based baits to effectively control carpenter ants. Trial and error of baits may be necessary if the nest is indoors and inaccessible.
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What Pharaoh Ants Eat
Pharaoh ants are omnivorous, meaning their diet is a mixed variety of plants and animals. Though they prefer sweets like jellies, honey, syrups, soft drinks, and fruit juices, as well as fatty foods like peanut butter, shortening, liver, and bacon, pharaoh ants make a meal out of anything and everything. Dead bugs, grease, shoe polish, pet foodnone of it is off limits for these pests. If you see pharaoh ants attacking a sugary spill, spray them with Ortho® Home Defense® Ant, Roach & Spider Killer2. It will kill the ants without staining and can be used anywhere you spy these pests.
Wipe Down The Car With Rubbing Alcohol:
You should do this method if you see that the ants are crawling all over the inside of your car. Do not use the rubbing alcohol on leather surfaces but it can be used on everything else to remove food and the smell so the sugar ants do not come back. To clean the leather if the sweet is on it, spray some dawn dish soap on it and wipe it down.
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Using Borax To Get Rid Of Ants
Borax is a well-known cleaning product that dates way back, but it is a very toxic product if it was consumed. Mixing borax with some sweet water and dip a cotton ball in it, place it where you see the ants, or somewhere safe from animals and kids. The sweet will draw the ants to it and the tocsin from the borax will eventually kill them when they eat it.
Ways To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants Naturally
Ants are among the most common insect pests you could find in your homes or gardens. Sugar ants often infest homes in search of food, especially sugary foods.
Sugar ants are less malevolent as they dont bite like fire ants neither do they cause severe damage as carpenter ants. However, they are still a nuisance as they could infest and spoil foodstuffs such as cheese, bread, nuts, etc.
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How Do Sugar Ants Communicate With Each Other
Sugar ants transmit information through the pheromones. Their chemical signals are developed better than in any other insects. Ants mark the food they have found with a particular odor, which they use to orient and find their way back to the anthill. They catch such smells at great distances. One sugar ant that has found sugar or sweets in your cupboard will bring all workers to take the food to the anthill.
Thanks to this feature, sugar ants can cover distances of 35 meters in search of food and return home.
How To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants In The House: A Complete Guide
Have you spotted a few sugar ants running around your kitchen? You have to act fast! Otherwise, these creatures can invade cupboards, jars and even the trash can in your house in no time. Having ants in your house is a serious problem as they can negatively impact your mental and physical health.
Not many people take them seriously but ants can transmit diseases and even destroy some electronic devices and because of that they must be dealt with. In this article, we are going to focus only on sugar ants.
How to get rid of sugar ants in the house? There are a variety of methods and products for getting rid of the sugar ants in the house. Some of these methods include the use of ant aerosols sprays, different types of baits, and even natural home remedies. Sugar ants can attack different parts of the house, and because of that, depending on the type of the room, different methods and products should be applied as some of them can be very toxic. Prevention is naturally always the best remedy.
With that being said, aerosols sprays for ants are the most popular product for fighting them. You can, for example, spray it directly on the worker ants or follow them to their nest or anthill and apply it there. The sugar ants will mostly die on contact and the rest will be dead in about 2-3 hours.
Then keep on reading because this is going to get a lot more interesting!
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Reaching Out For Professional Help
If you have exhausted all of your resources and still havent gotten rid of the sugar ants, it may be time to call in professionals. A pest control company should have no problem getting rid of these pests in a hurry.
Are you looking for an experienced and reputable pest control company? If so, now is the time to contact us to find out how we can help you get rid of sugar ants.
How To Get Rid Of Flying Ants Ant Or Termite
Ants with wings are normal ants, however they are sexually mature and capable of reproducing. In general, ant colonies are comprised of female reproductives , female non-reproductives , and males. For most ant species, male ants only job is to mate, and then they die. They do not participate in the search for food, rearing the young, or building or defending the nest. A common way that ant colonies expand is by the nuptial flight. When conditions are right, winged females and winged males fly from the nest and mate. The male dies, and the female chews her wings off and burrows into the ground or a tree stump and lays her eggs. If her colony is successful, she is now the queen of this colony.
Winged ants are often confused with winged termites. Winged termites emerge in a similar fashion from their colonies and often warn us of a possible termite infestation with expensive structural damage to our homes. Winged ants will often be found in smaller numbers than a typical termite swarm, but there are some easy ways to tell them apart as well.
- Waist a winged ants waist is tapered and narrow a winged termites waist is broad and thick
- Antennae a winged ants antennae have a joint that makes the antennae appear to turn at a right angle a winged termites antennae are straight
- Wings a winged ants front wings are longer than the back wings a winged termites wings are the same size
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How To Prevent Their Return
As well as the chemical sprays that will establish a scent barrier that the ants will not cross, there are other basic measures you can take that will stop them from returning.
First, sugar ants are attracted to discarded food. Secondly, they look for water sources. Remove these as easy options for them, and they will go looking elsewhere for it.
In your home, be sure to wipe away spilled food and sweet drinks.
Store sweet foods in airtight containers so that the scent does not entice the ants to go looking for them.
Clean the sink plughole with some vinegar to remove the smell of stagnant water. And this will also deter the ants from climbing the wastewater pipes into the home looking for water.
Sealing cracks and holes in windows, doors, and wiring will remove many of the entry and exits holes the ants have access to.
And finally, treat the foundation of the house with a pesticide.
This might sound like a few days of hard work, but prevention is much easier than turfing them out once they are in.
And doing this will also prevent the more damaging ants from coming in, such as their dreaded carpenter cousin.
How To Get Rid Of Argentine Ants
Argentine ants are an ant invasive species, from, you guessed it, Argentina, and the surrounding areas of South America. Argentine ants are now found in many areas of the world. They are widespread throughout the southern United States, California, and Hawaii. They are especially prevalent during hot, dry summers. Argentine ants are small ants, but they accumulate in large colonies. A mature Argentine ant colony may have a million or more workers and hundreds of queens. With this reproductive capacity, it is no wonder the colonies become so large!
Another reason argentine ant colonies become so large is they do not fight amongst themselves, they actually team up with neighboring colonies. However, Argentine ants are highly aggressive with other native insect and animal species. With their massive numbers, Argentine ants will attack other ant species, wasp nests, carpenter bees, and have even been known to invade bird nests. Argentine ants are partially to blame for the decline in numbers of the endangered coast horned lizard. This lizard primarily eats native harvester ants. However, harvester ants are declining due in part to the aggressive behavior of the Argentine ant. A mob of Argentine ants have also been known to attack the coast horned lizard itself.
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Are They Harmful Or Destructive
Other than breaking and entering your home and contaminating any food they touch, most sugar ants arent considered harmful or destructive. The one major exception is carpenter ants, which can be very destructive.
Carpenter ants like to build their elaborate nest mazes inside moist wood. If that wood happens to be inside your home, carpenter ant activity can weaken its structural integrity over time.
How To Prevent Ghost Ants From Returning
Once ghost ants are completely eliminated from the inside of your home, its time to focus your prevention efforts on the exterior. By following product labels, an exterior sprays and bait barrier can be applied to keep them from returning.
If applied properly, an every other month treatment should be sufficient, but we would not recommend trying to stretch out preventative applications any further than that. UV rays and moisture will degrade even micro-encapsulated products within a couple of months in our sub tropical climate.
Make sure to inspect the exterior of your home for plants and tree branches that may be touching the home. These act as bridges for ants to cross over exterior treatments that are applied to the home foundation. If possible, trim any plants and branches off of the house. This will also help prevent cockroaches and rats from accessing your home.
During preventative exterior treatments, focus on inspecting and treating plants and trees to ensure no insects are producing honeydew. While properly applied treatments are extremely effective, its not worth risking a failure of control by allowing conducive conditions to attract ghost ants and other bugs to your property.
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Identifying Sugar Ants What They Look Like
The most common types of ants labeled as sugar ants are usually the smaller types, as mentioned before. With size ranging from just 1½mm up to an average of 4mm in length, the size difference is negligible to most of us that arent experts.
However, there are a few ways to differentiate them from the other species. The carpenter, for instance, is bigger at an average of 6 to 12mm. And they leave piles of sawdust around as it burrows in dead, damp, and decaying wood.
The fire ant is small but red and has a visible stinger on its rear end. Steer clear of them they are called fire ants for a reason!
Attracted by sweet things, sugar ants will forage for discarded foodstuffs. With their tremendous sense of smell, they may well venture into the house because theyve smelt something yummy.
Above all else, the best way to know you have sugar ants is to try offering them both a sugar snack and a protein snack to choose from, such as jelly versus peanut butter. If they favor the jelly, they are likely sugar ants.
Eliminate Their Food Source
Prevention is more effective than cure, so clearing away food remains and spills is the first thing you need to do. Most of the time, ants make a camp in your home to forage for food. So be sure to store food in tightly sealed plastic bags and containers.
Theyre usually attracted to starchy and sweet things, such as honey, cornmeal, and sugar. Youll want to ensure there are no smears, splatters, and spills of such food items anywhere in your kitchen. Also, clean up food crumbs around your appliances and in garbage pails. Generally, the cleaner you keep your kitchen, the less likely it is that youll have ants move in.
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How Do I Get Rid Of Ghost Ants
Any strategy for ridding your home of ghost or sugar ants should include thorough cleaning of spaces where food is kept, prepared, and eaten. Be sure to:
- Wipe down all surfaces where food collects
- Vacuum regularly
- Do not leave dishes in the sink overnight
- Limit eating to one location to minimize crumbs
Simply following these methods alone, however, will not eliminate ghost ants from your home. You need to take additional steps to remove these insects. A professional pest control company will complete a thorough inspection of your property to find the various nests, find the entry points into your home, and inform you about helpful tips and tricks that homeowners can do to help lessen their ant activity.
Boric Acid And Sugar Bait
This poisoned chalice approach takes sugar and mixes it with the housewives favorite, which is borax. A chemical compound used for many years as a cleaning agent, it is incredibly poisonous to ants and other insects.
A very easy to make formula, it is simply half a cup of powdered sugar with one and a half tablespoons of borax, and one and a half cups of warm water.
Apply the mix directly to areas that you have seen the ants. Or apply it to cotton balls and then place them near ant trails or by the anthill.
The sugar will entice the ants to eat the mixture, and the borax will kill them slowly. Along with the queen and colony residents once it is shared.
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