There are many species of ants across the United States and even more around the world. The purpose of this article is to detail how to control infestations in and around the home. People refer to them as "sugar ants", "little tiny ants that you can barely see" or "piss ants". Nuisance ants in North America are abundant and persistent. Many species exist and to the untrained eye, they all look the same. Some common species include Argentine Ants, Odorous House Ants, Pharaoh Ants, Fire Ants, Carpenter Ants, Thief Ants, Acrobat Ants, Citronella Ants, and Small Honey Ants. Other species exist and can be of economic significance. Ants generally invade homes, apartments, town houses and any structure which has food or available nest sites. It is important to understand three very important facts when dealing with ants:
1)Ants will invade any structure once a food supply or nest site has been found.
2)Once they have chosen a structure for nesting or food, simply spraying will not provide control. In fact, many times spraying inside will only causes the problem to get worse!
3)Once under control it is suggested that you continue perimeter treatments from time to time to ensure they do not reinvest the home.
Identifying Ants:
It is very common to "label" an ant as a "sugar ant" or a "sweet ant" because they were observed eating some type of food which was either full of sugar or sweet. Since most ants will vary their diet from carbohydrate to protein to fat, it is not uncommon to find any one species eating just about any type of food depending on local weather conditions, food supplies, temperature and other factors.
Some of the more common ants along with some of their chararcteristics and behavioral patterns.
1)Pharaoh Ants are nocturnal and very small. They invade many commercial buildings, hospitals and nursing homes. If you have a problem with Pharaoh Ants, you will only see a few scouts or workers at any one time. Most of the ants never leave the nest; nests can be in walls, ceilings or attics.
2)Thief Ants look much like a Pharaoh Ant yet its biology and nest pattern is unique. ThiefAnts are parasites. They are very small and nest inside other ant colonies. They mingle with these host ants undetected and feed on food the host ants supply. It is not unusual to control one colony of ants only to have these annoying ThiefAnts become active. This happens because the ant nest you treated has died off and now the ThiefAnts are looking for a new host! As it leaves the dead colony you suddenly see emigration of ants parading around. In most cases they will disappear but in some instances they are able to establish themselves close to where they originally were living or in the first nest they came from if it still has a good food supply.
3)Fire Ants are the most common ant to forage inside. There are different species; not all fire ants are red. The LittleFireAnt is tan and the BlackImportedFireAnt is red and black. The SouthernFire ant is reddish brown. Any of these can nest under the slab of a patio, garage or town house. They don’t bite as many people describe but in fact they sting. Fire ant stings cause irritations which can take days to weeks to heal.
4)Odorous House Ants and Argentine Ants are easy to confuse with each other. These ants can be active at any time of day and will feed on anything. They can number in the thousands and once they set up scent trails into a structure, it is difficult to keep them out. I have seen them travel over 100 feet to get inside a house! Either species will readily nest under pine straw, wood chips or any type of slab. Because of the numbers in the colony, these ants are among the hardest to completely control. If a large wooded area is harboring a nest close to your structure and cannot be treated, you will continually have a problem.
5)We have a few species of ants which can cause damage to structures. The most common is the Carpenter Ant. This ant is usually large, black and travels alone. You may find a trail, but only a few ants will be present.
a.A related species is the Florida Carpenter Ant which occurs in Florida but throughout the southeast as well. This species is somewhat smaller than the Black Carpenter Ant, but can cause just as much damage. If you have large black ants in and around your structure, you need to read our on line article about them which will detail what needs to be done for this species. Since treatment for them is so different from all other ants, we have an entire article detailing what you need to do.
b.Acrobat Ants are very small and many times are improperly identified. All three of these species (carpenter ants, Florida carpenter ants and acrobat ants) can cause damage to wood in and around structures. None of them eat the wood as a termite does; these ants rip and tear the wood to create nests. These nests may occur in the wall, around windows, doors, decks, attics, and landscape lumber. If you suspect you have any of these ants which are wood destroyers you need to follow the link for Ant Solutions and follow the treatment guidelines detailed there.
6)Raspberry/Hairy Crazy Ants acquired their name because the walk around quickly and randomly sometimes following no specific path or pattern. However, they have scent trails they are following and once established can take a while to eradicate.
7)Small Honey and Little Black Ants are two species which will remain active all winter and though not hard to control, can be annoying and persistent.
8)Pavement and BigHeaded ants are two perimeter invading ants which will setup nests in a home if given the chance. Both like to live under slabs, rocks and mulch and though nests are small, they can remain active for long periods of time if given the chance.
9)WhiteFootedAnts can grow colonies which numbering the millions and when the colonies grow this big they will infest many homes. This further complicates control methods because nests which are spread out over large areas are more difficult to treat in a uniform fashion. One property owner may be doing something but his efforts are having a small impact on the rest of the colony which spans 5-10 properties. When nests are this large, a more consistent ant elimination program needs to be implemented which is uniform and complete over the entire area the antis active. This usually means making a joint effort with neighbors. However, nests spanning several yards leave you no choice if you truly want to get rid of the activity once and for all.
Treatment Methods:
Now that you know some of the species which are most likely to be the ones in and around your home, the question is how does one go about determining which method of control is best suited for any given situation?
Fortunately, there is one method of control which can be applied to all ants. We call it the dual action approach. This strategy will allow you to gain control whether the ants are living inside or outside. It will kill nests in either location and it will reduce the likelihood of infestation. In order to achieve full protection a homeowner or PMP will need to:
1)Bait the inside and
2)Spray the outside foundation and yard.
It is likely the ants will persist if both treatments are not done. Spraying the inside is not a choice as the ants seen inside represent a very small percentage of the colony -usually less than one percent. If you spray and kill them, the colony will simply send new ones out which will then appear elsewhere in the home.
Interior Baiting For Ant Control
Baits like Intice Insect Granules, or Intice Gelanimo Stations are perfect for interior baiting. Since ants share their food, other members of the colony will eat it and die too. If the nest is located inside, this becomes crucial for control. Inside nests are rarely large enough to withstand the impact of bait chemicals once they make their way into the colony.
Baiting of the inside alone may offer relief of inside activity but it won’t keep ants from coming back. They were able to come in before and all too soon they will return once they eat all of the bait. It could be the outside ant colonies need more food or water. Several parts of the country get dry and ants can come inside simply for water. If you are finding most activity around the water areas of the home, install some Intice Rover Ant Bait, or Intice Gelanimo Stations. These can be placed wherever ants are seen.
Exterior Spraying For Ant Control
Now that the inside has the proper bait in place you can go outside and address the problem at its root. To stop these outside ants from coming back inside, you need to put up a preventative barrier - spray the outside foundation with a residual and repellent insecticide.
All ants originate from outside. They establish scent trails and pathways into homes which provide both shelter and food. Colonies which exist inside are forever linked to the outside and when control measures reduce and kill off inside ant colonies, their outside links will send in the reinforcements. These replacements will try to reinvest and start new colonies where the inside ones once prospered.
To stop this from happening, you need to spray with some of the newer compounds that are very active and provide quick control with long residual. These newer materials will kill the ants if they walk over treated surfaces as well as repel the ants away from the home. Remember, once ants know there is something good to eat or drink in your home and they establish scent trails leading in, they are reluctant to give upcoming inside. In order to stop them from entering, spray your foundation with products like Cyonara 9.7, Cyzmic CS, Bifen I/T, or Cyper WP. These products work on many pests but roaches and ants are particularly vulnerable to it. By treating on a regular basis, you will be protecting your home from becoming highway of ant trails.
1)Spray a band around the home 2-3 feet wide. Try to go two feet up the foundation and 4-5 feet out away from the home. Treat around window and door frames. Spray pipes, electric cables and air conditioners as all of these places represent nest sites as well as pathways into your home. Use a pump sprayer or hose end sprayer which will work for any application needs.
If you are tired of ants being a problem around the home and yard, try our dual action approach for complete ant control.
2)Use either Cyonara 9.7, Cyzmic CS, Bifen I/T, or Cyper WP on the outside foundation to put up a treated barrier over which ants will not walk. Be sure to retreat every 3-6 months to be sure new ants don't find their way into the home.
The Solutions Dual Action approach will handle most any type of ant problem you may have as it addresses all aspects of the problem - where it came from, why it started in the first place and where it eventually landed. This approach will keep all insects out of your home but if ants have been a problem, this approach is the only way you'll be ant free!
