ANT CONTROL

   This article is about SMALL ANT control.
It will explain why they are a pest and what
needs to be done for controlling infestations.
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	We have many types of ants in the United 
States.  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 
economical significance.  I have listed these because 
I see them on a regular basis.  They 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) They 
will invade any structure once a food supply or nest 
site has been found.  Do not believe a living area 
must be "dirty" for ants to infest it.  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 cause the problem
to get worse!  We will discuss this later in this
article.  3) Once you obtain control, it is suggested 
that you continue outside treatments from time to
time to insure they do not reinfest the home.
   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. We will first highlight some
of the more common species and then offer control
measures, along with the products needed, to stop
them from entering and infesting structures which
want to remain ant free.
   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 in just about
any type of food depending on local weather conditions,
food supplies, temperature and other factors. In fact,
most ants have specific names. Here are some of the more
common ants along with some of their chararcteristics
and behavioral patterns.
   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.  
Another ant which is similar to the Pharaoh 
yet very different is the Thief Ant.  This species 
looks much like a Pharaoh Ant yet its biology and 
nest site is unique.  Thief Ants 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 Thief Ants become active.  This happens 
because the ant nest you treated has died off and 
now the Thief Ants are looking for a new host!  
As it leaves the dead colony you suddenly see a
migration 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.
	Everyone in the south knows what a fire ant 
mound looks like.  These ants are very persistent.  
Fire Ants are the most common ant to forage inside. 
There are different species;  not all fire ants are 
red.  The Little Fire Ant is tan and the Black Imported
Fire Ant is red and black.   The Southern 
Fire 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.
	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.  
	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 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.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR CARPENTER ANT ARTICLE

    Another wood destroyer is the Acrobat Ant.  
These 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 above to the carpenter ant arcticle
and follow the treatment guidelines detailed there.
   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 awhile to erradicate. 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. Pavement and Big Headed
ants are two perimeter invading ants which will set
up 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.
   White footed ants can grow colonies which number
in 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 ant
is 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.
   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? This question is further complicated
when the species of ant is in question. Fortunately,
there is one method of control which can be applied
to all ants. We call it the three prong 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 reinfestation. If you have known the
frustration of ant infestations that simply won't go
away for good then it's time you start our three
prong approach and get rid of them for good!
   Ant problems can be controlled using this approach
because it is complete. It includes 1) baiting the
inside, 2) spraying the outside foundation and 3)
baiting the outside. The reason we use this approach
is to insure control. It is very likely the ants will
persist if all three 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. This is why 
you must bait inside.  Products like ADVANCE BAIT STATIONS and
DRAX are irresistible to ants.  They will find it, eat it, and 
bring it  back to the nest. 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 Drax and Advance
once it makes it's way into the colony. However, there 
is generally more than one nest to any colony. Most 
originate outside and then set up "satellite" colonies 
inside which can become independent of the outside colonies 
but will always stay "linked". This means they communicate
via paths and trails which many times are not seen.
If the outside colony starts to run low of something
which the inside nest has in abundance, expect more
activity inside. This will happen as more ants come
inside in search of whatever it is they need. Usually it
is food. It could be a reaction to the inside colony
suffering and dying from the impact of your inside
bait program. Regardless, 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. 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
LIQUID BAIT STATIONS. These can be placed where
ants are seen like the Advance or Drax. If the ants
are seeking moist food or water, they will quickly
find the stations and feed. Be sure to keep them
filled - they may only last 3-6 weeks before they
dry up and quicker if a lot of ants are feeding on them. 
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 do 
the second prong of the three prong approach - spray the
outside foundation with a residual and repellent insecticide.
   As stated before, 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 reinfest 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 veray active and provide quick control. 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 up coming 
inside. In order to stop them from entering, spray 
your foundation with CYPERMETHRIN or SUSPEND. 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
a highway of ant trails which will inevitably lead to them
getting inside.  If you allow ants to live adjacent to the
home, they will find their way in.  Spray a band around
the home 2-3 feet wide.  Try to go two feet up the 
foundation and one foot 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 sights as well as pathways into your
home. We have a big selection of PUMP SPRAYERS which
will work for any application needs. We have small
ones for which will work well for people needing to
treat around apartments or condos as well as one
gallon, back pack and even bigger power sprayers
designed to handle the biggest of jobs. Now that the 
inside of your home is baited and the foundation has 
been sprayed, you will need to do the third prong of 
your attack on these ants if you are to achieve complete 
control. 
   Since ants travel all the time and can forage several
hundred yards from their nest, it is likely the ant activity
in your home originated from a nest located in the yard.
If this or other nests are allowed to survive, the odds are
that swarmers or regular ant activity will enable them to
get back into your home - even after doing the first two
steps of your ant defense!  To get complete control of the
ants around your home, you will need to treat in the grass
and mulch areas. There are two types of treatment which
can be used outside which works well. First, there is the
direct approach. By placing a strong granules outside which
will kill and repel ants you will cut down all activity
quickly. DELTA GUARD is a good compound to use for this
application. It uses a new active ingredient which ants
don't like. It will kill ants which walk on it as well
as repel them. Some people prefer to use a baiting program
for ants. Baiting is always the gentler approach which
presents little to no risk to non-target animals like
pets and wildlife. It will take longer to get control -
maybe a week or two - but in the end you will see great
results as well. The trick to successfully baiting outside
is to use two materials. The best products available for this
application is the combination of MAXFORCE GRANULES and LIQUID BAIT. 
These baits will be found by ants foraging throughout your
property and will help to keep nests from prospering. 
Use both for the best control possible; choose the one
which best suits your environment if you are not able
to use both. Each product works by attracting ants
for different reasons. Maxforce is a true food based
granule. It holds up well to rain and sun and will
usually last 2-3 months per application. Use about
1/2 jar around the home every quarter or as needed.
Liquid Bait needs to be kept in it's bait station to
prevent it from evaporating quickly. It will not be
as attractive when it is rainy or moist outside because
it uses the need for water as it's main attractant.
If you have hot, dry conditions it will work best.
However, it will only last 2-4 weeks under these conditions
because the sun will literally dry it up. It is important
to refill it's reservoir monthly or as needed. In some
cases large colonies can clean it out in a week so be
prepared to inspect it if you suspect there is a lot
of activity outside your home.  By keeping these outside 
nests to a minimum, you will be able to keep any ant from 
getting inside!
   If you are tired of ants being a problem around the home
and yard, try our "three-pronged" approach for complete
ant control. Step 1) Use Advance or Drax for feeding 
ants in the home; Liquid Bait for those which appear to
be seeking water. Step 2) Use either Cypermethrin or
Suspend on the outside foundation to put up a treated
barrier over which ants will not walk. Be sure to keep
this treatment renewed to be sure new trails and
ants don't find their way into the home. Step 3) Apply
both Maxforce Granules and Liquid Bait around the
perimeter to establish a zone of bait which will
surely keep the ant colonies down in the yard. Use
Deltaguard if you want quicker results in place of the
bait. 
   The Three Prong Approach will handle most any type 
of ant problem you may have. 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 the problem around, this approach is the 
only way you'll be ant free!
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