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Ant
Problems
The
first mention of ants hardly evokes any fear in the average
human, unlike the shudders received from cockroaches. Ants
have usually been regarded as those little critters that trot
in legions with our foods, and drawn to sweet stuffs. But
let's try to understand ants a little further and then one
will understand why ant control is absolutely necessary in
homes today.
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Ants
are found in colonies, ruled by the Queen.
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She
is usually identified as the unique one with a "fat"
abdomen (four times larger than the average worker).
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Fact:
most colonies would perish within months without
a Queen (now you'll know which ant is the most crucial
ant to wipe out first)
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However,
some multiple queen colonies (e.g. Formica polyctena)
build daughter nests as a part of the colony's expansion.
Such Queens will then leave the nest together with some
workers and some brood to find a place to build new colonies.
(That's why it's essential the whole ant colony
is eliminated)
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Most
ants never leave the nest. Nests can be found in walls,
ceilings, attics, etc.
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Ants
are found virtually anywhere (more popular in the
outdoors) as they are susceptible to all sorts of climates
(excluding the extreme north and south poles)
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Among
the different ant species are the Argentine, Army, Carpenter,
Fire and Small Honey ants.
If
you think ants are safe to be left alone, think again. Worker
ants are known to live for up to 2 years from birth. The
majority of mound ants (Formica rufa and relatives)
and cornfield ants (Lasius niger) live between 1-3
or more years and their queens may live over 10 years.
These types produce queens and mates only once a season. But
start doing some simple multiplications in your head, and
you'll notice that some colonies can turn into devastating
ant legions if not controlled. Here's more ant information
to be wary of:
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Ants
will invade any structure once a food supply or nest
site has been found.
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Myth:
Ants only infest "dirty" areas. There is ACTUALLY
no particular criteria for an ant's habitat other than a
nearby source of food and water.
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Once
a nest has been manifested, spraying alone will not provide
excellent ant control. Usually, spraying inside the
nest will only cause the problem to get worse!
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Once
you obtain control, it is suggested that you continue
outside treatments from time to time to ensure ants
do not re-infest the home.
Why
simply spraying insecticides to kill ants hardly work!
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This
phenomenon happens due to the parasitic ant species, the Thief Ant.
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They
are very small and mingle undetected inside other ant colonies,
feeding on food the host ants' supply.
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Do
not be surprised to see these irritating Thief Ants become active after a colony has been controlled.
This happens because the treated ant nest has died off and
now the Thief Ants are looking for a new host (yes,
this means the problem can reoccur)
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As
they leave the dead ant colony, one can observe a migration
of ants parading around. Normally, Thief Ants will disappear
(if the whole premises has been treated to avoid remaining
colonies) 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.
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Further, spraying the inside the house is too unproductive as the ants seen inside represent a very small percentage
of the colony - usually less than 1%. If you spray
and kill them, the colony will simply send new ants out
which will then appear elsewhere in the home.
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