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WHITE FOOTED ANT

Without a doubt the White Footed Ant is the #1 nuisance problem ant in the Tri-County.  Like many pest ants, the White Footed Ant is simply a nuisance. We just don’t like hordes of ants swarming over our kitchen counters, and this ant is well suited for doing just that.  It has a HUGE colony of workers – possibly as many as 1 million ants in a colony, and typically severs hundred thousand. Since a colony of ants may allow up to 10% of them to forage for food at any one time, you potentially could have tens of thousands of White Footed Ants wandering through your kitchen to see what mischief they can get into. 

Also, like some other species, there are many queens in a colony, and may have numerous “satellite”  colonies branching out from the main one. The queen is capable of laying eggs, so the potential for creating large colonies is very high.  

Here are some more characteristics of the White Footed Ant and why they contribute to its’ being such a problem:

                         High Reproduction Potential – new colonies formed by swarming

                        (with adults flying to new areas) or “budding” (new colonies simply

                        branch off the main one).

                        Enjoy a Variety of Foods – prefer sweet materials, but also feed on

                        Protein from other insects or food found in our homes.

                        Food Ingestion is Unusual – most ants offer food they have gathered

                        To the larvae, which digest the food and regurgitate it back to the

                        adult  workers. If the food was poison bait this allows all workers to

                        ingest it and be killed.

                        The White Footed Ant has a group of workers that lay sterile eggs. It

                        is these eggs that are consumed by many adult ants in the colony as

                        well as by the larvae.  Thus, they avoid eating bait products we might

                        use.  

                        Tiny size of the workers allows them to enter any structure.

                        They are very sensitive to the presence of pesticides, and may avoid

                        surfaces that have been sprayed, even moving away from new colonies

                        when they are separated from their main colony.

This species will build their nests in a wide variety of locations. They may nest in dry, rotting logs, within hollow trees or the hollow galleries made by other insects in wood structures. They have been found in attics, wall voids, under roof shingles, voids of furniture, in boxes, or outdoors in leaf litter, under rocks or wood and may other places.

Within the nest, the White Footed Ant is very unusual in the ant world. The Queen lives for about 1 year, and is replaced by one of her offspring. The replacement Queen mates with a male and begins producing numerous offspring called “intercastes”. These are wingless, but reproductives that are capable of laying eggs, and may form as much as 50% of the population of the colony. Obviously this creates a huge ability to lay a multitude of eggs and expand the colony. 

At some point of the life of the colony “budding” may take place, whereby a wingless reproductive leaves the colony, along with a large number of workers who carry the larvae and pupae with them, and a new colony is started a short distance from their parent colony.

CONTROL 

HOW WILL WE GET RID OF THIS ANT? 

Control is a difficult problem. Like almost any other pest ant the ultimate control  relies on eliminating the colony, not just killing off a trail of workers who are out and about, foraging for food.

It is believed that the use of ant bait methods will be the best approach to managing this species, but a great deal more patience and diligence may be required. It may be a good idea to contact a local, licensed Pest Control Company, as they may already have experience in the control of this pest and will have the tools to deal with it on hand.  As mentioned, the use of pesticide sprays will give instant relief and gratification, by killing the trail of ants that are observed at the time. However, this trail represents a small percentage of the ants in the colony, and may even aggravate the problem by forcing some foragers away from their colony to start new colonies to deal with in the future.

Insecticidal Dusts used in combination with Exterior Barrier Treatments are the most effective methods of treatment. In some instances, fogging is used.

There is no 100% (percent) method to eliminate White Footed Ant infestation.

 FIRE ANTS

Fire Ants get their name from the intense burning caused by their sting. Three species occur in the south: the southern, red imported and common fire ant. All three species are general feeders and will feed on various plant parts including roots and seeds, insects and household foods. 

Fire Ants live in large colonies and build mounds generally in open areas such as pastures, lawns and cultivated fields. Over 100 mounds have been observed per acre in many southern fields and pastures. 

Fire Ant stings almost always produce small blisters or pustules that may itch for several days. 

Avoid mounds by watching where you step or sit. Cleanse the sting site with soap and water and apply a local antihistamine lotion to relieve itching and burning and antibiotic ointment for secondary infections. ALWAYS WATCH FOR SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTIONS! 

CONTROL

Fire Ants are controlled by baiting, or by treating the mound with an insecticide.

In order for ant baiting strategies to be successful, other food sources such as food particles and grease spots should be removed.

AMERICAN ROACH

The Roach you saw flying across your living room is the AMERICAN ROACH, most often called the PALMETTO in the south, or WATER BUG in the north. 

The PALMETTO is a water roach that normally feeds on decaying organic matter like dead leaves, but will eat almost anything.  They like moist areas. Three of their favorite hangouts are leaking sewer pipes (they have been known to swim up your toilet), behind the base of the branches of Palm Trees, and around the house under dead leaves or debris.  All areas retain a high volume of moisture. Once in the house they will gravitate to the kitchen, bath, laundry and other areas of high moisture.  

CONTROL

Treat the exterior with a residual insecticide barrier treatment. Inside treatments include residual insecticides and baits.

TICKS

Ticks are blood-sucking parasites that can infest most animals and sometimes people. Their life cycle is complex and involves one or more species of animals as hosts. Female ticks deposit their eggs in the environment rather than on the animal. 

Ticks attach to the skin and feed on the animal’s blood. Tick bites may become infected, and some produce a toxin that can cause paralysis and even death. Ticks also spread several diseases of animals and people, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease.  

Ticks do not attach the instant they find themselves on your pet, instead they look for the best spot to attach themselves. Using a flea comb or simply thoroughly examining your pet after traveling through a tick-infested environment is a great way to catch these nasty ticks before they attach.

IDENTIFICATION 

If your cat or dog has ticks look towards the ceiling and behind picture frames. Ticks have a tendency to move to higher places after laying their eggs in the rug or cracks in the floor or crevices.  You probably will see small black dots about the size of a pinhead up where the ceiling meets the walls. When you scrape these off you will see they are small ticks.  They can be many places. If the dog hangs around the kids beds, be sure to check all around their rooms.

TREATMENT

The application of residual pesticide will be required in and around the building where the ticks are found. This should be done by a pest control professional. This is one case where I strongly recommend that you get a Pest Control Company. Be sure that they treat all of the yard, especially the trees and shrubs. Ticks will usually climb up so that they can jump and attach themselves to a host as it walks by.

Ticks can live almost one year without feeding, but as soon as they feed, usually on an animal, they get off and lay their eggs bringing thousands of baby ticks ready to grow and start the process all over again. Treat all areas of the inside of the house, including behind picture frames and in cracks, especially around the windows and doors.

A Veterinarian or the pet’s owner should treat the infested animal. Be sure to get your dog dipped on the same day as you have your house exterminated.

We strongly recommend that you speak with your veterinarian and, please, get your animal on some sort of flea and tick prevention program. That will save you a lot of aggravation and your pet will live a longer and healthier life.

 PANTRY PESTS

INDIAN MEAL MOTH

The Indian Meal Moth, Plodia Interpunctella, infests dried fruits, nuts, cereals, powdered milk, chocolate, birdseed, and dried pet food, and it is considered the number one moth pest of processed dried fruits in storage.  The larvae of these moths seldom attack whole kernels. They prefer broken and damaged grains or processed cereal products. The adults have a wingspan of about 5/8 inch, and they are easily identified by the forewing pattern, with the basal third whitish gray, and the distal two-thirds darker and bronze. In an infested home, these small moths may be seen flying past lamps and television and computer screens at night. The larvae, which are often referred to by the general public as “white-worms”, spin silk in the foods in which they breed, often webbing together nuts, grains, and flour with strands of silk.  Mature, half-inch caterpillars leave their food supply and wander about looking for a place to pupate. Larvae seen on cupboards, ceilings and counters are often the first indication of an infestation.

CONTROL

The control of the Indian Meal Moth is done by first removing the source, open boxes of grain products, dog food, powdered grain products, milk chocolate, candies, etc., should be discarded. Check sealed boxes for telltale webbing.  Cracks and crevices should be sprayed with insecticide.