(Inside and Outside)
Pharaoh Ants
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Large sized ants:
(Inside and Outside)
Click on fire ants picture to enlarge.
Both Native and Imported
fire ants can sting. The Imported Fire ants are very aggressive,
The red imported fire ant
is particularly aggressive.
There are two kinds of imported red fire ants;
Imported fire ants build mounds in almost any type of soil,
Their usual activity is from the spring time through the fall months.
Fire ants colonies frequently migrate from one site to another.
their sting can cause reactions anywhere
from an irritation and nausea to even more severe reactions in humans.
Imported fire ants have been known to repeatedly
attack animals that may intrude on their nests.
These fire ants are known to attack people, plants, and animals,
as well as cause damage to homes, buildings,
and air-conditioning units, telephone wires.
the single queen and multiple queen forms.
Fire ants workers in single queen colonies are territorial, foraging within their territory.
Fire ants workers from multiple queen colonies are not territorial, they freely
move from one mound to another, which has resulted in a dramatic increase
in the number of fire ants mounds per acre. Areas infested with single queen colonies
contain 40 to 150 mounds per acre (rarely more than 7 million ants per acre).
In areas with multiple queen colonies, there may be 200 or more mounds and
40 million ants per acre.
but prefers open, sunny areas such as pastures, parks, lawns, meadows and cultivated fields.
Fire ants ounds can reach 18 inches in height, depending on the type of soil.
Many times mounds are located in rotting logs and around stumps and trees.
Fire ants colonies also can occur in or under buildings.
When their mounds
are disturbed, the fire ants workers will come out of the ground and sting
the intruder
very aggressively.
The red imported
fire ant can have huge colonies with 300-500,000 workers
foraging at distances
of 100 yards.
During the spring and summer months, the active mounds will send out winged swarmer ants,
whose sole job is start new colonies.
Sometimes red imported fire ants will nest inside during
the winter months under the bathtubs (when on a slab), or next to hot water
heater. Southern fire ants will usually nest in loose soil, but at times
they can be found in woodwork or masonry. Their nest may be seen as large
crevices in the ground that spread out from 2-4 feet.
Fire ants nests can be found
under houses, under boards or stones, or in cracks in the concrete.
The queen needs only a few workers to start a new colony.
The fire ants can develop a new mound several hundred feed away
from their previous location almost overnight.
Flooding causes colonies to leave their mounds and float until they can reach
land to establish a new fire ants mound.
Colonies also can migrate to indoor locations.
FIRE ANTS - APPEARANCE:
Fire ants are reddish to black in color and are about 1/8 inch long.
IDENTIFICATION: IMPORTED FIRE ANTS
Imported fire ants have the the following characteristics:
are found above ground.
aggressive, and sting relentlessly.
Head width never exceeds the abdomen width,
even in the largest workers.
FIRE ANTS - REPRODUCTION:
The total time from egg to adult averages 30 days, workers live up to 180 days,
and fire ants queens live two to six years.
FIRE ANTS - DIET:
The imported fire ant will not only forage for food, such as small
insects, dead animals, and sweet materials such as plant secretions but will
kill insects and small animals to feed. Southern fire ants go for a variety
of foods including protein, greases and sweet foods.
FIRE ANTS - RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS AND TREATMENT
1.
MAXFORCE FIRE ANTS ANT BAIT.
2.
MAXFORCE GRANULAR ANT BAIT
These
fire ants baits would allow the foraging ants to feed the queens,
thereby killing the
source of the problem. You will want to sprinkle this ant bait around the mound,
instead of directly on top of the mound.
This ant bait is preferred over Amdro, because birds won't eat it.
Apply the ant bait on a fairly sunny day, when there is a good amount of activity around the mound,
so that the ants can begin to forage for the bait.
On extremely hot and rainy days do not put out the bait,
in that there is not as much activity to begin to source the ant bait.
Excessive rain will take out the ant bait.
You can use:
ANT BAIT STATIONS,
to put the granulated bait inside to keep it dry and making it
difficult for children and pets to get into.
You can also drench the mounds with liquid
fire ants insecticides;
however, you usually need to use large quantities. ..a gallon per mound is average.
When using a liquid fire ants insecticide, the goal would be again
to kill the queen. The most effective way would be to use a rod to form vertical
tunnels to facilitate the liquid mixture to reach the queens.
You would use
several gallons for large colonies or 1/2 gallon to two gallons on smaller
fire ants colonies.
Drenching the mound is this manner would ensure a quick kill.
Feel free to call if you have further questions that we may answer.