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Odorous House Ants:
Elimination, Biology, Description
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Biology and
identification of odorous house ants
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When crushed, the workers of this species give off an odor which resembles that of rotten coconut. There is only one size worker, usually about 1/8 inch in length. The odorous house ant is dark brown to black in color, has 12 segments in its antennae, no circle of hairs on tip of abdomen, no club on the antennae, one node, and has an uneven thorax when viewed from the side.
Odorous House Ant often confused with Ghost Ant. The Ghost Ant is smaller than Odorous House Ant and its coloration is not as dark.
This ant infests structures in certain areas of the country, especially in the mid South regions, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. In areas where the Argentine ant is a major pest, you will be less likely to see the odorous house ant.
This ant is very opportunistic, living a variety nesting sites, moving
constantly to avoid the perils of inclimate weather conditions. Not only will you
find huge super colonies, but many satellite colonies located close to the main colony.
These different colonies do not fight for food, but rather like to exchange food,
workers and larvae between the different colony units. Odorous House Ants feed on
living and dead insects but are particular fond of the sweet honey dew produced by
aphids,
scales and mealybugs. If found inside structures, these ants will eat many available
foods but again prefer to feed on sweets. These ants will forage during the day and
the night.
The size of colonies, number of workers, wide variety of food sources and multiple
queens per colony make this a formidable foe to eradicate.
Inspecting and
location
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When inspecting for odorous house ants indoors, pay close attention to baseboards, edges of carpets, window sills and other such areas. These pests are active foragers, so they should not be hard to locate. Once ant trails have been found, follow the trails back to their nest or outdoor wall where they might have entered the structure.
Foraging trails and colonies are often found outside along foundations,
beneath and behind vegetation, ground cover, decorative timbers or stones and mulch.
Gently rake back any such material to help locate outdoor nests. Look beneath
all objects touching the soil.
Odorous house ants will make shallow colonies in the soil, nest under construction
materials and other such areas mentioned above. These ants can survive in a variety
of habitats, but if excessive moisture is found, it will help to implement measures to
reduce the moist conditions: redirect sprinkler heads, repair leaky faucets, etc.
Odorous
house ant elimination
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Without proper inspection, locating all possible nests and nesting sites, you will not be able to establish good control over these pests!
Indoor pesticide applications:
If ODOROUS HOUSE ANTS have invaded your home, spray Cypermethrin
or Bifenthrin products along baseboards, window
sills, around plumbing or where ants are most often seen. If none have been found
indoors, skip down to Outdoor Pesticide
Application.
Look for and spray any possible entry point or hiding place. Our Chapin sprayer has an adjustable tip for spraying
entry points and baseboards or for slowly drenching ant mounds. If you have
determined that the ants have established colonies in your walls, it may be necessary to
apply an insecticide dust (Delta Dust
is the best)
to any void where you suspect ant or other insect activity. Use a Crusader Duster for applying Delta Dust to wall
voids, cracks and crevices. For smaller infestations, insecticide dust might not be
needed.
Outdoor
pesticide applications:
Once all ant colonies have been located, treating the nests is quite simple. All
visible mounds must be drenched (or soaked) with high volume of Cypermethrin under low pressure. Simply "fan-spraying" the surface of individual mounds does not
work. Each nest needs to be thoroughly drenched.
All mulch needs to be sprayed. These pests will often thrive in the damp organic
materials we use around our homes and in landscaping. Also spray a barrier around
your home; an area 4 to 6 feet wide around the structure should suffice.
Fan spray all tree trunks and soil adjacent to the trunk. Also, fan spray all
landscape timbers, decorative stones and rocks, or any other object which might look
inviting to odorous house ants and other insect pests.
Summary of Odorous House Ant Elimination
Use good liquid concentrates (Bifen
IT, Cynoff EC,
Cypermethrin
EC) for spraying inside and out, and for drenching existing mounds and colonies.
Treat (spray) beneath any object which might harbor ants.
Fan-spray tree trunks, mulch and a good ground perimeter around your home.
Treat any crack or crevice that might serve as a hiding place or entry point, both inside
your home and on the outside surface.
Use Delta Dust in cracks, crevices, hiding places and along plumbing lines when
exterminating indoor ant populations.
Order Ant Elimination Products
Professional Pest Control Products
6920 Pine Forest Road
Pensacola, Florida 32526
PestProducts.com
PestProducts.net
E-Mail Us!
1-800-434-4555
Biology and identification
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