WHITE FOOTED ANT
Elimination, Biology and Identification of White-Footed Ants

• History and Range of White Footed Ants
• Biology
• Image
• Identification
• Control of the white-footed ant

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White-footed Ant History, Range of Distribution
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When first collected and identified 1986, the white footed ant was considered only of minor importance for the pest control industry.  This tiny ant has now become quite a nuisance in at least 8 Florida counties.  Originating in certain areas of Japan they were first accidentally imported into Florida.

Biology
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White-footed ants do not bite or sting, nor have they been reported to cause any type of structural damage. They are, however, attracted to sweet foods. Thus, it is common to find them foraging indoors and outside on hedges infested with honey-dew producing insects such as aphids and scales.
Several biological aspects of the white footed ant make a difficult pest to control, almost impossible to totally eliminate from an infested home:

1. Huge size (in population) of  ant colonies.
2. Tremendous reproduction capabilities (through budding and swarming.)
3. Variety of food preferences.
4. Tiny body size enables entry to most structures, natural and man-made.
5. Nests (or ant beds) in a wide variety of areas, all connected and part of super colony.
6. Not all foods are shared from foraging workers to larvae (making ant baits ineffective.)
7. Sterile workers lay unfertilized eggs; this is food for non-foraging members of the ant colony.

Armed with the knowledge of the white footed ant colony structure, methods of reproduction, food preferences/ feeding habits, nesting habits and ant colony structure, you will be successful in your ant control program.

Colony Structure
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Estimations vary, but most agree that the average number of ants in a white-footed ant colony will range from 400,000 to well over 1 million ants.  The sheer size of these colonies puts food at a premium; these pests must forage over a wide range and feed on several food sources.  Colonies tend to be "spread out" as interconnected satellite colonies.

Approximately one half of the colony is made up of sterile, female workers.  These worker ants forage for food, are responsible for brood care, and nest maintenance.   The other half of the white-footed ant colony is made up of "intercastes."  These are wingless males and females, that in addition to the founding king and queen, mate and lay fertile eggs. Thus, the reproductive potential of the multiple queen white-footed ant society is much greater than that of many other ant species.

Reproduction
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Like many other ants, white-footed ant colonies produce winged males and females which, at certain times of the year, leave their nest to start new colonies.  This is called "swarming."  Winged females who mate with winged males during a mating flight found new colonies. Winged males mate once before they die. Winged females die about 400 days after starting a colony. The queen is then replaced by a wingless daughter that mates with a wingless male who is capable of multiple matings.

In addition, white-footed ants can initiate new colonies by budding.   Budding is a process where many workers and wingless reproductive males and females leave the mother nest and crawl some distance to start a new colony.   The wingless reproductives look very much like workers, and in many cases cannot be distinguished from sterile workers by external appearance. These worker look-alikes, called intercastes, make up almost 50% of a colony.  Thus, mass movements of white-footed ants carrying their whitish-colored larvae and pupae may be observed during the budding process.

Workers of many sweet-feeding ants, such as the ghost ant, ingest liquefied food and carry it within their crop (first of three stomachs) back to the nest.   Within the nest, workers regurgitate this food and share it with members of the colony that never leave the nest, such as workers tending offspring, the queen, and the developing brood.
This is why baits are so effective with certain other ant species, but not on white-footed ants: a worker ingests toxic food and takes it back to the nest where it is shared with others.  As you will see in Feeding Habits of White-Footed Ants, baits only effect about half of the colony.

Feeding Habits
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Even with only half the colony feeding on food outside the nests, this large population obviously needs a great deal of food to survive.  One of their preferred foods is dead insects.  White-footed ants are strongly attracted to sweet foods but have been observed in the laboratory feeding on termites and dead cockroaches.   Sources of sugar can be found at many locations within structures and in the surrounding landscape.  Indoor locations include the recycle bin, the kitchen, pantry, and wherever else food is stored, consumed or prepared.  Outdoors, sugary food sources are found at extrafloral nectaries, within flowers, at wounds in trees, and as honeydew (excrement from sap sucking insects such as aphids and mealy bugs).  With all of these potential food sources available, it is common to find white-footed ants foraging indoors and outside.  Typically, white-footed ants show up at food sources in large numbers, resulting in easily observed foraging trails leading to and from the food. Most foraging occurs at night during the summer, but may be at any time of the day when temperatures moderate.

White footed ants will protect and feed on aphids and scales which attack certain ornamental plants.  Not only do they feed on these plant pests, but will actually nurture them, collecting and feeding on sweet honey-dew produced by aphids.  This behavior has been observed in other ant species as well.  The alarming aspect of this behavior in white-footed ants is the abnormally large supply of food needed by the colony.  This "farming" of plant pests can put your ornamentals at great risk.

White-footed ants are unusual in that food ingested by foraging workers is not regurgitated, nor is it shared with others.  The sterile workers of the white-footed ant are capable of laying unfertilized eggs.  These eggs, called trophic eggs, are sterile, and are thinner and more fragile than fertile eggs.   Trophic eggs are fed to adults within the colony that are not actively foraging and also to the developing offspring.  Therefore, toxic baits affect only those members of the colony that directly ingest baits.  Baits are not shared with the other half of the colony.

Nesting Habits
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White-footed ant nests have been observed in many locations in the landscape, and in the home.  In Japan, favored nest sites are within old trees.  In Florida, trees also serve as an ideal nesting location.  White-footed ants can be found under loose bark, within natural or artificially created cavities in the stem, in rotten trunks or limbs, and in galleries created at one time by termites.  In addition, white-footed ants have been observed nesting in attics, under roof shingles, in wall voids, in cardboard boxes, in the petiole bases of palms, under leaf litter, in compost piles, under rocks, along fence lines, and in outdoor furniture.  Many other damp locations may serve as suitable nest sites for this species.

Although a colony may be made up of a million individuals, they usually do not all nest in one location.  Colonies tend to be spread out as interconnected satellite colonies.   Therefore, ants within the same colony may be found nesting at several locations around a structure.  Nesting sites usually contain eggs, the developing offspring, and pupae as well as adult ants.

Image
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Identification
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This small (about 1/8 inch or 3 mm long) ant is easily confused with Crazy ants and Odorous House Ants if not properly identified.  Although the body of the white-footed ant closely resembles that of the crazy ant, its legs and first segment of its antennae are much shorter.  This ant's body color is darker than that of the odorous house ant.  The white-footed ant (which has one node) has one distinguishing characteristic which sets apart from similar ants: the tarsi (section at the end of the legs) are a very light yellow or yellowish white in color.  This gives it the appearance of having "white feet," hence its name.  Click on the thumbnail image (above) to enlarge and view the white-footed ant.

White Footed Ant Elimination and Control Measures
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Once White-Footed Ants have infested a structure, it is doubtful that they will ever be totally eliminated from the building.  We can, however, implement measures to keep existing infestations manageable and help un-infested homes from being invaded.   If you live in an area where white footed ants are a potential problem, preventative treatments would indeed be wise.  Prevention is the best line of defense against the establishment of any pest insect.

A concentrated effort (using several different control methods) is your only chance of getting a handle on white footed ant infestations.  This effort is Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at its best.  In this section, we will cover:

• Structural Change
• Ant Baits
• Perimeter Insecticide Sprays
• Indoor Sprays
• Total Ant Bed (or Mound) Elimination

Structural Change:
Relatively small ants, such as the white-footed ant can fit through extremely small openings to gain access into the home.  If these entry points can be located, they can be blocked by application of caulk or some other exclusion device.  This can also help to prevent other insects from gaining access into your home.
Sanitation can also help to prevent infestation by white-footed ants, as well as other ant species. Eliminate ant access to sugars within the home.  Clean areas where food is handled and quickly and thoroughly clean up spilled, sugar-based foods.  In addition, store food in containers with tight fitting lids.  Also, eliminate potential food sources outside, such as by controlling pests in your landscape that produce honeydew.   In addition, trim tree branches away from the structure, this will help prevent ants within the tree from gaining access to the structure.  Removal of fallen leaves and compost piles near the structure has also proven to be an effective sanitation procedure by removing desirable habitat.

Baiting for White Footed Ants:

With only half of the colony foraging and feeding on outside sources, ant baits will not eliminate white footed ant colonies.  Baits are sometimes used to help reduce the visible worker ants (those foraging in the open) inside homes -- but that is all that baits can do.  The interior half of the ant colony (which feeds on trophic eggs) are not killed by baits because the ant bait is never transferred to them.  If you desire to bait indoors, use either Maxforce FC Ant Bait Stations, FluorGuard Bait or Dual Choice Ant Bait Stations.  Outdoors, you might see white footed ants taking a bait but (just like the indoor baiting) the colony is not being damaged to any great extent.

Eliminating Ant Mounds

Inspect and locate any outdoor colonies on your property and eliminated them by drenching.  Drenching ant beds simply means using enough insecticide solution to the point of where you are drowning all possible ants in the area.  This method works better than trying to kill the ant bed with sprays or spot-treating with insecticide granules.  Use the same Talstar Concentrate that you use to spot treat indoors and broadcast outdoors.  As little as 1/4 ounce of Talstar per gallon of water is all that is necessary.  A gallon of solution is required for a mound whose base is one foot in diameter; smaller mounds require less, large ones require more insecticide solution.  Talstar will not leach into water supplies once it is allowed to dry, making it safer for the environment.  Follow label instructions, keep children and pets off all treated surfaces until dry; the treated areas will at that time be safe.

Pesticides for Killing and Controlling Whitefooted Ants

A combination of products and methods must be used. Indoor baits might help reduce the population to some extent but does not really harm the colony.
It seems that the best control is to use the following:
Broadcast Talstar (granules or concentrate) over the entire property and at least repeat application 3 times each year. Talstar should also be sprayed (with a pump type garden sprayer) on the exterior and interior of the structure. On the outside, spray every possible entry point and hiding place, every little crack or crevice where an ant (or other pests) might enter. Indoors, spray any area where ants are most likely to encounter the material. Talstar has no odor, is a ton safer than the harsh Dursban, Diazinon, Spectracide, Rid-A-Bug type products (when used as directed,) and gives an incredibly long residual indoors and out. Outdoors, Talstar has been known to kill ants for more than 2 months with one application, if applied properly.
Indoors, you must also apply a good, safe insecticide dust to any crack, crevice, hiding place, entry point, wall void or attic -- places where ants are most likely to hide, colonize, forage for food, etc. Delta Dust is best for killing white footed ants.  Delta Dust should be used where you cannot treat with a spray and where people and pets cannot come into contact with the material. Dusts (such as Delta Dust, Drione Dust) are very safe to use, when applied properly.
In summary, you need:
Talstar, Delta Dust, a hose-end sprayer for outdoors, a pump style garden sprayer for indoors and outside surface of your home and a Crusader Duster for applying your Delta Dust, which is water-proof.

Summary
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1. Seal all possible entry points leading into your home.
2. Trim branches (shrubs, trees, etc.) away from the structure.
3. Remove any excess vegetation, compost or mulch if too close to the building
4. Remove all possible food sources indoors (good sanitation) and outdoors (treat for aphids, scales on plants.)
5. Locate and drench all existing mounds with an approved synthetic insecticide.   Talstar is best.
6. Broadcast area with Talstar to kill foraging workers and prevent ants from migrating to your property.
7. Spot-treat indoors with a safe, low odor insecticide (Talstar is best) to kill any existing white footed ants that forage inside your home.
8. Dust all wall voids, cracks, crevices, attics (above and below insulation!), crawl spaces.  Any place where you cannot spray, where people and pets do not contact but where ants can hide should be dusted.  Delta Dust is best for killing ants, white footed ants and other insects.

Credits
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We stand on the shoulders of giants!  Most of our ant information came from the following.  We wish to thank them and applaud their work:

1.  Thomas J. Weissling, Betty Ferster, and Monica Carpio, University of Florida
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-51
Publication Date: August 1998
Copyright 1998 University of Florida

2.  Document ENY-635, one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published: April 1998.

Thomas Weissling, Rudolf Scheffrahn and Betty Ferster, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.

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