Brilliant facts about ants.
- When it comes to ants, there’s a lot more than what meets the eye. Ants seen outside the nest represent just 3-10% of the colony’s population.
- Ants outnumber humans 14,000 to 1.
- Ant colonies operate with a highly organized social hierarchy and sophisticated communication methods, all of which allow them to protect themselves from danger. This means their populations can grow to numbers in the hundreds of thousands
- Bees, wasps and ants are from the same family – Formicidae. Unlike their extended family members, only reproductive queen ants and males have wings.
- More than 700 ant species call the United States home, and about 40 of those are commonly found in businesses and homes.
- Super strength is no super power for ants. Some species are able to lift up to 50 times their body weight.
- Queen ants can live to be 15 years old.
Simple steps to eliminate ants.
- Understanding the colony – To solve the ant problem, one has to eliminate the ones you don’t see to get rid of the ones you do see.
- Trail them – Identify the points or origin and destination which will also highlight the food source.
- Don’t spray them – By killing the worker ants (the ones you see all over) the colony simply sends more replacements.
- Set out bait.
The worker ants are the ticket into the colony, so let them do their job by taking the bait to the queen.
- Hold off cleaning – This helps to keep the ants on the current infested area rather than giving them a reason to spread all over.
- Be patient – It takes time for the bait to work on the queen so it’s paramount to give this method time. Especially if it’s a multi-colony having several queens.
- Know when to spray – If the trail leads to the outdoors the underground colony can be flooded for several days then the basic survival tactics will kick in and they will look for higher ground or our neighbor’s lawn.
- Keep it clean – Sanitation is critical in prevention of ants. They too have the basic life needs; your food, your water and defiantly your shelter. So it’s best not to make it a walk in the park for them. Cover all foods and sanitize all surfaces.
