| Back to Pest Identification |
| Ants |
| Effectively dealing with ants will regularly entail a number of re-service treatments from a BioGuard technician. |
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| Ants are communal insects, living in colony collectives. Scavenger ants locate food sources, primarily sweets, proteins, or greases. The scavengers mark a pheromone trail between the nest and food for worker ants to follow. Some ants will travel over 150 yards from the nest in search of choice nourishment. The ants crawling in your yard might be visiting from their nest in a neighbor's property. Spraying a few ants at the end of the trail and removing the food source is not enough to stop the ants from following the pheromone path laid out before them. |
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| When ant harborage is located, a BioGuard technician will treat the nest directly. BioGuard technicians also use products to establish a blockade around a structure to discourage ant invasion. When desperate ants infiltrate the home, the most effective means of treatment is frequently bait. Ant bait is carried back to the source and shared with the colony. |
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| Threatened ants often evacuate the nest, splitting up the group into new weaker nests. This division is called budding. When this happens, you can expect to see more ant activity in new strange locations. It is important to schedule a re-service visit with BioGuard if new mounds appear or if you discover new interior activity. |
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Carpenter Ants
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Usually black, carpenter ants are between 1/4-3/8” long. These large ants do not eat wood, but often live in hollow trees or logs. Each colony has only one egg laying queen, but may have up to 3,000 worker ants. |
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Fire Ants
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Aggressive and venomous, fire ants will bite predators multiple times and can kill small wildlife or domestic animals. They can also eat through rubber wire insulation. When these guys bite it hurts. They are between 1/16-1/4" long and dark red. Fire ants build mounds of earth that can house up to 250,000 worker ants. |
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Argentine Ants
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Averaging approximately 1/16" in size, Argentine Ants do not have stingers. They emit a stale greasy or musty odor when crushed. They are typically found in moist areas (such as kitchens and bathrooms) located near food sources. They build colonies under rocks and inside walls. Each female can lay one egg per day and they can live several years. |
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Pavement Ants
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At 1/10" long and brown, pavement ants will sometimes live in the harborage of larger ants, feeding on their hosts' young. They nest in sidewalk cracks, along curbs, under rocks, under floors, or in walls. |
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