Ants Control

Ants are social insects that live in nests. A nest contains one or more queen, soldiers and workers. They perform specific tasks and appear physically different. Colony sizes vary and are mostly located in soil, wood or among rock.

Ants are of ecological importance for their roles as predators and scavengers, for seed and pollen dispersal and in soil structure maintenance.

Ants are not related to termites and cannot damage sound timber. Ants are termites biggest threat.

Ants communicate with each other using pheromones, being chemical signals. They perceive smells with their long, thin and mobile antennae. The paired antennae provide information about the direction and intensity of scents. Since most ants live on the ground, they use the soil surface to leave pheromone trails that can be followed by other ants.

Typically, worker ants forage from the nest for food once a food source has been established, following the scent trail. They reinforce the trail when they head back with food to the colony. When the food source is exhausted, no new trails are marked by returning ants and the scent slowly dissipates.

When an established path to a food source is blocked by an obstacle, the foragers leave the path to explore new routes. If an ant is successful, it leaves a new trail marking the shortest route on its return, and successful trails are followed by more ants.

A crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone that sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants from further away.

Ants are very common intruders in and around buildings and are often observed around foundations, in walls, roofs, voids, kitchens, lawns, gardens and the wood of decaying trees.

It can be annoying to find ants in your home or business and they can be difficult to control. Most ants come inside looking for food. They are attracted to sweet and sticky substances.

Ant proof your premises by making food and water unavailable. You can also prevent ants from entering by sealing access points such as cracks and crevices in door and window frames.

Effective control of ants lies in the knowledge of their foraging and nesting habits. Cleaning and keeping areas free of food scraps will help deter infestations.