Don’t Let Ants Ruin Your Thanksgiving Leftovers
Although people in and around Haskell, N.J., don’t have to worry about marauding bands of millions of army ants that devour everything in their path, there are still plenty of other kinds of ants that can cause problems in your home. They’re not going to take off with your fully cooked Thanksgiving bird, but they might take little pieces of it back to their nests. In any event, who wants to eat an ant-infested Thanksgiving meal? Here are four common ant types and the problems they might cause:
Carpenter Ants
Unlike termites, who eat the cellulose in the wood they infest, carpenter ants burrow inside the wood and remove parts of it to build the tunnels of their nests instead. These ants tend to be quite large, measuring more than a half inch in length. Although they prefer damp, decaying, or dead wood, they have been known to tunnel into solid wood too. Because these ants usually choose trees, stumps, and logs for their initial nests, people living in wooded areas should be especially vigilant against them. Carpenter ants are either all black or black with reddish legs.
Fire Ants
Although fire ants are much smaller than carpenter ants, they are much more dangerous. They build large mounds for nests and should be avoided at all costs. The most dangerous variety of these pests is the Red Imported Fire Ant, or RIFA. RIFAs can kill pets and small animals, and the venom of their stingers, called Solenopsin, can be deadly to human beings who are allergic to it too. Even if you’re not allergic, you will still suffer numerous painful stings from these ants.
Pavement Ants
As their name suggests, these ants tend to congregate and build nests in cracks in concrete, asphalt, and other stones. They usually only infest buildings in search of food and are nonaggressive. Although they do sting, they would much rather not bother you. They do, however, eat almost anything that human beings eat, especially greasy foods like dark-meat Thanksgiving leftovers or “inside-the-bird” stuffing. They have a peculiar habit of “blazing trails” to their food sources and seldom deviate from those direct-line routes.
Pharaoh Ants
These ants are tiny; 16 of them end-to-end wouldn’t even measure one inch. They are what as known as polygynous, which means their colonies can have multiple queen ants. In some colonies, there are as few as 12 workers per queen. In contrast, consider tropical army ants, which have tens of millions of workers per just one queen. Because there are multiple queens for each colony, pharaoh ants tend to split off into subcolonies very easily and often. These colonies don’t attack each other, which would defeat the purpose of having multiple queens and multiple colonies. Pharaoh ants prefer hot, humid temperatures, which is why they prefer hospitals and other buildings with large central heating systems. Because of their small size, they get into everything and are a terrible danger because of the infections they carry. They are difficult to eradicate because of their multiple colonies.
No matter which kind of ants you have infesting your home or business, Abarb Pest Services is well-versed in all methods of removal, including both chemical and nonchemical. We also guarantee our service, and the Better Business Bureau has both accredited our business and rated us A+. To get rid of the scourge of ants on your property, give us a call today to set up an appointment.
