Ant Control in the Summer

“The ants go marching one by one, hurrah! hurrah!…”

Summer is here and the ants are beginning to march indoors at full force! They really don’t need a season to invade your home, not in southern California. However, it is true that ants are more prevalent during the warmer months like July and August.

Remember when you thought ants were cool?!

At Hearts Pest Management we provide both traditional and Green / Organic Pest Control for treating ants and other pests.

Last summer, I had ants along the tub and surrounding my soap dish. Couldn’t figure out why until one of our technicians said they were “Thief” ants and that they were going after the fat in my soap – as in “animal fat!”

You can well imagine, I no longer use soap made from animal fat! Its homemade soaps, picked up at the local market and fairs, after that incident.

The thief ant, also known as grease ant (Solenopsis molesta) will steal any foods that have grease or fat such as cheese, peanuts, bits of the ham that fell unnoticed on the kitchen floor, etc.

Thief ants even steal from other ant species! They nest near and sometimes inside other ant colonies to still their food, even eat their larvae!

Thief ants, a.k.a. grease ants, going after animal fat in soap.

Thief ants are extremely tiny, less than a 1/8th of an inch with two nodes, yellow or brown in color, and stubborn. Once established, they stick to their trail.

After I had removed the soap dish and wiped everything down, by evening they were back, same trail leading straight to the soap dish. …

When it comes to ants, the mistake most people make is to spray them with whatever cleaner or home remedy they’ve found online. This basically just drowns the ones you see but as you’ve probably experienced, more ants soon follow. Spraying them interrupts their important ant duties for the colony.

The drowned ants don’t return as expected. Like Argentine ants, thief ants have multiple queens, as many as eight per nest. The queens then send out a “code red” to the rest of the colony and the survival of the colony becomes the both ant species’ number one priority.

One or more of the queens will leave the existing colony and start a new one elsewhere on your property! Sometimes it may be in a different room or wall but the trail will return!

Argentine ants are tiny dark brown or black with one node.

Argentine ants, invaders from South America, are the reason you feel you live on a giant anthill. Why does southern California have such a problem with Argentine ants?

Historically, Argentine ants came to the United States in the 1890’s, aboard coffee ships. They migrated to California, loved the weather here just like people from afar, and started 1 of 3 worldwide super colonies! The others are in Europe and Asia.

Unlike thief ants, Argentine ants are both indoor and outdoor pests. Ever noticed ants on your plants?

Take a look under one of the leaves and you’ll find more ants corralling aphids away from the eyes of predators. They do this in exchange for the sweet honeydew aphids emit from their rears. The honeydew causes leaves to discolor and drop.

Ant Farmer Argentine milking honeydew from an aphid.

The best way to eliminate ants, with multiple queens, like thief and Argentine ants, is to find and treat the colony. These ants respond better to ant baits that contain a food attractant, combined with a slow-acting pesticide, rather than a spray treatment.

Placing a few drops of bait in line with marching ants provides them with “food” to take back to the colony where they will share it with their queens and comrades. The result? No more ants!

Often, over-the-counter ant baits don’t work, especially if you really have a bad ant infestation or really do live on an anthill. Then it’s time to bring in the big guns. ...

In the meantime, here are some Do-it-Yourself tips for ant control but remember, these tips are just a temporary fix; you’ll need professional pest control to really take care of the problem:

Caulking cracks and crevices helps keep ants from coming indoors.

• • a. Use a combination of vinegar and water to spray and wipe them up; this helps remove the pheromones they leave behind.
  • b. Check for tiny holes and cracks in areas where you find ants i.e. baseboards, along grout by sinks or tubs and do some
    caulking.
  • b. Place your pet’s food bowl in a shallow baking pan filled with water, the ants won't cross over to the food.

Please visit our main page: Ant Control for more information on our ant treatments. I hope your summer picnics and BBQs will be free of uninvited guests!

Article by Donna Walker

Farming Aphids - Herder Ants

Drawing of a Farmer ant accepting honeydew from an aphid.

If you have ants on your plants, you’re sure to find aphids doing their ‘sugar-bum’ dance. …

It’s spring!  Flowering plants, green grass, farmer ants, and dancing aphids. …

Have you ever noticed areas on your plants and shrubs where the leaves are starting to curl and turn odd colors?

If so, did you also see some ants crawling over and under the leaves?

The brown marmorated stinkbug has ruined many an apple.

The Brown Marmorated Stinkbug

Invasive Stinkbugs –

Here in America, we have our own native stinkbugs: of which, as kids, I'm sure there isn't a one of us that hasn't harassed a stink bug long enough into rearing its hindquarters – just for the fun of watching it do so. But, there’s a new bug in town – the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug.

This particular stinkbug is believed to have arrived in the country by accident via cargo ships from Asia. The Asian stink bug originated in China, Japan, and Korea; it was first discovered in Pennsylvania and is now established in 41 states (including California).

The Brown Marmolated Stink Bug´s Native Land is Asia.

The brown marmorated stinkbug is only about the size of a dime but it sure has cost a “boatload” of money in crop damage since it “sailed” into our ports.

Stinking Stinkbug Invasion

According to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Department, the brown marmorated stinkbug is a “winged invader from Asia that is eating our crops and infesting U.S. homes . . .”