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 They usually enter buildings after heavy rains and
persist as long as the environment is to their liking. In the
kitchen, they are seeking out sweet treats, and are attracted to the
moisture in the bathroom. Despite ants not causing damage to the
home and being beneficial in aerating soils, they are a general
nuisance and are easily evicted. The eviction must include an
integrated approach.
First, identify the ant. This is an important step as they have
different nesting sites, food preferences and control methods. Some
of the most common ants in Illinois are pavement ants, odorous house
ants, small honey ant, carpenter ant, large yellow ant and pharaoh
ant. To identify your ants, visit the Illinois Department of Public
Health: Prevention and Control of Ants for a visual comparison and
descriptions
http://www.idph.state.il. us/envhealth/pc_ants.htm
The small black ants may be difficult to distinguish. My ant
visitors have been identified as odorous house ants. They are small
and black, with faint striping on their abdomen, and when crushed
they smell like coconut. Odorous house ants nest under rocks and
debris but can also nest in the floors and walls. They eat sweets,
meats and dairy. My eviction plan included sanitation, exclusion,
and baits.
I started with cleaning out the cabinets, securing better food
storage, and running the fan in the bathroom after showers to
prevent moisture build up. Ants use pheromones to mark their trails,
so I disrupted the ant trails I could find with a solution of water
and bleach multiple times. The water and bleach was a fleeting line
of attack, as in a few hours, the returned.
The next step is to find their nest. Many ants enter homes from
outside nests looking for food. To find their nest, you must trace
the ant trail back to the origin. For most, the nesting sites will
be in soil under objects outside like stones, boards, firewood, or
blocks. They can also nest in wall spaces and under floors of your
home. In the past, I have traced my ant back to the compost bin
outside my kitchen window. Currently, the ants are using the
structure of my home. Therefore, I will need to repair and caulk
cracks that are allowing them access to my home. If it is not clear
where the ants are entering, you may treat a one-foot-wide area
around the perimeter of your house.
Sweet baits were another part of my eviction plan. Some sweet baits
contain insect growth regulators that prevent larvae from reaching
adulthood, ultimately killing all the female foragers and starving
the nest. [to top of second
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Others disrupt the colony functions, the ant's respiration, or
are toxic when eaten. If they like the bait, you may see multiple individuals
visiting. At this time, you do not want to use bleach water to cover up ant
trails. If they do not accept the bait, try another kind. Do not use insecticide
sprays or dusts when implementing the baits.
The ants you see wandering around the kitchen are the wingless
sterile female workers whose only job is to gather food. They come from a colony
of winged female queens and winged males. In June on calm sunny days, they may
swarm and aggregate to mate. The winged females leave to find a nest site and
the males are left to die. The queen is larger and loses her wings once she has
established a nest, and may live for multiple years laying eggs.
Most swarming ants cause concern in homeowners because they believe them to be
termites. However, identification between the two is simple. Both termites and
ants have two pairs of wings, but ants have shorter back wings and termite's
wings are of equal length. Ants have antennae that are in an elbowed shape and
have thin waists between the thorax and abdomen. Termites' antennae are not
bent, and their waist is broad, keeping a consistent shape down the length of
the body.
Recommendations for outdoor pest management from the University of Illinois
Extension include applying sprays or granules that contain bifenthrin,
cyfluthrin, esfenvalerate, gamma-cyhalothrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and permethrin
for treatment on nests outside.
For baits, look for abamectin, propoxur, and thiamethoxam (paralyzes pests by
interrupting the nervous system), boric acid, dinotefuran, fipronil and
indoxacarb (disrupts ant colony function), hydramethlnon (disrupts cellular
respiration and toxic when digested). Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State
University Entomologists suggest baits contain insect growth regulators (hydramethylnon)
as an option. He says it affects growth or prevent queens from producing fertile
eggs.
Always with any pesticide read and follow the directions on the pesticide labels
before using them.
[Kelly Allsup, Horticulture Educator,
University of Illinois Extension]
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