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Do you have ants in your home or on your property?
Whether there is a mass of them crawling across your sidewalk or an assembly line stretching from your sugar bowl to the nearest exit, having these little bugs getting into everything can be a real nuisance. Worse, they act so fast that it almost seems like their colonies pop up overnight. However, if you have a visible ant problem, the fact of the matter is that they have probably been there for a while now, and getting professional ant control St George can help you.
How ants work
There are over 12,000 species of ants in the world, and 90 of them have established themselves in the state of Utah. While they have their differences, ant species in Utah as a whole have some general habits and functions that stay primarily the same throughout. Ants have a class system, and the first step of proper ant control St George is understanding the structure of the ant colony.
The unseen queen
The most important ant of the whole colony is the queen. She is so important that with many species if the queen is removed or killed the rest of the colony will disperse or die off within a short time. However, as long as the queen is alive she can keep producing more workers.
The working class
Every other adult and adolescent ant in the colony besides the queen has a job. While these jobs differ with some even involving a drastic difference in body shape, the majority of species just have one working class. Jobs that these workers perform include scouting for food and danger, foraging for food, feeding the queen, taking care of larvae, and building the nest. Their job is their life’s focus, and everything they do is done for the betterment of the colony.
Unless the mass of ants you are dealing with is relocating or beginning a colony, it is likely that the queen is not there mingling above ground with her workers. So, while using products that instantly kill the ants will have the positive effect of thinning out their numbers, it is unlikely that they will solve your ant problem, as the lost workers will just be replenished again by the healthy, unaffected queen. This is why effective ant control St George methods utilize time-activated products which give the worker ants time to bring the product back to the queen before it takes effect.
We use only the safest EPA approved products, applied by trustworthy service professionals with the latest and safest application methods to be effective against pests around your home.
Nielson Pest Solutions is locally owned, owner operated and backed up with 7 years experience. We show up on time and do the job right the first time. We are your ant control St George professionals!
If you’re not 100% satisfied with the treatment and/or results we will re-service your home for FREE between regular scheduled visits to ensure your pest problems are completely resolved.
I saw an ant, should I call for ant control St George?
While one ant might not seem like enough reason to call in the infantry for ant control St George, something important to remember about ants is that they are social creatures. Their power comes from their numbers, so ants only travel alone when they have a specific reason that would benefit the colony, such as when they are diseased and want to die safely away from the others, or they are a scout and looking for food. Seeing a solitary ant is a great indicator that there are more ants nearby, and if the ant you see turns out to be a scout, then it is only a matter of time before more of them come.
As scout ants travel, they secrete pheromones which are used to leave a path back to the colony. When a scout finds a food source, all they have to do is retrace their steps, and inform the colony, and they can have a small army mobilized and departing to gather the resources within minutes. The return trip to the food or water source is much faster because the ants have an established path to follow, and like a train on a track they go straight there. They will follow the same path the scout did, which is why ant lines sometimes zig-zag oddly instead of being in a straight line.
Whether their marching line is straight or in a zig-zag the important thing is that if they are on the march then it won’t be long before they have invaded your home. Nielson Pest Solutions and specific methods of ant control St George for every ant species in Utah. Call us today and let us provide the solution for your ant problem.
We strive to be in constant communication with our customers until the job is done. For estimates or questions on our services, please contact us at your convenience. We look forward to meeting you soon!
Ant Control St George Spotlight #1 – Argentine Ants
Argentine ants, as mentioned in their name, are an invasive species that originated from Argentina. They are a light-brown ant around 2-3mm long with a distinct gleam to their smooth exoskeleton. These ants are aggressive toward other ants, insects, and animals and actively attack and eat anything that they can get their pincers into including insects and some animals that are larger than they are. While this may help reduce the numbers of other pests it also harms the numbers of good animals. Some animals eat Argentine ants, but they don’t have a specific predator species that keeps their numbers in check, so they are continuing to spread across many parts of the world.
These pests create many problems for humans as well. In and around the home Argentine ants are known for infesting electrical boxes and appliances, swarming the home in areas of standing water or discarded food, and have even been known to cause foundation issues from the disruption of the soil from their intricate tunnel colonies. Without proper ant control St George methods being set in place, a small colony can become a big colony very quickly.
Argentine ants are bad for plants and produce. They farm, protect, and cultivate many types of smaller pest insects that produce a substance called “honeydew”, which is one of the Argentine ants’ favorite food sources. Argentine ants will often introduce their pet mealy bugs, aphids, and other pest bugs onto gardens and farmers’ fields, spreading them throughout the crop and protecting them from their natural predators.
Ant Control St George Spotlight #2 – Pavement Ants
Pavement ants get their name from their bad habit of colonizing the cracks in cement sidewalks and driveways. These insects are about the same size as Argentine ants (2-4mm) but they are dark brown to black in coloring. These ants are non-aggressive toward humans unless provoked, but when provoked can bite and sting as a means of self-dense. They are aggressive toward other ant species and animals. They also farm other pest insects that produce honeydew which is a danger to crops and other beneficial plants. Pavement ants are known to contaminate food and surfaces with pathogens and bacteria that they carry that can be harmful to humans.
Pavement ants are difficult to control without professional ant control St George. They spread with what are called “satellite colonies”. A pavement ant colony can have multiple queens, which at any time can leave the main colony and start up a new colony close by. This makes containment and extermination tricky because your home and property can be under invasion by multiple colonies of ants.