Ants

Ants

ANSWER:
When an ant colony can't be located, use a poison bait. The toxicant is passed throughout the colony, killing the queen and all worker ants.

Do carpenter ants eat wood?

ANSWER:
No. Carpenter ants will tunnel into wood, usually soft decaying wood to make their nests.

ANSWER:
Sounds like Florida carpenter ants. They are just a different color than regular carpenter ants. Use the same Carpenter Ant Treatment you would for regular carpenter ants.

Over this past weekend I noticed that my yard had hundreds of what appeared to be dark-colored, white-winged ants coming out of the ground and flying away. Most of the ant holes had lots of smaller ants without wings around them. It has been wet for about a week now and Saturday was a very humid and sunny day. After it rained that night, these insects were gone and I haven't seen a one since. Does this sound like ants? My home is being treated by a termite service with a Sentracon System and has been under treatment over the last 6 months. Any answers you can provide, or products you could recommend would be a great help. Thanks in advance.

ANSWER:
Summertime is when ants swarm. Termites are more likely to swarm in the spring. sprinkled around the ant holes will control them.

I have been sprinkling Ortho Orthene fire ant killer on the mounds in my yard, and although it seems to work, for every mound I destroy, two or three new mounds appear somewhere else in the yard. It is a constant battle that I seem to be losing.

What I'm wondering is whether the ant poisons you distribute (e.g., Maxforce Complete Granules) have any salient advantage over the Orthene.

ANSWER:
For individual mound treatment there is no advantage. However, with broadcast application, mounds on nearby property will be killed. This should slow the intrusion into your yard.

What is an effective ant bait against carpenter ants?

ANSWER:
Advance Carpenter ant bait, has been proven to be a favorite, working all season long for the carpenter ants when they are feeding on protein cycles For sugar cycles use Optigard Ant Bait.

Are these carpenter ants?
We have large red ants that have a black "node" as its rear section. We just see a few around the bathtub faucet several times a week.

ANSWER:
In the south (USA), there is a carpenter ant that is red and black. Most areas of the country have solid black carpenter ants. All carpenter ants are large --1/4 inch or larger.

Most of the time ant baits like Advance or Maxforce Granular baits work, but sometimes sporadically against carpenter ants.

The best solution, however is to find the colony and destroy it(if finding the colony is available) or use a non repellent spray like Taurus SC

For more information go to Carpenter ants .

We have an ant problem, but they are critters I have never seen in my life. They appear to like our tomato and sunflower plants. They always come in a combination of two completely different looking kinds and seem to just sit there, strung up on the stalk of the plant, and suck the juices out of it. One kind is bright green and doesn't really look like ants. They are about 1/4 inch long with green pointed backs that look like shields. The other kind are really ugly looking dark brown creatures, that make normal ants look smooth and pretty. They appear to live in some kind of symbiosis, meaning that they have some business with each other, because they are always clinging to each other in some way or other. Can you help me find out what they are and how to take care of them?

ANSWER:
The green ones may be aphids, which provide secretions that are a delicacy to many ants. You are correct about the symbiosis. These guys work very well together. The aphids provide food for the ants, the ants provide protection for the aphids. Spray the plants with a solution of flea shampoo. The pyrethrum (in the flea shampoo) and soap work wonders on aphids.

I have what looks like flying ants. They were all over the place. What confused me was that there were some smaller and larger ones with no wings and they were orange in color. The ones with the wings were black and the ones without the wings were orange. Is this common?

ANSWER:
The winged ants are reproductive forms of the ants and often look very different from the rest of the workers. My guess is that these are from the same colony. I would sprinkle Max Force Complete Granulars around the area to eliminate the colony.

I have a type of flying ant with a three-part body, black and red-black about 1/4 inch long. Are these a type of carpenter ant or termite? I am new to Florida and don't know the insects.

ANSWER:
They are Florida Carpenter Ants. Once a year each colony will produce winged adults to start new colonies. Dusting the attic is very effective for Florida Carpenter Ants.

The recommended products are Dustin Mizer, a crank type duster to cover attics well, and a dust called Delta Dust.
The dust will last for 6 months to a year. One pound of dust will cover 1,000 sq. ft.

I have a few questions regarding carpenter ants. I believe we have a nest inside the house in the basement. Will they nest in the insulation? Should I pull out the insulation to locate the nest, or should I be able to see a nest? The basement is not finished.

ANSWER:

Carpenter ants can and do nest in insulation. You may have to pull out the insulation to find them.

I would try spraying the entire perimeter with:
Demon Wp or D- Fense SC.

We have a small problem in our vegetable garden. We have little red ants by the thousands. They have eaten the tops of the carrots, but have done nothing else. I don't want them to eat our vegetable next season. What should we do?

ANSWER:

I would spread someMax Force Complete Granulars around the garden.
The ants should eat it and carry it to the nest where it will kill the entire colony.
You can use Ant No More Bait Stations to hold the bait inside a container if you wish.

We have very small ants attacking the plants and eating holes in the leaves in our garden.
We live in northern Ohio and wonder what to put on to discourage the ants that will still allow us to eat the vegetables; that is, if the ants leave us any to eat.
This is our first attempt at gardening and we aren't winning this battle with the ants.
Thanks for any suggestions.

ANSWER:

Finding the Ant colony in the soil and drenching it with a liquid insecticide would be the best approach.
If you are dealing with leaf cutter ants, this is the only effective method, because they won't eat ant baits.