PHAROAH ANTS

HOW TO GET RID OF PHAROAH ANTS

APPEARANCE:

Very small; Light yellow to red, with black markings on abdomen.

REPRODUCTION:

Grows from egg to adult in about 45 days;females live as long as 39 weeks
and can lay about 400 eggs; workers only live up to 10 weeks.

Pharaoh ants being extremely small can be found in a diversity of places
appearing suddenly.
They have a wide range of foraging and their nest are usually well hidden.
They are very persistent, with large colonies.

ANT TRAILS:

An excellent article(click on the PDF button-the top right corner of the document)by Univ. of Florida Extension Service
can be found at Ant Trails:Baiting..
It gives an overview of management with baits.

WHY ANT BAIT?

The use of residual sprays or dusts will cause stress on the colonies,
causing them to split into sub-colonies that scatter to other areas in the structure.
This is also called budding.

After spraying, your problem can be worse than at the beginning.

When you bait, you will want a slow acting bait.
Quick kill insecticides and baits will only kill the foraging ants, not allowing the foraging ants to take the bait back home to feed the queen,nest workers and brood.

If the current ant bait that you are using is not acceptable to the ants,
if they are not visiting the bait, it is recommended that you change the baits. Ants require carbohydrates-sugars, proteins and greases.
They find a variety of these sources in nature. Examples are: other insects(proteins and greases), nectar, aphid honeydew ,
plant products(sugar and carbohydrates)

Choosing a bait would require knowing what they are currently feeding off of,
according to the nutritional needs of the colony. To be sure that you have
all the baiting needs met, you may want to be ready with a sugar-carbohydrate bait,
a grease-fat bait, and a protein based bait.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMOVE ANY OTHER FOOD COMPETITION WHEN BAITING
AND LEAVE THE BAIT ALONE ONCE THE ANTS START FEEDING ON IT.

HABITS:

Inside they are usually found in the kitchen and bathrooms ,
but workers are seen trailing along window sills, and baseboards.

They can also be spotted near sources of water in the kitchen and bathrooms,
counter tops, toilets,drains and sinks.

They prefer to nest in recessed areas like wall voids,under some appliance,
wall outlets, under carpet for protection.

Can nest outdoors in lawns and gardens.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS AND TREATMENT

Baiting is the preferred treatment over typical residual spraying,
so you can eliminate the entire colony. Argentine ants generate strong pheromone trails when foraging. They can be easily tracked. In many areas, you will see them pathing three and four abreast.

The recommended products for the protein and grease eating cycle would be:

• MAXFORCE ANT BAIT STATIONS




• FLUORGUARD ANT BAIT STATIONS




• MAXFORCE ANT GRANULARS

The recommended products for the sugar eating cycle would be:

• MAXFORCE ANT KILLER BAIT GEL

  
  

•  REVENGE LIQUID ANT BAIT

• MAXFORCE GRANULAR ANT BAIT is an excellent choice for the outside , feeding all their dietary needs.

• Ant bait stations such as : ANT CAFES'S
  small or large plastic cubes (that snap shut )that keep the gel or dry granulated bait inside, may serve to keep the baits intact.

FOR SMALL SIZED ANTS (feeds all the dietary needs:protein, grease and sugar)
Maxforce Ant Bait Kit
Complete Ant Bait Kits: Small

• Perimeter treatment with a long lasting residual sprays such as Suspend SC or Demon WP can at times prevent them from entering structures

  
  SUSPEND SC  or  DEMON WP

Argentine Ants  / Fire Ants / Ghost Ants /   Leaf Cutter Ants /  Odorous House Ants /  Pharoah Ants / Carpenter Ants