Ant Extermination sydney
Adult ants species come in a variety of shapes and sizes but each will be one of three different colony castes; queens, workers or males. Queens are fertile females that lay all the eggs in a colony. Workers are wingless females that gather food, feed larvae, maintain the nest, defend the colony, and do not reproduce. Male ants are winged and their only job is to mate with the queens during the swarming process.
Peppermint oil on cotton balls can be strategically placed around the home to deter ants due to their aversion to the scent.
Cinnamon is a natural deterrent for ants due to its strong smell, so I sprinkle it near entry points.
Use chalk or baby powder to create barriers to prevent ants from crossing certain areas.
Lavender is used to disrupt ants’ scent trails, either by planting it or using its oil.
Keep pet food in airtight containers, and use natural repellents around pet feeding areas.
A pest control expert in Sydney will thoroughly inspect your property to identify the ant species, assess the infestation level, and locate all entry points. Based on these findings, the exterminator will choose the most effective treatment for your situation. Whether you’re dealing with bull ants, carpenter ants, or black garden ants, reach out to us today for professional assistance.
Poor sanitation is the primary cause of ant infestations. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink, food residue on countertops, crumbs on the floor and trash not frequently emptied provide food sources for meal-seeking ants. What starts with a few foragers entering a home can become a major problem if ants establish colonies in walls, lawns, or under home foundations.
One of the biggest problems related to ants in the home is food contamination. Ants carry bacteria on their bodies, which spreads when they crawl in pantries and across countertops. Only a few species are known to transmit diseases, but finding any type of ant in pantry goods or inside the home is an unpleasant experience that creates nuisances.
Ant control can be difficult, but there are some things you should know about how ants’ behavior can lead to big headaches for you and your home:
Entry: Ants can enter through even the tiniest cracks, seeking water and sweet or greasy food substances in the kitchen pantry or storeroom areas.
Scent trails: Ants leave an invisible chemical trail which contains pheromones for others to follow once they locate the food source.
Nest locations: They can nest about anywhere in and around your house; in lawns, walls, stumps, even under foundations.
Colony size: Colonies can number up to 300,000 to 500,000, and whole colonies can uproot and relocate quickly when threatened.
Colony Lifetime: A colony can live a relatively long lifetime. Worker ants may live seven years, and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
Do it yourself effectiveness: Most do-it-yourself ant control approaches kill only the ants you see. Some truly effective treatments can penetrate and destroy nests to help prevent these pests from returning. Also, home remedies don’t account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments.
The ant life cycle has four distinct and very different life stages: egg, larvae, pupae and adult. This is known as complete metamorphosis. It generally takes from several weeks to several months to complete the life cycle, depending upon the ant species and environmental factors.
A female ant that successfully mates with a male ant will become a queen ant that lays eggs. Fertile queens select a sheltered place to begin a nest (colony) and begin laying eggs. Ant eggs are very small – only about a half of a millimeter in diameter. The eggs are also oval, white and transparent.
After about 1-2 weeks in the egg stage, a grub-like, legless ant larvae hatches. This stage has a voracious appetite, and the adult ants spend much of their time feeding the larvae with food and liquids they digest and regurgitate.
After the larvae molts and shed their skin, they change into the pupal stage. Pupae appear somewhat like adults except their legs and antennae are folded and pressed against the pupal body. Initially, ant pupae are usually white, but slowly become darker in color as they age. Depending upon the ant species, pupae may be housed in a protective cocoon.
Once the pupal stage is complete, the adult ant comes on the scene. At the time of emergence, the adult ant is fully grown, but darkens in color as it ages. Adult ants are one of three different colony castes; queens, workers or males. Queens are fertile females that lay all the eggs in a colony. Workers are females that do not reproduce, but do gather food; feed the larvae; and maintain and clean the nest. Workers are wingless, and it is the worker stage that is seen foraging around for food or defending the colony from intruders. The male ants are winged, but their only job is to mate with the queens during the swarming process.
Yes, some ants are venomous. Ant bites and stings can cause serious symptoms and illness associated with allergic reactions and hypersensitivity to ant venom. Perhaps the most recognized reactions are seen when fire ants sting a person, particularly children, who are hypersensitive to the ant’s venom. Such occurrences may result in serious, maybe even life-threatening conditions. These stings generally create lesions and may also involve intense pain, swelling, itching and potential of anaphylaxis, a life threatening reaction that causes shock. In addition, secondary infections to ant bites and stings can occur if the bites and stings are not kept clean and properly disinfected.
While ants are not nearly as significant as mosquitoes and other medically important insects, they do carry and transmit bacterial and fungal organisms that are serious disease pathogens.
Within medical treatment and food facilities, pharaoh ants are known to transmit organisms such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Clostridium and Streptococcus. This ant species is especially worrisome in burn treatment units of hospitals where they are attracted to fluids produced by burn wounds.
Food Borne Disease Organisms
Ants also are capable of transmitting food borne disease organisms since they are known to contaminate food with disease organisms such as E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella.
In general, the typical homeowner or business manager doesn’t usually think too much about the possibility of disease transmission caused by ants. However, we all should remember that inside structures the foraging behaviors of ants involves a quest for food and moisture – behaviors that may take them to some of the less hygienic portions of the structure.
For example, some ants prefer to infest the bathrooms and kitchens in our
homes, so think about the possibility of ants picking up organisms from the garbage can or the commode and then transferring those organisms to food utensils and food preparation areas as they forage around the house. It is important to be aware and consider ants to be more serious than the nuisances they cause.
