By Sharon Omahen
University of Georgia
As outdoor temperatures get hotter and conditions get drier,
humans aren’t the only ones coming indoors. Argentine ants are
marching inside, too.
“If you have them, you definitely know it,” said Dan Suiter, an
entomologist with the University of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “They travel in trails
into kitchens, offices and bathrooms searching for food and
water.”
Argentine ants are small, just an eighth of an inch long. Native
to South America, they were accidentally introduced into the
United States more than 100 years ago in New Orleans coffee
shipments.
Difficult-to-control
“Since then, they’ve spread throughout the Southeastern states
and into southern California and Hawaii,” Suiter said. “They’re
one of the most pestiferous and most difficult-to-control ants in
the U.S. A single colony can consist of hundreds of thousands of
ants.”
Suiter says the tiny pests travel indoors in the winter, too. But
they’re much more of a problem in the summer. “They’re horrible
in the summertime,” he said.
During the winter, Argentine ants move inside to survive the
cold. They live inside closed spaces, like walls, until spring,
when they move outside. By fall, their colonies have grown to a
peak.
“When we encounter a drought, like now, while the colonies are
growing, they will readily come inside,” Suiter said. “As
temperatures begin to cool, they will re-enter structures to
survive the cold. And next spring the process will start all over
again.”
Sugar, syrup lovers
Despite this cycle, you can reduce your chances of having these
ants in your home by thoroughly rinsing all drink cans before
placing them into the garbage or recycling bin and by emptying
garbage containers often.
“Like any other time of year, don’t leave any food or drinks
out,” Suiter said. “These ants can find a Coke can with just a
little syrup left in it. They love sugar, and they’ll show up by
the thousands, literally overnight.”
Suiter doesn’t recommend arming yourself with an over-the-counter
insect killer.
“There aren’t a lot of good products out there for homeowners to
use,” he said. “You can spray the ants and get what we call the
revenge factor. You kill a lot of ants that way. But you’ll never
get rid of them, because you haven’t hit the nest, where all the
queens are.”
Use baits or a professional
A bait that can be used indoors is Terro bait, he said. It’s a
liquid you can buy at most home-improvement and lawn-and-garden
stores.
Another effective bait, he said, is Combat Ant-Killing Gel. “It’s
available in a syringe so you can put small dabs anyplace you see
ants,” he said.
If you reach a point of desperation, Suiter recommends calling a
professional pest control company for help.
“There is one new product, Termidor, that professionals have
access to that performs well against Argentine ants,” Suiter
said. “It’s a spray for use outside the home and is not labeled
for indoor use.”
For more information on controlling pests, call your local UGA
Cooperative Extension agent at 1-800-ASK-UGA1. Or order the
homeowner edition of the UGA Cooperative Extension Pest
Management Handbook.
To order the homeowner handbook, send a $15 check payable to the
University of Georgia in care of the UGA Ag Business Office, Room
215 Conner Hall, Athens, GA 30602. Designate your check for the
homeowner edition of the Pest Management Handbook.
