Pest Management Professional, March 2015
SHEPErSPEctivE Ants A s a pest management skill baiting ants differs radically from baiting most other pests because youre typically on your own even though the ants are all in it together Baiting for cockroaches is like feeding dogs separate dishes for everyone keeps them from fighting for the food Baiting birds means you show up at the same time with the same food every day However these strategies do not translate into successful ant control Ants work together as a household biologically committed to making their colony successful They search for a large food source and use teamwork to move it back to the colony There are basic principles to follow for successfully baiting ants Two of my favorites are 1 WHilE yourE At Work moSt of tHE AntS ArE At HomE In practical terms this means even if you eliminate all the ants you see you cant beat them Theyll just produce more ants Across the species of pest ants only 5 percent to 20 percent of the colony goes out into the dangerous world to forage for food Everyone else works from home If you cant reach out and touch the colony at home youll lose this battle 2 AntS Work HArd to fEEd tHE colony dont mAkE tHEm Work Any HArdEr There are many activities for which ants are perfectly equipped The most visible of activities is foraging for food They have complex behaviors that enable them to find food sources and efficiently transport food to the colony Consider the multitude of dangers foraging ants face and the relatively huge amount of food they must supply to support the colony Each ant has to procure sufficient food to feed itself and another dozen ants back home They must accomplish this feat without becoming prey to a host of predators including spiders I wonder whether ants are arachnophobic I guess its not a phobia if the fear is rational Place ant baits where the ants want their food to be Look for areas of activity and use plenty of bait there If you put out too little bait theyll finish it and move on to other food For effective and efficient ant baiting find the areas where ant foragers are looking and make their day by supplying a plentiful supply that will trigger their natural instincts pmp Photo Mark ShePerdigian By mark Sheperdigian BCE Contributor When the ants go marching You can reach Sheperdigian at shep@ rosepest com The ants you see arent the problem Theyre only a symptom The real problem is the colony constantly producing more ants place bait where the ants are looking for food Use enough bait to do the job These red imported fire ant workers Solenopsis invicta exploit spilled grease as a food resource mypmp net pest management professional March 2015 61
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