|
THE INVASION OF THE WHITE-FOOTED
ANT!
The newest pest to invade South Florida in the white-footed
and. It is referred to as white-footed because of its two right
feet that appear white under magnification. This pest originated
in Japan, where it was first identified. It then spread throughout
Asia and most Pacific Rim countries. It then made its way through
Hawaii and actually showed up in the Homestead area of Florida
as early as 1986. By 1990, indoor infestations had been reported
in Miami and by 1995, throughout Fort Lauderdale. Recently, Palm
beach County has been invaded.
 Fortunately, white-footed
ants do not bite or sting, nor have they have been reported to
cause any type of structural damage. They do, however, exist
in colonies made up of several hundred thousands of individuals.
Therefore, white-footed ants are considered by home owners to
be a nuisance pest. Add to this the fact that most pest exterminators
have exempted these pests from their guarantee.
What makes this pest so unusual? Once you have them, it is
very hard to get rid of them, mainly because they react differently
than other types of ants which we all are used to. We are used
to placing bait which the normal ant eats and carries in the
first of three stomachs and then returns to its nest, regurgitates
and feeds the nest including the queen. The bait then takes effect
and kill the nest. Not so with the white-footed ant. White-footed
ants are very unusual in that food ingested by foraging workers
is not regurgitated and shared with others. The sterile workers
of the nest are capable of laying unfertilized eggs which are
fed to adults within the colony and their offspring. Therefore,
certain toxic baits may affect only those members of the colony
that directly contact and ingest baits.
The white-footed ant has an unusual life cycle. There are
two different forms (morphs) of males and females, and each of
the morphs disperses from the mother colony in different ways.
Winged females and males mate during a mating flight and found
new colonies. The male mates only once before they die but the
female lives for about 400 days after founding a new colony.
The queen is then replaced by a wingless daughter who mates with
a wingless male who is capable of multiple matings. The reproductive
potential of the multiple queen white-footed ant society is much
greater than that of other ant species that have single queens.
Although these pests are strongly attracted to sweet foods,
they have been found dining on a multitude of items. Indoor locations
include the kitchen, pantry or where food is stored. It is also
common to find them in the bathroom. They usually form their
colonies within an outside wall. Outside they can be found under
piles of brush, within flowers or at wounds in trees. Since all
white-footed ants must find their own food, it is not uncommon
to find huge swarms at a food source. Since baiting doesn't help,
it is necessary to continue fighting there ants as they appear.
As previously stated, these ants are constantly forming new colonies.
These colonies are raising new invaders as you are dealing with
the older ones. For this reason it is extremely difficult to
eliminate them. Don't think that your exterminator is failing
you because they keep appearing. Unless you locate each colony
and find where they enter the house you have to be very patient.
You must prepare a strong offense to begin to eliminate these
pests. The first step is to eliminate any bushes or growth that
is against the house or th e
building. Find and caulk any openings. These ants are very small
and can get through the smallest opening. Examine all nearby
trees for traces. Since they like to forage at night, do this
with a flashlight after dark. Find the initial source and eliminate
it. The best chemicals so far are Talstar and All Pro Sevin 4.
They are designed to control pests both inside and outside and
are designed for commercial application. See to it that your
pest control contractor is using one of those chemicals. If not,
get his guarantee that he will make repeated applications at
no additional charge.
See to it that the entire outside wall is treated as well
as nearby trees. On the inside, treat the entire perimeter of
the wall and in electrical outlets. What you are basically doing
is setting up a barrier for the invading pests. Since you are
only dealing with those ants that are foraging, it may take weeks
until you eliminate your invasion. The barrier may have to be
put down numerous times.
If you have not seen these pests as yet, remember that they
are around and at their rate of reproduction, the unprepared
household would be lucky not to meet them. You should still follow
the above instructions for outside treatment. Once they find
their way in they will be around for quite a while. Remember,
the best defense is a good offense.
Reprinted from the Viewpointe, written by Leslie Marks. |
