Prepare for Summer's Invasive Pest: Ants

Who thinks of ants in the winter? They are normally dormant in their nests living on food they harvested before winter set in. Yet preparing for ants this year is important, especially if ant infestations are anything like they were last year.

In preparing to deal with ants, it helps to understand a little about their recent behavior.

Dealing with ants before 2010 was nothing new. What was new, strange and slightly scary was the fact that certain species were more aggressive last year. In urban areas, scientists found super-sized ant colonies in which millions were infesting entire city blocks. Myrmologists, the scientists who study ants, took note of the evolutionary changes in ant genomes throughout the United States and abroad. This is what they found:

There are over 14,000 species of ants, and at least 1,000 that have not been defined.

In the forest, there is one queen and 50 worker ants to a colony confined to very small spaces. Ants located near an urban area, such as in a park, occupied colonies with 500 workers and one queen.

Ants that lived in urban areas where there's an abundance of food and shelter had colonies consisting of six million workers with 50,000 queens. These super colonies occupied an entire city block near Purdue University in Indiana. In Tacoma Park, Maryland, ants located within 100 feet of each other belonged to the same colony, meaning the colony was at least that size.

Why was the ant population in the woods so low, and the population of the same species of ant in cities abnormally high? Scientists determined that the ant's ability to adapt to its urban environment through genetics caused the increase in numbers.

What does this mean for urban dwellers? Ant infestations are more invasive and aggressive. Ants aren't just a pain at picnics; they were pesky problems in every area of human existence, including homes, offices and vehicles. Entomologists are seeking ways to control exploding ant populations without hurting the environment with toxic pesticides.
Taking precautions to prevent ant infestations include:

Keep surfaces and floors clean of crumbs and sticky substances. Keep sugar and other food items in clean, airtight containers. Keep trash cans tightly closed and fix any water leaks.

Follow ant trails to entry points and use caulk to seal them off.

Sprinkle the floor with cornstarch and vacuum ants that have already invaded your home to kill them.

Create environmentally friendly DIY pesticides and ant motels using borax mixed with other ingredients or boric acid or diatomaceous earth (DE). Boric acid and DE are only toxic if inhaled directly.

For more detailed information on how to safely control ant infestations, visit the Green Guide for Everyday Living site http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/garden/how-to-control-ants/1.

I spent last summer traveling while working, and there were hundreds of ants riding with me. One day in particular, I traveled 120 miles to and from work surrounded by ants crawling in and out of my CD player and vent system. Some shared the driver's seat with me. Others were passengers in the front seat. Still others made the back floorboard their home. I'm assuming they weren't fire ants, since they didn't eat me alive. Some said they were the tiny black sugar ants, also known as Argentine ants. Friends and family members had similar stories of ants invading their bathtubs, garages, decks and porches. With this information and tips, we can be ready to both prevent and combat this highly adaptable pest: the ant.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201101623.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100330115922.htm

http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2010/07/16/30998/the_tiny_ant_thats_taking_on_the_big_city?source=npr&category=science