Baiting would be the preferred treatment over
typical residual spraying,
so you can eliminate the entire colony, unless you use a non repellent spray.
When choosing ant baits, it is best to choose from both the sugar based baits and protein based baits .
Non Repellents For Outside and Inside Ant Control:
Spraying for Argentine Ants: Non-Repellents
The best insecticides for ant control are non repellent insecticides such as Taurus SC, Termidor SC, Optigard Flex, Alpine Aerosol, and Phantom Aerosol. Termidor SC and Taurus SC are labeled for inside usage.
Unless you can treat the nest directly, spraying
is not an effective solution for Argentine Ants, unless you use
a non repellent insecticides or "undetectable" liquid treatments Phantom Aerosol or Alpine Aerosols labeled for the inside. Optigard Flex is another very good non repellent labeled for inside for Argentine Ants(ants popular in California)
Unlike older insecticides,
non repellent insecticides can't be smelled, tasted, or even
felt by pests. So they crawl through the treated area, not
knowing that by ingesting treated materials or merely contacting
the insecticide, they'll die.
Again, workers must eat the bait, take it back to the nest, and feed to the queen and larval ants. This type of control is incompatible with treatments(such as repellent sprays)that prevent workers from returning to the nest with the bait.
ARGENTINE ANTS - APPEARANCE:
The wingless worker ant (most commonly spotted),
is light to dark brown, about 1/12
to 1/8 inch long .
Argentine ants' antennae are strongly elbowed(12 segments) and there is a single node
in front of the abdomen(a waist).
Queens are 1/6 to 1/4 inch long.
How to Identify Argentine Ants:
- Uniformly dull brown
- Petiole with 1 erect node
- Thorax uneven in shape when viewed from side
- Musty odor emitted when crushed
- When identifying Argentine ants, be sure to look for the uneven thorax and 1 erect petiole node.
ARGENTINE ANTS - WHY ANT BAIT?
The use of residual
sprays or dusts will cause stress on the colonies,
causing them to split
into sub-colonies that scatter to other areas in the structure.
This is also called budding.
After spraying, your problem can be worse than at the beginning.
When you ant bait, you will want a slow acting bait.
Quick kill insecticides and baits will only kill the foraging ants,
not allowing the foraging ants to take the bait back home to feed the queen,
nest workers and brood.
If the current ant bait that you are using is not acceptable to the ants,
if they are not visiting the bait,
it is recommended that you change the baits.
Ants require carbohydrates - sugars, proteins and greases.
They find a variety of these sources in nature.
Examples are: other insects(proteins and greases), nectar, aphid honeydew,
plant products (sugar and carbohydrates)
Choosing an ant bait would require knowing what they are currently feeding off of,
according to the nutritional needs of the colony.
To be sure that you have all the baiting needs met,
you may want to be ready with a sugar-carbohydrate bait,
a grease-fat bait, and a protein based bait.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMOVE ANY OTHER FOOD COMPETITION WHEN ANT BAITING
AND LEAVE THE BAIT ALONE ONCE THE ANTS START FEEDING ON IT.
HABITS
Argentine ants can persist in conditions where
other ant species could not
survive.
They like to nest in moist soil next to buildings or under them.
They
can be found near sidewalks or plants.
They nest near water and food sources.
Foraging ants will enter the house when outside conditions
are extremely dry
or wet.
Colonies are large, often containing hundreds of queens.
The queens and larvae form will eat the protein / grease combination
almost exclusively,
while the workers will eat
the sugar based baits.
They are extremely mobile, will move colonies frequently.
Ant baiting is the preferred treatment over typical residual spraying with repellent sprays,
so you can
eliminate the entire colony.
Argentine ants generate strong pheromone trails when foraging. They can be easily tracked. In many areas, you will see them pathing three and four abreast.
The recommended products for the protein/grease eating cycle would be:
