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GHOST ANTS - APPEARANCE:
Ghost ants look like tiny, white apparitions who suddenly appear and seem
to disappear just as quickly.
Ghost ants workers are are 1/16 inch/1.5 mm in length.
Ghost ants' legs, pedicel, gaster, and antennae are pale, almost translucent,
in color and the head and thorax are darker.
For this reason, ghost ants are also known in some areas as the black-headed ant.
GHOST ANTS: REPRODUCTION:
Colonies of ghost ants tend to be moderate to large in size and multiple
queens are present. New colonies are started by "budding"
where one or more reproductive females, several workers,
and possibly some brood(larvae and pupae) migrate to a new nesting site.
Their biology in similar to the Pharoah ant.
GHOST ANTS - ANT TRAILS:
An excellent article(click on the PDF button-the top right corner
of the document)by Univ. of Florida Extension Service can be found at .
It gives an overview of management of ghost ants with baits.
GHOST ANTS - WHY ANT BAIT?
The use of residual
sprays or dusts will cause stress on the ghost ants colonies,
causing them to split
into sub-colonies that scatter to other areas in the structure.
This is also called budding.
After spraying ghost ants, your problem can be worse than at the beginning.
When you bait ghost ants, you will want a slow acting bait.
Quick kill insecticides and ant baits will only kill the foraging ghost 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 ghost ants,
if they are not visiting the bait, it is recommended that you change the ant bait.
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 of ghost ants met,
you may want to be ready with a sugar-carbohydrate ant bait, a grease-fat ant bait,
and a protein based ant bait.
Ghost ants tend to forage in a more random pattern than does the pharaoh ant,
so that feeding trails may be more difficult to recognize.
Ghost ants have a high need for water and may be commonly found in or around kitchens,
baths or other moisture sources.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMOVE ANY OTHER FOOD COMPETITION WHEN BAITING AND LEAVE THE BAIT ALONE ONCE THE GHOST ANTS START FEEDING ON IT.
GHOST ANTS - HABITS:
Ghost ants are found in warm climates and can be a big problem in tropical areas of the world.
In Florida, they are found mostly from Orlando south,
although they do occur as far north as Gainesville,
Florida and some isolated cases in California.
Ghost ants are highly adaptable in their nesting habits,
nesting in a variety of places.
Inside, ghost ants can be in wall voids, behind baseboards, between cabinets, etc.
Ghost ants also like to nest in the soil of potted plants.
Foraging activity of ghost ants indoors is typically concentrated in the kitchen or bathroom,
with a high need of water, although any room can be affected.
The nesting habits of ghost ants are similar to Pharoah ants.
Outside, they can be found nesting in soil of potted plants,
under stones, under and inside logs and firewood.
Ghost ants also nest in cavities and crevices in trees and shrubs.
Ghost ants will enter structures, usually by trailing from nests
along the foundation or by branches of trees and/or shrubs
that contact the structure.
Ghost ants tend to forage in a random pattern,
feeding trails may be difficult to spot.
Ghost ants workers forage from these onto and up the walls of buildings,
entering through cracks around doors, windows, and soffits.
The hollows in pool enclosures also seem to be a prime nesting site.
In kitchens, ghost ants prefer to forage on sweet items such as packages
of marshmallows, syrup, honey, candy and sugar.
They will also forage on grease deposits although not as readily
as they will on sweets.
Ghost ants trails are often very difficult to see due
to the tiny size and pale coloration of these ants.
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