Login Status |
|
Not logged in
|
| » Login |
Copyright © 2006
Uncle Alberts Ant Bait
|
|
| Identification |
 |
There are several kinds of ants that may occur in and around
the home ranging in size from about 1/32 to 3/4 inch long and
colored yellowish, light brown, reddish-brown, brownish-black or
jet black. Ants, as all insects, have three body parts: head,
thorax, and abdomen. Most are wingless, but the homeowner
sometimes may confuse swarming, winged ants with swarming,
winged termites, causing alarm. Ants can be easily distinguished
from termites by several characteristics:
- Ant bodies appear constricted or pinched in at the waist (shaped
like a figure 8), while termites do not have the waist
constriction.
- Ants have elbowed antennae, while termites have straight,
bead-like antennae.
- The forewings of ants are much larger than the hindwings.
Termites' wings are equal in size and shape.
- Ant wings are transparent or brownish, while termite wings are
milky-white or grayish and longer than the body.
- Ant wings are firmly attached, while termite wings are easily
removed or shed (fall off).
|
| What Type of Ant Do I Have? |
|
|
| Life Cycle and Habits |
| Ants are social insects that live in colonies or
nests usually located in the soil near the house foundation,
under concrete slabs, in crawlspaces, in structural wood, in the
yard or garden, in trees and in other protected places. Ants
have three castes, namely queens, males and workers. Queens and
males are the reproductives. Workers are sterile wingless
females. New ant colonies are started by a single fertilized
queen that lays eggs and tends her brood (larvae and pupae) that
develop into worker ants. Tending of the brood is then taken
over by the worker, which may shift the brood from place to
place as moisture and temperature fluctuate in the nest. When
workers forage for food for the queen and her young, they often
may enter houses and become a nuisance by their presence and
contaminate food. |
| Carpenter Ant
Camponotus spp. |
 |
These ants are a nuisance by their
presence when found in parts of the home such as the kitchen,
bathroom, living room and other quarters. They do not eat wood,
but remove quantities of it to expand their nest size, sometimes
causing structural damage. Winged males are smaller than winged
queens. Wingless queens measure 5/8 inch, winged queens 3/4
inch, large major workers 1/2 inch and small minor workers 1/4
inch. Workers have some brown on them, while queens are black.
Workers have large heads and a small thorax while adult swarmers
have a smaller head and large thorax. The petiole has one node
and the profile of the thorax has an evenly rounded upper
surface (workers only). |
| Cornfield Ant Lasius
alienus (Foerster) |
 |
Nests are very commonly found in fields, lawns, between
bricks in the walk, beneath rocks, in pavement cracks, etc.
Numerous mounds of its nests are commonly seen in the lawn. They
invade the home for sweets. They live on nectar of flowers, live
and dead insects and are very fond of honeydew. They collect the
eggs of corn root aphids, storing them in burrows during the
winter, then in the spring, carry young to the roots of corn.
Yellowish, retarded corn and the presence of anthills around the
injured corn plants are evidence of this dependent relation
between the ant and aphids. They also transport strawberry root
aphids to the crowns and roots of strawberries. Workers are
about 1/10 to 1/4 inch long, light to dark brown, soft-bodied,
robust, one node petiole (long pointed segment), 12-segmented
antennae, without an antennal club, with the anal opening at the
end of the abdomen, circular, and surrounded by a fringe of
hairs. They have large eyes on the head and, when crushed, emit
a strong odor of "formic acid." |
| Larger Yellow Ant
Acanthomyops interjectus (Mayr.) |
 |
These ants are often mistaken for winged termites since the
winged adults swarm through cracks in basement walls or floors,
crawl around and are attracted to lights. They live in the soil
next to the building foundation, under basement floors, in
concrete voids or in rotting wood, and feed on honeydew of
subterranean aphids and mealybugs, which live on the roots of
shrubs planted near residences. Winged forms are dark brown or
blackish-brown with brownish, somewhat clouded wings and bodies
measuring 3/8 to 1/4 inch long to the wing tips. Workers are
pale yellowish-brown, about 5/32 to 3/16 inch long. They cluster
around cracks and crevices and, when crushed, give off a strong
odor, smelling like "citronella" or a certain kind of toilet
soap. They are smooth, shiny, quite hairy, have 12-segmented
antennae, one node petiole (long, pointed segment), small eyes
on the head, uneven thorax profile and the anal opening at the
end of the abdomen is circular surrounded by a fringe of hairs.
Workers stay underground during the day and forage at night. |
| Pharaoh Ant Monomorium
pharaonis (Linn.) |
 |
This ant is a serious nuisance in hospitals, rest homes,
apartment dwellings, hotels, grocery stores, food
establishments, etc. They feed on jellies, honey, shortening,
peanut butter, corn syrup, fruit juices, soft drinks, greases,
dead insects, and even shoe polish. They have been found in
surgical wounds, I.V. glucose solutions, and sealed packs of
sterile dressing in hospitals. These ants are capable of
mechanically transmitting diseases, Staphylecoccus and
Psuedomonas infections in hospitals. Workers are very small
about 1/16 inch long, light yellow to reddish-brown colored with
the hind portion of the abdomen somewhat darker. The petiole has
two nodes and the thorax is spineless. The antennae has 12
segments with the antennal club composed of three segments. |
| Thief Ant Solenopsis
molesta (Say) |
 |
These ants are prevalent around kitchen sinks and in the
cupboards, feeding on grease, oils, cheese, meat, dead insects,
etc. They don't seem to feed on sweets. Workers are very small
ants, about 1/32 to 1/20 inch long, smooth, shiny, yellowish to
bronze colored with two nodes in the petiole, a 10- segmented
antennae with a two segmented club, thorax without spines and
small eyes on the head. It nests in the soil or wood, robs the
food and brood of other ants, hollows out seeds for the oil
content and may feed on dead rodents. |
| Pavement Ant
Tetramorium caepitum (Linn.) |
 |
This is one of the most common tiny house-invading ants in
Ohio with nests usually found outdoors under stones, in pavement
cracks, along the curb edges and in crevices of masonry and
woodwork. Pavement ants may forage in the home throughout the
year, feeding on grease, meat, live and dead insects, honeydew,
roots of plants and planted seeds. Workers are sluggish, between
1/12 to 1/4 inch long, light to dark brown or blackish, hairy,
12-segmented antennae with a three segmented club, a pair of
short spines at the rear of the thorax, two nodes in the
petiole, pale legs and antennae, and the head and thorax
furrowed with parallel lines or grooves running top to bottom.
In winter, nests may be found in the home near a heat source. |
| Little Black Ant
Monomorium minimum (Buckley) |
 |
These are the common house ants which nest in woodwork,
masonry, soil and rotted wood. They feed on sweets, meats,
vegetables, honeydew and other insects. Workers are about 1/8
inch long, slender, shiny black, sometimes dark brown with two
nodes in the petiole and a 12-segmented antennae with a three
segmented club. Nests in the ground are detected by the very
small craters of fine soil. |
| False Honey Ant
Prenolepis imparis (Say) |
 |
These ants, sometimes called "cold weather ants," normally
nest outdoors in the soil, but occasionally can be found in
kitchens feeding on food and beverages. They forage along scent
(pheromone) trails on counter tops with 12 or more ants in a
line. Workers vary from light to dark brown (almost black) in
color, are very shiny, have a triangular abdomen and are about
1/8 inch long. The petiole has one node, the profile of the
thorax is uneven and the first antennal segment (scape) is
longer than the head. |
| Allegheny Mound Ant
Formica exsectoides Forel |
 |
This ant normally lives outdoors with nests consisting of
huge conical mounds, sometimes measuring nearly three feet high
by six feet in diameter. Undoubtedly, some enter homes
occasionally since they are fond of sweets, but normally attend
honeydew-secreting insects on plants and are predaceous on other
insects. Workers are about 1/4 inch long with a blackish-brown
abdomen and legs, while the head and thorax are rust red. New
colonies are founded by extension of or breaking off from
existing colonies when workers migrate away with one or more
queens. Related field ants may be brown, black, red or of
various combinations of these colors. |
| Lawn Ant Iridomyrmex
pruinosus var. analis (E. Andre) |
 |
This ant nests in well-drained, clay or gravelly soil and
makes the well-known small anthills with a central entrance.
Workers are about 1/4 inch long, yellowish in color occurring in
lawns, golf courses, pastures, under walks or stones and on
trees. The abdomen is light tan with a darker brown band on each
segment on the under and hind region. The head, thorax and legs
are slightly darker orange-brown than the abdomen. |
| Acrobat Ant
Cremastogaster lineolata (Say) |
 |
These ants may invade the home for food (sweets and meat).
They feed on sweet juices such as honeydew of aphids, nectar,
plant sap, etc. They build "cowsheds or tents" of plant or
earthen material over aphids, which they tend. Workers are about
1/8 to 1/4 inch long, light brownish-yellow, and are recognized
by a heart-shaped abdomen, flattened on the upper surface and
curved below. They have a two node petiole attached to the upper
part of the abdomen and a pair of spines on the thorax. When
disturbed, they elevate their abdomens, directing them forward
in an acrobatic manner and bite fiercely. They nest under wood,
such as stumps, under boards, in hollow trees, under trash,
rocks, in windows and door frames. They have an objectionable
odor.
|
| Odorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile (Say) |
 |
These ants occasionally forage indoors for sweets and other
foods. They give off an unpleasant odor when crushed, smelling
like "rotten coconuts." Workers are brown to dark-brown in
color, about 1/10 inch long. The petiole has one node (hidden by
the abdomen) and the profile of the thorax is uneven. |
| Crazy Ant Paratrechina
longicornis (Latrielle) |
 |
These ants will feed on sweets and kitchen scraps, but
prefer to feed on animal matter and insects such as fly larvae
and adults. Ants present the appearance of running aimlessly
about a room and, thus, named "crazy." Workers are about 1/10
inch long, with slender long legs, dark brown to black in color,
one node petiole, the profile of the thorax not evenly rounded,
and the abdomen tip has a circular fringe of hairs. |
| Southern Fire Ant
Solenopsis xyloni (Myrmicinae) |
 |
These ants will feed on insects, sweet foods, grease,
proteins, seeds, almonds, young tree bark, and honeydew. They
are active in the morning and early evening and do not trail.
They may swarm out of nests if disturbed and can inflict painful
stings. Nest in small mounds or in patches of loose soil near
moisture. The nests are flattened, irregular craters with one to
many openings; located usually in warm, sunny areas. They may be
found in wood or under rocks and boards or in wall voids, crawl
spaces, and under carpets. Worker ants vary in size from
1/8-inch long to more than 1/4-inch long with an amber-colored
head and thorax with a mostly black abdomen and a body covered
with golden hairs. |
| Red Imported Fire Ant
Solenopsis invicta (Myrmicinae) |
 |
These ants will feed on living insects, dead animals,
honeydew, sweet foods, proteins, and fats. They are extremely
aggressive and if disturbed, will swarm out of nests and attack
in large numbers and can inflict a very painful sting. They
travel in distinct trails along foundations, sidewalks, patios,
up sides of buildings, along baseboards, and under edges of
carpets. They nest in mounds with multiple openings in soil or
lawns, usually in open sunny areas near a water source. If
undisturbed, mounds may reach up to 18 inches high and 24 inches
wide and will become dome-shaped after 2-3 years. Sometimes
nests are found in buildings, wall voids, crawl spaces, or under
carpets. Workers ants vary in size from 1/16-inch to 1/5-inch
long with a reddish body with shiny dark brown gaster with
stinger. |
| Argentine Ant Paratrechina
longicornis (Dolichodorinae) |
 |
These ants will feed on sweets, fresh fruit, buds of some
plants, oils from the home and tend honeydew-producing species.
They travel rapidly in distinctive trails along sidewalks, up
sides of buildings, along branches of trees and shrubs, along
baseboards, and under edges of carpets. They nest outdoors in
soil, under wood, slabs, debris, mulch, or in branches and
cavities of trees and shrubs in shallow, 1 to 2-inch deep mounds
in open, often disturbed habitats, either moist or dry. Workers
are all the same size, small, 1/8-inch long and uniformly dull
brown. |
| Red Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Smith) |
|
Picture currently unavailable |
These ants eat seeds and dead insects. Often there is no
vegetation within a 3 to 6 feet circular around the central
opening of their colony and along foraging trails radiating from
the colony. Worker ants are 1/4 to 1/2-inch long and red to dark
brown. They have square heads and no spines on the body.
Harvester ant workers are commonly sold for ant farms. |
| Texas Leafcutting Ant
Atta texana (Buckley) |
|
Picture currently unavailable |
These ants (also known as town ants, cut ants, parasol ants,
fungus ants or night ants) will eat weeds, small grains, forage
and turf grasses, fruit and nut trees including plum and peach
trees, blackberry bushes, and many ornamental plants. Pine trees
and pine seedlings may also be damaged when other plant material
is scarce. Worker ants travel up to 600 ft. or more along
foraging trails and dismantle foliage into leaf pieces that they
carry back to the colony over their bodies. Worker ants are rust
brown, 1/16 to 1/2 inch long. |
| |
|
| Information on this page comes from one of the
following sources: |
|
|
I am a Manager of an Apartment Complex and we discovered Uncle Albert's several years ago. We had an entire building infested with Pharaoh ants that we were unable to get rid of. Your product did the trick and we have recommended your product to all our other sister communities for their ant problems and we are all delighted with the results. Thank you.- Lu, Centerline, MI |
More Happy Customers!
|
Uncle Albert's Super Smart Ant Bait
866.Kill.Ants / 866.545.5268 (PHONE)
310.388.0641 (FAX)
Email UncleAlbert
|
|
|
