Summary: Pharaoh ants, despite their small size, are the most invasive of all household ants. Pharaoh ants build colonies quickly and the spread of pharaoh ants is difficult to control.
Pharaoh ants are well-known troublemakers. They are notorious for getting into places they shouldn't be because they are small and can chew through plastic bags or wiring. This can cause a big problem in hospitals when they find their way into sterile environments or even into IV bags.
I'm going to tell you some things about why Pharaoh ants are so different from other types of ants. First, their colonies have multiple queens and they have a different reproductive cycle than most ants. So what, you say? Well, get lucky enough to find a queen and kill her, you still have not eliminated the
Pharaoh ant nest. Also, they mate in their nests rather than forming reproductive swarms above ground, so unlike other ants that warn you of their presence with their swarms, you never know Pharaoh ants are there until you find them infesting something.
Pharaoh ants can build their nests in wall voids, baseboards, under floors, in trash containers, under stones, and dark, warm areas near water pipes. Hospitals, apartment buildings, hotels, and grocery stores are often plagued with pharaoh ants. They build new colonies quick and resist treatment by condensing several colonies into one colony. Several separate Pharaoh ant colonies living close together sometimes makes it appear as if there is one huge colony. If the nests are under attack by a predator or a pesticide, the colonies can unite to “weather the storm”. This resilience makes it difficult to eliminate the colony and can take up to a year to effectively treat a large pharaoh ant infestation.
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Here's the worst part. If you try to treat Pharaoh ants with a pesticide they don't like they will create a satellite nest and start a new colony. So, you can't just go around spraying Raid Ant Spray or you'll double your trouble. Instead, Pharaoh ant control is achieved using bait systems. Advance Dual Choice, Floor Guard, and Maxforce FC are some indoor baiting systems that have had success treating pharaoh ants. The bait stations are placed where the worker ants forage for food, close to floorboards and in the corners of rooms. The ants take the slow acting bait back to the colony and it slowly poisons the nest without causing alarm.
If you can't follow instructions on the bait, don't start the project. You'll just make it worse. Call a professional pest control company to do the job for you.
Click here to watch my short video on how to control ants.
Comments
Tara
19 Aug 2009, 02:04
I have a huge Pharaoh Ant problem going on in my apartment, It's gotten so
bad that I try to avoid going to my apartment. I mean they are everywhere.
Their in my bedroom,furniture,the floor, bathroom,the kitchen you name it.
I've asked my Landlord if he could do something about it and he told me
"sorry, I never brought them here". I am so frustrated that I am trying to
move outta there but stuck in a lease and also I am terrified that if i
move my stuff to a new apartment I might bring the ants with me without
knowing. How do I go abouts getting rid of them without bringing them with
me.
Jamie
19 Aug 2009, 19:54
Tara I have the exact same problem. These ants get into everything and I
just can't stand it anymore but I'm terrified that they will follow me to
my next place. I have complained to my apartment office so many times,
I've even called them crying. Pest control comes every week, last week I
was able to talk to the guy. I told him that the ants aren't eating the
bait anymore and he said sorry this is the only product available to kill
them! Is there anything else I can do??
Teandra
17 Sep 2009, 15:14
I wish I would have read your article before I started using Raid. The
exterminators have came out every week for the last 7 weeks, they even
drilled holes in the walls to release a foam that should have gotten rid of
the problem. However, the ants are still here. It's so bad, that my
daughter was eating cereal when I realized that ants were all in the cereal
box. My property manager said we can move. How do I move without bringing
these ants with me?
sarah
10 Oct 2009, 19:08
hello i just moved to an apartment and noticed i have pharaoh ants..i fist
looked online to see wat kind of ants they were...but didnt realyl know
because they were so small so i took a microscope..then i was able to
identify them...well i called my building manager they said i would be on
the list to get sumone to come in the thing i dont get why wouldnt they do
everyone they are just gunna come back...i dont think they realze they
should also take precaution and do the outside of the building as well to
make sure they dont come back in...but they want me to wait until
november...i know they are very small but they just gross me out..i also
read that they like to go to infants mositure...i was just wondering a few
things can my son get sick?? Can they come with me when i move?...i kno
they dont like the cold....i also seen some wood in my washroom that looks
like it was eaten at can these types of ants to that...thats where they are
the most..i dont kno what to say to my building office because i want to
approach nice but i kno treatment should be done for a year even know their
are no signs of ants anymore and i dont think they know much about it and i
was thinking of just contacting the main office would that be a bad
idea?..also one last question if i wanted to start treatment early would
that ruin anything for the guys that are coming in that are gunna lay bait
anyways...i know i read that some bait doesnt work so try others...?
Matt
30 Oct 2009, 13:41
Tara- I'm not sure where you live, But my whole building is infested with
these ants to the point where 14 residents have moved out in the past month
and 4 of them are sueing our landlord. If an infestation has grown
throughout your building you can break your lease and leave (I live in
Canada). Check your tenant rights for your area. If your landlord refuses
to do anything I'd be getting out of there really fast, it's only going to
get worse. Call a lawyer if need be.
Natalie
10 Dec 2009, 10:09
I just moved in to my apartment maybe two months ago, and I have it with
all these ants! They are everywhere! I was govong my son a bath and they
were in the towel that I grabbed to take him out with! It's like once I see
one, I can see so many others all over the place!Is there a way of getting
rid of these ants permanetely? I already know that my leasing office won't
do anything for me! I have had to throw out so much food because of these
ants, it's like the only place they cant reach anything is inside of the
fridge! What can I do?
Cheree
16 Dec 2009, 11:58
I am a property manager who has a problem with these ants. It just starting
when starting rehabbing our units. The units get treated monthly and we
tell them not to spray but keep baiting between appts. but the residents
are still not happy. What more can we do. We are doing the bait through a
proffesional and telling what to do but nothing is helping. Been going on
about a year.
Ron Marleau
26 Jan 2010, 00:46
Can these ants bite?and is there a way to have them removed.We tried the
food poison it did not help at all.We put poison powder all around the
living room,but now there showing up in our bed room.What to do?
