Pharoh Ant Control - Bait, spray, granule treatments

Pharoh Ant
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See lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/ants/PharoahAnt.htm

Pharoh ants are a lot more difficult to control than other types. It also takes a completely different approach. Positive identification is the most important part of control for this ant. It is known for easily dividing into many smaller colonies throughout the structure if treated with anything other than a bait product. Baiting is the only way to gain control and this may take months even with a dedicated effort.

Colonies range in size from thousands to several hundred thousands of members. Each established colony will contain several hundred reproductive females as well as workers and queens. New colonies are formed through a budding process with as few as 5 workers, 10 pre adults, and 1 queen. As you can tell it does not take much for a new colony to form if the right group of members are broken off from the regular pheromone trails leading to the primary colony. Only about 10% of the workers are out foraging at a time.

They are a tremendous problem in multi unit/floor structures such as apartment complexes, hospitals, prisons, and homes. Their preferred nesting sites are in warm secluded areas in walls, sub floors, electrical and switch plate boxes, cracks, gaps, holes, or similar areas. They commonly use electrical and phone lines as a path to travel within a structure.

They prefer meats and greases and will eat dead or live insects. Other food choices include items containing sugar such as syrup, fruit juices, jellies, and cakes. In hospitals they can be a real nuisance due to the habit of infesting patients wounds, surgical suites and feeding on newborn infant secretions and IV tubes. For trail and nest areas look near water sources including sink and drain areas even potted plants.

Control of this ant differs from other ants. Baits are the only method of control. Do not under any circumstances use any spray or liquid residual materials. If a residual is used it will divide up the colony into many smaller colonies throughout the structure. This precaution is worth repeating. Sometimes it may be necessary to draw them out of the walls through a pre-baiting process. Mint Apple jelly has proven to be effective for this. Once you have the ants trailing to a specific area now you can work with them. This is when you would switch to the bait.

There are several residual products in the form of aerosols, liquids, and granules that are labeled to control ants. This is not the best type of products to use unless you have to gain immediate control in a particular area. This type of treatment kills the ones you see but has no effect on controlling the problem from where it starts, the colony, which is behind the wall, under the slab, or under some other object. With ants the workers take the bait to the larvae where they process the particle bait to a liquid then transfer it to the other colony members and control is achieved in this manner. Baits in general are the best method for ant control.

Once you have an established trail you would now start the baiting process. Ant Cafe Bait Stations 8/pk are small empty stations you can fill with liquid, gel, or particle baits. This provides a good container to place where needed. Some people like to use their own “recipe” of ingredients for control of ants and other small insects. Terro Ant Killer Gel Bait 16 oz. btl. would be a good product to place inside the Ant Café Stations. Uncle Albert’s Super Smart Ant Bait 43 gram Tube is a real convenient product to use if the trails are in a high location such as along the top of the bathroom mirror or backsplash, above a doorway, or along any other vertical area where a station could not sit. A helpful hint may be to place a small section painters tape or low adhesion masking tape down first to make the removal of the gel easy. Otherwise when the problem is gone you will need to remove the gel with a plastic scraper or similar utensil. There are other good gel products such as Maxforce FC Ant Gel Bait 60 gram Tube each, Maxforce FC Ant Gel Bait 60 gram tube 3/box, Maxforce FC Ant Gel Bait 30 gram Tube each, Maxforce FC Ant Gel Bait 30 gram Tube 4/box. Niban is a particle bait that would very good in the void areas in the walls that the other materials could not reach. It could also be applied in the structure in areas such as warehouse or storage areas, behind large items, sink pipe void areas, inside light and electrical switch plate covers, inside bath tub over flow cover areas if accessible, under base boards, garages, out buildings, and sheds. These products include Niban FG Insect Bait 1 lb. btl. The snuffers work great for the interior void areas because it has an extended tip to reach inside these areas. The particle bait works well because the ants you see take it to the ants you don’t see. The Niban products in particular work well because they contain protein and carbohydrate food attractants on the particles. Sometimes ants have a protein or meat preference and sometimes they have a carbohydrate or sweet preference.

Phantom Termiticide-Insecticide 21 oz. btl is a material for interior use only at specified areas. Termidor SC Termiticide-Insecticide 20 oz. btl is for exterior use only at specified areas and intervals. Termidor and Phantom are liquid ant bait concentrates. The Termidor is only available to Pest Control Operators with proof of a Termite License.

Most all ants forage around the foundation grass line area in search of food or better harborage areas and travel back and forth to the inside. Foundation perimeter treatment is a part of the overall treatment also. Here again do not use a residual material or you could divide the primary colony routes into smaller colonies making control nearly impossible. Use these Niban products for the foundation grass line, landscape areas, and/or yard areas because they come in sizes more suited to outside applications. These include Niban Insect Bait 5 lb. Shaker Bag, or Niban Insect Bait 40 lb. Bag. The particles are water resistant through up to 4 inches of water. This bait works well through sprinkler cycles, rain, or heavy dew. The particle size is about the same size as a lot of the organic matter they can feed on. It also controls other pests such as roaches, crickets, and earwigs, which are found in the same general area as ants.

If you have these ants trailing through the weep holes use the Niban or other particle bait products such as Maxforce Fine Granular Insect Bait 10 oz. btl, Maxforce Fine Granular Insect Bait 6 lb. btl, Maxforce Granular Insect Bait 10 oz. btl, Maxforce Granular Insect Bait 6 lb. btl, Maxforce Granular Insect Bait 25 lb. btl, Advance Granular Ant Bait 12 oz. btl, and Advance Granular Ant Bait 6 lb. btl to gain control. The best way to apply these particle baits is with a 14 oz.Centrobulb Duster.

After the immediate problem is controlled applying insecticide dust in the weepholes and other void areas such as gaps, cracks, holes or other areas along the outside is a good control measure for pests entering through this area. These products include Delta Dust 1 lb. btl, Delta Dust 5 lb. btl, Borid 1 lb. btl, or Borid 5lb. btl. The insecticide dust is best applied with a Crusader Hand Duster. The dust works by applying a light amount in the target area. The pest then walks across it, picks it up on their body then ingests the dust as they and other nest mates groom themselves. The dust is a stomach poison and control is completed in this manner. If too big of a placement is applied they will avoid the area. A lot of social insects will detect sickness or exposure to poisons in members and will kill them before they can affect the whole colony.

Copper mesh is a good product to fill the weep holes with. Since it is made of copper it won’t leave streaks down the foundation and the mesh is wide enough to allow adequate ventilation behind the bricks. This includes products such as Stuf-fit Copper Mesh 20 ft. roll, Stuf-fit Copper Mesh 20 ft. Precut, and Stuf-fit Copper Mesh 100 ft. Roll.

Always read and follow label directions. For additional information call Do It Yourself Pest Control Supply at 972-562-9999, 903-891-8818, or 866-562-8999 for all your do it yourself pest control supplies.