Argentine ants and other invasive ants.

[Hill]

I'm prompted to post this because we're being invaded. Every year or two, when the weather gets really hot, we get invaded by Argentine ants. They usually end up in the kitchen or bathroom. You usually see a few at first. Often disposing of scouts will stop the invasion if they haven't returned to the colony with reports of treasures. But during heat waves they are persistant (who wants to stay outside enduring 100 F temperatures when there is so much inside?) I won't spray inside and limit outside spraying to large trails near the house. I find that Grant's ant stakes do well if you are patient enough to wait a few days until the poison is transported back to the colony and enough are killed off enough to discourage them. This year though, although they did take the bait and disapper for a few days, they returned and now avoid the bait. So I've tried a boric acid/sugar/water paste in cotton balls left on a paper plate. But they like that stuff! Lots more ants, but they staff around the bait and don't wander all over the kitchen counter. The larger stream of ants has one advantage - it lets me see wher they are entering the house and potentially where their outdoor colony is located. Attacking trails outside is next but I want them to get plenty of boric acid back home first. The stuff should work in about 2 days. Either that or I'm going to create a worse problem and have to take drastic action.

Argentine ants are established six continents and on oceanic islands. They are major pests in California where I live and in other warmer climates.

Are there any other members who have experienced home Argentine ant invasions - or perhaps invasions by other similar species? What have your solutions been.

Some useful links:

Argentine Ants Good basic description
Argentine Ant
Insecta Inspecta World - Argentine Ants
Argentine ant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
issg Database: Ecology of Linepithema humile
Linepithema humile
Linepithema Pics
Discover Life - Formicidae: Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868) - Argentine ant, Iridomyrmex humilis Clickable map here.
Genus: Linepithema - AntWeb Antweb pix and map

The Supercolony debate. Some claim that the Argentine ants are so successful because the introduced ones have little genetic variabiity. here are two articles:
Scientists challenge report of one Argentine ant supercolony flooding California

Biology News - SUCCESS OF INTRODUCED ARGENTINE ANTS TIED TO REDUCED GENETIC VARIATION


Photo from PhysOrg.com: latest science and technology news

Argentine ants attacking the much larger "stinging red ant" (Harvester ant) a native of California. The Argentine ants wipe out competing ant species. In this case the effect is also to endanger horned lizards, which feed primarily on Harvester ants.

[Tormod]

We get invaded by tiny black ants sometimes. I have no idea what the correct name is. We use pesticide powder to get rid of them, but they keep coming back.

We live in a condo so there's only so much we can do about it.

[DougF]

I've been plagued with a ant problem three different times this year, the Little buggers even got into my peanut butter, I couldn't find out how they were getting in I could beat them back and two days latter there they were, What I did was got some Amdro Fire Ant bait and walked it around my house,
This stuff works on just about all ants they think it's food Carrie it to the nest and poof no ants.
Usually I only have to do this once a year.

Fire Ant Killer and Lawn Weed Killer: Powerful Fire Ant Killers by Amdro and Tough Lawn Weed Killers by Image

[Hill]

Originally Posted by Tormod

We get invaded by tiny black ants sometimes. I have no idea what the correct name is. We use pesticide powder to get rid of them, but they keep coming back.

We live in a condo so there's only so much we can do about it.

They have been found in Norway also : http://www.cababstractsplus.org/goog...No=20053176106

This is the first record of Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) from Norway. Several hundred worker ants were found infesting 2 flats at Sandnes, Rogaland. The ants were first seen in November 2004, but not identified to species before February 2005.

So it's possible....

[Ganoderma]

thankfully i have none of those! we do have many other ants, the most annoying is the fire ant.

i have exhausted most all options here, so soon i will try Paul Stamets fungus to try and knock the bastids off their socks!

[Hill]

OK, I gave the recipe here: Argentine Ant Control a try. I modified it a bit to 10 parts sugar/1 part boric acid/5 parts water, which makes a thick paste). It worked but you have be be patient. I let the ants increase in one corner of the kitchen counter for about 2 days ( they really like sugar). This had two additional benefits and some yuck factor. Advantage 1) The ants stopped wandering to other places in the kitchen. 2) It gave me an easily identifiable trail outside where the ants accessed the house.
After two days the ants had diminished but there was still a trail. Figuring they had by now transferred lots of the borax-laced bait back to their nest, I blasted the trail outside as far as I could follow it (Raid ant spray). I returned to the kitchen and quickly moved the paper plate with bait and ants quickly outside and dosed them. Then I returned inside and using damp paper towels wiped up the ants' trail down the wall and to the former bait location. Rinsed with hot water to kill the ants on the paper and repeated for about 5 minutes.

Except for a few that had missed the big "party" they were gone and have stayed away. I made more bait bottles as in the linked page and have set them outside in the vicinity of the previous entry trail. These are attracting some ants and they continue to move the borax cocktail back to the nest. Our 105 F plus temperatures have backed off 10-15 degress and while another assault is possible, I intend to keep up the outside bait stations until much cooler weather returns - perhaps even longer. If your invasive ants like sugar this should work for you.

[Cedars]

I dont think we have that type of ant around here, but we have others that will drive ya nuts.

Whenever it gets really hot around here, I am invaded by bugs, especially spiders. I think they are looking for shelter from the heat.

If you know where they are coming in, you could try some of that expanding foam stuff, just to keep them out. I really try to avoid poisons myself.

I have several types of spider that seem to love to hunt ants. One type in particular is black, hairy, and has a white stripe down its back (I dont know what its called). It seems any time I see this type with a bug, its an ant. There are also a couple types of jumping spiders that take ants, but these guys are not particular about the type of bug. Other types of ground spiders seem to enjoy ants and if suitable habitat is near the anthill, I can have 20 spiders living in it, taking ants and their ... nymphs... the babies that they move around when still egg like.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Cedars

I dont think we have that type of ant around here, but we have others that will drive ya nuts.

Whenever it gets really hot around here, I am invaded by bugs, especially spiders. I think they are looking for shelter from the heat.

If you know where they are coming in, you could try some of that expanding foam stuff, just to keep them out. I really try to avoid poisons myself.

Good for you! I personally love having spiders around my place as I know I'm well guarded against other bugs. No spiders=more other bugs.

I have several types of spider that seem to love to hunt ants. One type in particular is black, hairy, and has a white stripe down its back (I dont know what its called). It seems any time I see this type with a bug, its an ant. There are also a couple types of jumping spiders that take ants, but these guys are not particular about the type of bug. Other types of ground spiders seem to enjoy ants and if suitable habitat is near the anthill, I can have 20 spiders living in it, taking ants and their ... nymphs... the babies that they move around when still egg like.

That sounds like a healthy ecosystem to me.

I once read this book (of which I can't remember the title or author and hence is driving me crazy) where the author traveled to various "primitive" countries and observed on one occasion that the villagers would leave food outside the corners of their homes. The author asked about this practice and learned that the villagers were appeasing the ants. They explained that the ants did not bother them and would not enter their homes, as long as they left food for the ants.

It was a profound moment for me upon reading this account because it emphasizes a connection to the living world that is lost upon many more "civilized" cultures.

The Home Depot store where I live sells many different chemicals to *combat* the *intruders*. Perhaps that is not always the best, or most "civilized", approach.

Here in the southern USA, we are plagued by fire ants. They will inhabit any area from roadside wastelands to manicured Bermuda grass lawns. They are incredible survivors and I admire them for that. Unfortunately they are, at times, an ecological nuisance.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

I once read this book (of which I can't remember the title or author and hence is driving me crazy) where the author traveled to various "primitive" countries and observed on one occasion that the villagers would leave food outside the corners of their homes. The author asked about this practice and learned that the villagers were appeasing the ants. They explained that the ants did not bother them and would not enter their homes, as long as they left food for the ants.

It was a profound moment for me upon reading this account because it emphasizes a connection to the living world that is lost upon many more "civilized" cultures.

Wow, That reminds me!

While camping, as I was preparing food, I thought of the bee problem. I had seen many hornet/wasp types looking around for food. So I sat to eat and here came a hornet. I moved the empty chicken chunk can towards the hornet and he immediately went for it, being on the ground rather than up higher where my food was, he was contented to feast there.

I thought of the Am. Indian tradition of food offerings and wondered if it had developed as a hornet/wasp defense.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

The Home Depot store where I live sells many different chemicals to *combat* the *intruders*. Perhaps that is not always the best, or most "civilized", approach.

This reminds me of something I posted before regarding wasp/hornet poisons. I have observed chimpmunks, shrews, and birds eating dead wasps I have killed on my porch (via crushing them). If you are going to choose to spray a hornet/wasp nest, please sweep up the dead bugs or you may poison an unintended target.

I also think people with mouse problems should avoid poison and resort to traps as much as possible. Sick mice can be eaten by owls and shrews. There are also some who think part of the large decline in gopher and bull snake populations in this state may be due to unintentional poisoning via attempts to get rid of some of these ground critters.

/end of off topic....