By calling upon the same trusted, experienced pest control experts your friends and neighbors do — Aspen Pest Control!
Are you experiencing an ant infestation? Odds are, they’re sugar ants, one of the most common nuisance pest infestations to occur in Felida and the greater Vancouver and Portland areas.
If you believe you have a sugar ant infestation, then we recommend that you call a team of pest control specialists to help you manage the infestation. Why is working with a professional pest control company so important? We’ll help you eradicate the ants you can see and the ones that you can’t.
Some basic facts about sugar ant colonies
Sugar ants, like many others in the insect kingdom, are social creatures. They live in colonies consisting of queens, workers, and males.
Queens, as you might imagine, have a very important role to play in the colony. The primary responsibility of queens in an ant colony is to lay eggs. Depending on the size of the colony, there may be multiple queens servicing its expansion.
Worker ants in the colony have multiple roles to fill. They gather food, protect and clean the queen, build and maintain the colony, and work on its expansion as it grows. These ants are all female.
Male ants, sometimes called drones, have only one role to fulfill in the colony, and that is to mate with the queen. After mating has taken place, these ants will soon pass away.
Are sugar ants dangerous?
In general, a sugar ant doesn’t pose a physical threat to people. Sugar ants are not stinging ants. Though they are very small, they still do have mandibles (jaws) that they can use to bite should they feel threatened.
Due to their diminutive size, this tends to not cause pain or discomfort, but may create small red bumps and irritation on the skin. Though we at Aspen are not medical professionals, our understanding is that should these cause a mild burning or itching sensation, the application of an over the counter hydrocortisone cream can provide relief.
We also must mention that there are people out there who can have allergic reactions to ant bites. If you or someone you know is allergic to sugar ants, please seek medical attention as soon as possible in order to get the care that you need.
Why do I have sugar ants in my home?
Usually, the reason that you find yourself facing a sugar ant infestation is because your home or the property surrounding your home contains the resources that sugar ants need in order to establish and grow a new colony.
Sugar ants, when in the wild, will build their colonies in the soil, between rocks, and in other areas where they have access to moisture and food. These same conditions can be found inside the house, as well.
Sugar ants have very strong receptors, or chemosensors, that help them identify when the sugary nutrients they desire are present in the area. Sugar ants can detect sugar and other food that they are searching for even when there are small amounts of it to be found. These sensors also can help them locate where the food is, leading them directly to the interior of your home should they find and gain access.
Additionally, they’re seeking water and shelter, both of which your home has plenty of. Are you inviting them into your home without even realizing it? Most do, and here’s how.
How are sugar ants accessing my home?
The most common areas for ants to gain entry into your home include cracks or crevices in the foundation barrier or brickwork, broken windows or door seals, and small openings where utilities or plumbing enters the house. Bringing new plants into your home? Give them a thorough inspection before taking them indoors as this is yet another common way in which sugar ants can make their way inside.
Remember, sugar ants love moisture so they will usually try to build colonies in areas that are warm and humid. It’s common to find them building nests in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other spaces where plumbing is commonplace.
When we inspect your home, we start with a comprehensive exterior inspection, and if it’s necessary — and if you’re comfortable with it — our technicians will do a thorough inspection inside the home as well to make absolutely certain that we have identified all aspects of the infestation and can provide you with thorough recommendations for treatment.
Can’t I just exterminate the sugar ants myself?
The fact is, there are a lot of off the shelf products you can buy from your local home improvement or big box stores. In our experience, the effectiveness of these products is limited. The products usually fall into two broad categories: repellants and bait.
Repellents, often sold as a spray, are especially limited in their effectiveness due to the fact that they only treat those ants that are visible. This means that you are perhaps able to kill those worker ants that are outside the colony, but what about the ants that are still inside the colony? The queen, the males, and the remaining workers are left untouched, and can continue to mate, hatch, and grow, ultimately rendering the treatment ineffective.
Baits are often an effective method for extermination, but consumer grade products can’t match the power and effectiveness of professional grade materials. Combine professional grade bait with our non repellent liquid application applied by experienced, trained technicians and you’ll no doubt have a more effective extermination experience.
You deserve expert, effective pest control!
Contact Aspen Pest Control TODAY for your free sugar ant consultation.
Our professionals are licensed, bonded, insured, and local — and we can’t wait to serve your sugar ant extermination needs.
